If you have to take down a phone number, address or message and can't find a pencil or paper, try one of the following:
Write with lipstick, eyeliner, nail polish or a spent match on paper napkins, newspaper, bus or tube tickets or shopping receipts.
Try 'braille': use a pin to poke tiny holes in a piece of paper to form letters or numbers.
If you have a pen but no paper, write the number on the back or palm of your hand.
Trace the number on a dirty or frosty windowpane until you find a pencil to write it down. Or wet your finger and dip it in dust or dirt to use as 'ink'.
If you're near a telephone, call your answering machine at home and leave a message with the number that you need to remember.
Try singing a phone number or address to a familiar tune. Sing it over and over in your head until it is definitely stuck in your memory.
