Dear Mary: unacceptable behaviour at a book signing
Q. At a recent literary festival I attended a talk with a high-profile octogenarian writer. I had already bought her…
Dear Mary
Q. At a recent literary festival I attended a talk with a high-profile octogenarian writer. I had already bought her…
Dear Mary: How can I survive a house with shared bathrooms?
Q. I am anxious about a forthcoming house party to which several people in my friendship group have been invited.…
Your problems solved
Q. I am anxious about a forthcoming house party to which several people in my friendship group have been invited.…
Dear Mary: Before an old boys’ reunion, should I tip people off to an interesting fact?
Q. The problem encountered by R.B. of Fareham (6 June) is similar to one I wish to avoid. I have…
Your problems solved
Q. The problem encountered by R.B. of Fareham (6 June) is similar to one I wish to avoid. I have…
Dear Mary: My husband has shaved his head for a newspaper feature
Q. My partner, a leading political commentator on a national newspaper, recently agreed to shave off his hair at the…
Your problems solved
Q. My partner, a leading political commentator on a national newspaper, recently agreed to shave off his hair at the…
Dear Mary: Should I follow Cilla Black’s lead on disabled loos?
Q. I was at the theatre recently and bumped into a well-known Liverpudlian crooner coming out of the disabled lavatory.…
Your problems solved
Q. I was at the theatre recently and bumped into a well-known Liverpudlian crooner coming out of the disabled lavatory.…
Dear Mary: Must I be effusive in visitors’ books?
Q. My parents brought me up to write only my name in a visitors’ book. However, following a recent long…
Your problems solved
Q. My parents brought me up to write only my name in a visitors’ book. However, following a recent long…
Dear Mary: What to do when an old friend snubs you
Q. What should I say the next time I run into a woman with whom I was at art school…
Your problems solved
Q. What should I say the next time I run into a woman with whom I was at art school…
Dear Mary: What to do when a dinner guest won’t turn and chat
Q. I felt uncomfortable during a dinner for 20 in a private house. The young man on my left had…
Dear Mary
Q. I felt uncomfortable during a dinner for 20 in a private house. The young man on my left had…
Dear Mary, what do you do when you can't read the replies to a wedding invitation?
Q. How can I discipline inconsiderate people who do not reply properly to wedding invitations? I am being driven demented…
Your problems solved
Q. How can I discipline inconsiderate people who do not reply properly to wedding invitations? I am being driven demented…
Dear Mary: How can I make my shy friend’s generosity plain?
Q. I have a friend who can be shy and inhibited. Recently, he was invited to stay on a Caribbean…
Your problems solved
Q. I have a friend who can be shy and inhibited. Recently, he was invited to stay on a Caribbean…
Dear Mary: How to cope with London Library overcrowding
Q. As a writer I find working at home too distracting. I am a longstanding member of the London Library…
Your problems solved
Q. As a writer I find working at home too distracting. I am a longstanding member of the London Library…
Dear Mary: How to buy dinner for high net worth individuals
Q. Six months ago I invited some old friends to be my guests at a reunion dinner. We all love…
Dear Mary
Q. Six months ago I invited some old friends to be my guests at a reunion dinner. We all love…
Dear Mary: How to give a dinner party and still get an early night
Q. I socialise in Shropshire every weekend and regularly give dinners which end at 2 a.m., but it’s a different matter…
