EDGI

Last summer I introduced Miley Cyrus to a concept of good will and charity: EDGI, Evil Deeds for Good Intentions. EDGI requires a few key components.

• Lots of scheming
• A little bit of money
• A third party, kept entirely in ignorance

Sneaking around behind someone's back, the concept of EDGI is to do something for them that they don't expect. I find it best to give someone either something they've wanted for a while, or something they would never expect, or something homemade. If you opt not to give a present but to still do something for someone, you still need that little bit of money to help buy things, unless you're really good at recycling.

Some examples of how to apply EDGI:

• A surprise party, even when it's not the person's birthday
• A scrapbook  - as Miley and I made last summer
• A going-away present that someone doesn't suspect - yeah, we did that one... but she refused to cry for us!

Why bother? Well, for a start the scheming is fun. Going around behind someone's back, having all these little secrets from them, and doing it only for good reasons, to give something to them, gives a wonderful feeling of having been both evil (evil is fun, but frowned upon) and a good friend. EDGI helps to show someone how much they mean to you, make someone feel better about themselves, and, in cases of extreme boredom, gives you something to do.

It's all quite simple, really. Just look out for little things that people mention and you can really make their day out of the blue. I snook about last summer through Dublin to deliver a present to a friend - a Not-Birthday present* - only to later find myself in Offaly doing something else, both aimed at the one person, having gotten things like a scrap book, photos and stickers together to spend a couple of hours making something that weeks later would be the best way we could say how much this one person meant to both of us.

A bit sappy, I know. It's great.

It's just a suggestion, of course, to go through with EDGI. I'd love to hear you're little stories of mischief and good deeds for friends. And, you know, to steal your ideas to apply on my own friends!

* A Not-Birthday is a celebration of someone, but not of their birthday. It's best reserved for people who dislike their birthday intently, and not for just anybody, because that may lead to them becoming selfish and demanding and thinking you're a little bit creepy. Just saying.