I assume that Andy Taylor likes to know how to draw a good ellipse.
To make this form I always use two pins, a pencil, and a piece of rope.
Push the pins into a board at a certain distance, tie the rope between
the pins (rope should be longer than the distance between the pins).

Now you put the pencil against the rope, and you can draw a half
ellipse.  Repeat on the other side and the ellipse will be complete.
The length and width of the resulting ellipse depend on the distance
between the pins, and the length of the rope, so you will need some
experimenting.  Success!

Regards and seasons greetings from the Netherlands,
Hans van Oost