Actually, it was a case of a false fingernail hanging on me! I don’t know why but strange things always seem to happen to me…

Now I don’t normally wear false fingernails (which would be apparent if you saw my nails) but I thought I would put false nails on my thumbs to protect my natural nails, which have been suffering from the effects of pushing the photo-card adapter in and out of my computer. A short while ago I was just applying the glue to a false fingernail for my left thumb when I suddenly realised that the false nail had already adhered itself to the inside of my middle finger; I was also aware that the glue they use for false fingernails nowadays is “Superglue”. Oh dear!

“Quickly, put it in white spirit,” suggested Chris, no doubt afraid that I wouldn’t be able to cook dinner with a false nail stuck to my finger.

“Put some margarine or butter on it,” said Roland (our friend from Australia).

As I was in the studio at the time, and closer to the white spirit, I did as my husband recommended and poked my finger with the nail stuck to it in a new bottle of thinners – twice! Nothing happened so I went into the kitchen and poured olive oil over my finger, again to no avail.

Meanwhile Chris, with great alacrity and presence of mind, had been reading the instruction leaflet that came with the false nails and, in particular, the part concerning what to do if the glue should accidentally adhere to skin. Apparently, surgery was “not recommended under any circumstances” (thank goodness!); it suggested soaking in sunflower oil or solvent, failing that we should try soaking in warm soapy water – for up to two days.

As you can see from the photographs, the latter treatment worked (after ten minutes or so of prising with a bar of soap) and the false nail is now in place on my thumb where it had been intended. You could say that I nailed it finally.