I love candles and have a lot around my house, but I've noticed they just melt through the centre and lots of wax is wasted. Can you suggest a way of extending their life?

You can do two things to extend the life of a candle, according to www.prices-candles.co.uk. First, make sure it has a large wick - on cheaper candles a thin wick might be used that won't heat up enough wax around it, causing only the middle to melt. Second, when you first light a large candle, leave is to burn for about four hours. This will ensure the maximum amount of wax is melted around the top of the candle so when it's re-lit, it has been 'trained' to melt evenly.