SHOW me a minority and folding money says I'll be in it, but last weekend revealed a minority I'd be ashamed not to join.

Pollsters, obviously short of political topics over the holidays, turned to the handiness of women about the house and, according to Mori, most of us are "clueless".

Seven out of ten of us can't bleed a radiator. Some of the seven might not have the sort of central heating which boasts radiators, but it's not the most skilled job on earth; I was shown how to do it by the installers of our first boiler. As the bathroom radiator on that system was always temperamental and defied treatment, I'd have had many a chilly sluice without the knowledge necessary to shift airlocks.

A quarter of us can't wire a plug. That's maybe not as bad as it sounds, as more and more plugs are now moulded on to the appliance lead, but, as those that aren't come with instructions pushed over the plug pins, there really is no excuse for ignorance. It's also a skill all youngsters should be taught well before they leave home.

Changing a fuse isn't mentioned, perhaps because that, too, is less necessary as old-type wired fuses are replaced by the modern version which can be reset at the flick of a switch. Even so, it's handy to have the knack, but how many women know which sort of fuses their house possesses in the first place?

Changing a door lock would defeat almost 30pc of women. Can't say I've ever needed to do it, as the locks our insurers require were professionally fitted. I know how to remove one; I wonder if taking the old one to the locksmith's and saying: "I want a replacement that size, please," would do the trick. But, when the security of my home depends on it, I want the right horse for the course and that's a locksmith.

Another job not mentioned is changing a tap washer. I know in theory how to do it, but taps don't seem to drip like they used to do (and that's tempting fate). The only tap we had that regularly developed a drip was a flash new one with a ceramic disc instead of a washer. We went back to the primitive variety.

The Mori poll showed women tended to call on husbands or partners in a home emergency; very few men would turn to a woman. Researchers reckon that, in spite of sex equality, the old stereotypes persist. I think they've simply failed to take into account the "little me" syndrome.

It's part of the battle of the sexes. Why get messed up and break nails dismantling the washer to find the belt's snapped, and fit a new one, when you can smile helplessly at the nearest male?

If you never learn to change a light bulb (honestly, I knew someone like that) or wire a plug or do anything in the line of household competence, no-one will ever expect poor little you to get on with it. Women aren't daft - except those of us in the radiator-bleeding, plug-wiring minority who just get on with it, because there is no male help around or because we don't want to be held up waiting for himself to come home.

However, if there's anything in reincarnation, I'm coming back as the fluffiest, most helpless female around, if I don't come back as a pampered pussycat.