I was 19 and was indulging a schoolboy curiosity by turning up for Brigade Squad, the potential officer's course of the Household Division, held at the Guards Depot in Pirbright. ON A HOT, still night in the summer of 1990, I found myself lying exhausted in an army bed, trying to decide just how long I needed to endure something for which I'd volunteered, before I could justifiably cite irreconcilable differences and escape. Thin the first coat of emulsion with water to help it go on more easily. Don't worry about the patchy effect; the second coat will cover it up.Jeff Howell. ANYONE WHO's been a student will have bittersweet memories of a year or two spent in cheap rented accommodation Anecdotes involve mould, cold and burglary Alison, 28, lived in a Leeds house with four friends. "The place had no heating and was so cold in winter we stayed in bed till lunchtime." To make matters worse, one of the flatmates allowed her drug- dealer boyfriend to move in.

Within days there were people arriving at the house day and night. Alison was terrified but admits the dealer had his uses: "Every other student house on the street was burgled but somehow they left us well alone." Stories like this are enough to make a concerned parent weep. Most universities offer first-year students a place in a hall of residence or university- owned accommodation. After that, students are at the mercy of the extremely free market.

We all knew the rich kids whose Daddy bought them a house to live in while they slummed it at university, but an increasing number of ordinary parents are also choosing to buy a house for a student son or daughter. This may seem a little excessive, but it is a viable and profitable alternative in many university cities. Houses in popular student areas in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool or Sheffield are not expensive, with a simple terraced property starting at around pounds 25,000. A student owner who rents out rooms to friends may well be able to cover mortgage payments, recoup buying and selling costs, and live effectively rent-free for the duration of his or her course.Lenders are becoming more flexible about providing mortgages to students, usually with a parent acting as a guarantor, or by granting a loan to the parents under a "buy to let" scheme. The Bank of Scotland and Woolwich have schemes aimed specifically at students or parents.Buying can be cheaper than renting, but many parents just want to make sure their child lives in a decent property. Most student accommodation tends to be in the cheapest areas, where professional landlords can make the best returns. An extra pounds 5,000 on a mortgage gives access to the better parts of town without a huge hike in monthly outgoings.In Manchester, for example, a two- or three-bedroom terraced house in Rusholme, a popular student area, sells for around pounds 25,000.

Moving out to Fallowfield, prices rise to pounds 40,000; in Withington, an area popular with families, houses sell for between pounds 50,000 and pounds 60,000.According to Angela Bogg, head of the accommodation office for Manchester University and UMIST, rents in the city range between pounds 35 and pounds 40 per person per week. You will be that and worse unless you do something about it.The Vital Touch, tel: 0171 704 6025 Stuart Phillips is on 0171 379 5304. Set your computer to remind you every 20 minutes: "check your position".5 Look at your parents' posture Let that be your incentive. Get someone else to stick it on when you have your shoulders healthily held back. Then, whenever it feels overstretched you will know you are slumping your shoulders.2 Every 15 minutes stretch your arms.3. Gently stretch your neck by twisting head from side to side slowly five times.4.