Preventing colds...

...is difficult. But I have for some time sworn by echinacea if I think I feel one coming on. It usually works.

But. I have one imminent at the moment, and I really, really don't want it at the moment (birthday party - yes, that again - on Sunday).

Obvious answer - the internet. This tell me that "colds are often caught form people you've never met". Really? Tips include dancing with yourself (?) , singing in the shower, and/or  gargling with salt water (that always makes me feel as though I'm drowning). Oh, and people who have sex at least twice a week are less likely to get colds than people who don't (these researchers don't seem to take into account that people who are too tired to have sex may also  be too tired to resist colds). And garlic.

I opted for garlic. This, I was informed, can be done by finely cutting up a clove of raw garlic, and mixing it with a spoonful of honey. I tried this last night, and rather foolishly got tangled up with the problem  of whether to put the honey in the spoon and then stick framents of garlic to it, or fill the spoon with the garlic first, and then risk polluting the honey with stray fragements. It didn't work terribly well until a friend, amid gales of laughter, pointed out that it would have been more sensible to mix the two together first.

I've just done this. Not sure whether it works or not, and I probably smell terrible. But I'll keep you posted.

PS Any other cold cure ideas welcome!