I HAVE just been condemned as being clueless, but I am not alone. The whole of Britain s male population is the same. Apparently, we have no idea how much money a woman will spend to look her best. I beg to differ. An anxious grimace and a gasp of astonis

I HAVE just been condemned as being clueless, but I am not alone. The whole of Britain's male population is the same.

Apparently, we have no idea how much money a woman will spend to look her best.

I beg to differ. An anxious grimace and a gasp of astonishment are not uncommon on my part when a certain someone returns from the hairdresser and reveals how much has gone on a simple snip job.

I think how much I fork out on a haircut - a much lower amount - and groan.

There's a similar reaction when I happen to notice the price tag as a lipstick is selected from the shelf. How can the manufacturer justify what must be a huge mark up on the cost price?

So, yes, I do have a clue. But I must admit to being somewhat amazed when I saw the figures picked out from a survey by a travel insurance company.

This found that men were under-estimating the cost of a woman's beauty secrets as "a measly �50" (surely that should be enough).

In fact, so I read, 47 per cent of women spend at least �200 to kit out their make-up bags and accentuate their natural beauty.

Another 29 per cent are more level-headed and lay out an estimated �100 but the other 24 per cent lash out an astonishing �300.

A whopping 88 per cent of women questioned said they would be "devastated" if they lost their treasured make-up bag (58 per cent of men believed the ladies might be "concerned" if that happened).

A director of the insurance company said: "The results of the survey go to show that the majority of men are baffled by how much women spend on looking glamorous, even though they also benefit from the results."

But he balanced things up a little by adding sensibly: "For the boys, 10 minutes in the shower, a quick spray of deodorant and, if they're going all out, a shave is about as much preparation that is needed."

That sound about right to me, with the exception of the shave of course.

Something most men and women would agree on is the deliciousness of biscuits.

New research shows that the favourite time for eating them is between 10 and 11am and 3to 4pm. But the precise most popular "crunch time" is 3.10pm with school ending and students, teachers and parents resorting to a quick bite.

Four out of five Brits said they were willing to offer their last biscuit to others, but nearly a quarter admitted they would kick themselves if someone actually accepted and took it.

So what are our favourite biscuity nibbles? I'm not surprised to learn that top of the list by a mile is the good old-fashioned chocolate digestive. In runner-up spot is the chocolate hobnob closely followed by Jaffa cakes. Chocolate chip cookies and shortbread complete the top five favourites.

Roll on 3.10pm.