Welcome to Recommends

I'VE frequently been criticised for meanness, usually by my wife, and I have to say she probably has a point. However, in my long-standing cautious attitude to unnecessary fiscal outlay, I prefer to think I was ahead of my time.

Now, at the height of the Credit Crunch (19p at Lidl, next to the Weetabix), I welcome you to our thrift special. Thanks to my parsimonious colleagues who join Robert Ritchie, a man who has turned frugality into a lifestyle choice, to celebrate the triumph of caution over hedonism. Emily Pykett may hang out with people who don't shave their armpits (page V), but she does know how to make a scourer from old orange bags. This is my favourite recommendation this issue – I plan to try it.

Despite mentioning this thrifty special was coming, I am sure some of you will respond with your own ideas, which I will use in the coming weeks. If there is an overwhelming response – and detailed descriptions of how to make a stylish new cardigan entirely out of the fluff that gathers on stripped-wood floors – another thrifty Recommends will appear soon.

To reward both parsimony and his enduring contribution to Recommends, Robert Ritchie is awarded the prize of a meal for four at ABode. As someone who doesn't see the need for soap (see Page III), I thought he might eschew the idea of a spa treatment at Knock Castle. That prize goes to Lindsay Dalton-Hopwood, who has contributed wisely and often to Recommends .

Thanks also to Marion Shearer, a recent winner of Simple Simon's pies, who sends a lovely postcard with the simple message: "They are exceptionally good."

Also, well done to Carol Johnstone of Culross, Fife, winner of bikes for all the family offered a fortnight ago.