Dear Shrek,

As a boy, I was slightly overweight, but as I enter adulthood, I have trimmed down considerably, and now consider myself to be 'cut out of wood' as they say. Despite this, my peers still make reference to my previous weight problems, calling me names such as 'the fat fiddler' and making jibes about me eating Kentucky bargain buckets. This abuse can sometimes been relentless, even from soem previously slim peers who have now overtaken me on the scales. I have tried various ploys to halt the name callling, even getting my mum to come to matches, but it still persists. What can you suggest?

Richard Male

Hello my rotund friend, I once played with a lad who had a similar problem. He was so concious about his weight that he amputated his left leg to lose weight at one point, but this only succeeded in helping him plant spin bowlers into the A2 at Macknade. He finally came to a much easier solution. He would go and stand next to the 1st team captain, and his peers would seemingly swap their abusive jibes to him, almost without realising. This might work for you. 

Sincerely

Shrek