Could she be showing signs of puberty? (She is very tall for her age and slightly overweight.) And should I be worried?Puberty among girls happens at a younger age than it used to years ago. The average age for puberty to begin is now about 10 or 11 years old The average age for periods to begin is 12 or 13. Seven, however, is unusually early, so you are right to be concerned. In girls, the first signs of puberty are the beginnings of breast development, and the growth of pubic hair. If neither of these is present, I think it is unlikely that puberty is starting yet.

Precocious puberty in girls is defined as the start of puberty before the age of eight, so even if your daughter does start puberty in the next year or two, this is unlikely to be abnormal. If you are worried, I suggest talking to your GP, who can compare her growth and development to standard charts. If she is developing abnormally early, she needs a full assessment from a paediatrician.Have your sayDr JH, a retired GP, suggests a fail-safe remedy for head lice:I was a GP for 38 years. When all else failed, I used to advise parents to shave their children’s heads I don’t think anyone ever did, but it should work. It might be worth a try now that the look is fashionable.JH from Devon helps to unravel the mystery of using haemorrhoid ointment as an instant facelift:The magic ingredient might be witch-hazel lotion, a mild astringent used topically to shrink haemorrhoids and acute swellings such as bumps on the head.

I once asked an elderly lady for the secret of her beautiful complexion; she had lived a colonial army life in India and the only beauty product she could get hold of was witch hazel.Please send your questions and answers to A Question of Health, ‘The Independent’, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; fax to 020-7005 2182; or e-mail to health independent.co.uk. Holding pop festivals at historic sites is nothing special – indeed, there’s something very right and proper (and English and mad) about ye olde tradition – but this must have been one of few such events to take place on turf once trodden by the fragrant presenters of Antiques Roadshow. Built in the Norman Revival style by Robert Smirke in 1810, and later Gothicised by Pugin, Eastnor Castle nestles dreamily amid the Malverns. Not that festival-goers got to see much of it beyond the odd turret glistening in the distance, as the site turned out to be the deer park rather than the castle itself. Even so, Eastnor made a pretty location, and for The Big Chill, location is all. The main difference from other, larger gatherings is that everyone is middle class, so there are no marauding Scousers, and if anything is drizzled on your tent at night, it will probably be olive oil.

The festival is also child- and parent-friendly, so it tends to attract urban professionals only too happy to pay £90 to sit on the grass for three days without anyone trying to sell them crack or The Big Issue.These days, The Big Chill is dedicated less to ambient music (although Saturday featured the mulleted German New Age harp guru Andreas Vollenweider) than to a broad coalition of dance music, and the DJs easily outnumbered the proper bands. That could lead to dull, karaoke-style entertainment – as with Saturday afternoon’s main-stage sets by the Afro Art and Different Drummer sound systems. Then again, the music isn’t what most Big Chillers are there for. Instead, they play frisbee, sit on the grass smoking Old Blunkett, and generally chill.