Q. I have been walking my dog with a neighbour who has turned out to be a very entertaining companion. She knows masses of local gossip and is very funny when oversharing about her own dating life. I enjoy hearing all this, but she has begun fishing for the same sort of details about my relationship with my boyfriend. It seems unfriendly not to reciprocate so how can I say, in a non-hostile way, ‘Sorry, I’m never going to tell you private stuff’ without coming across as disapproving of the graphic details she has given me about her chaotic bedroom life?

– Name and address withheld

A. Nip this in the bud by sighing: ‘I’d love to tell you, but my boyfriend’s an unbelievably old-fashioned romantic. He would never talk about it to any of his mates and he would never forgive me if I did.’

Q. Three years ago a friend asked me to be an usher. We were fresh out of university and without hesitation I said I would. The wedding is finally taking place next year. In the past three years we have hardly spoken apart from wedding planning. The wedding is going to cost me £1,500 for the specific suit hire, the hotel room and the two stag parties he wants – one in the UK and one abroad. I feel I should drop out as I don’t know him that well and I cannot afford the expense, but I know he doesn’t have many friends – so much so that in the time since his engagement he has lost his best man and has yet to find another one. What should I do?

– C.C., by email

A. Your conscience would trouble you if you rugged him, so go for the feel-good factor you will get from honouring your ‘pledge’. But compromise and ask to be excused the stag party abroad, explaining: ‘I want to be able to afford to give you a wedding present.’ If you can, persuade the other ushers to cancel this extra party, as it’s bound to cause discontent.

Q. To add to the stamps debate, you can have had no idea about the gorgeous Dame Shirley Bassey stamps that are available. They celebrate her in all her glory, without ugly barcodes.

– M. O’C., Cardigan, Wales

A. Thank you. These presentation packs include some second-class stamps, still priced at 75p each. A postman confirms: ‘Second-class letters (now 50p less than first-class) are officially delivered within three days. Post office machines recognise second-class stamps and shift them to one side so the first-class can be sorted in the evening and the second-classes on the following morning. But if all first-class are sorted in the evening, they will move on to the second-class so both will be delivered the next day.’