Dear Mary
Q. A scholarly book of great importance to me appears to have gone missing from my library. It was heavily…
Dear Mary
Q. At a drinks or a dinner party, when very attentive waiters are hovering, I tend to let them keep…
Dear Mary
Q. I live far away from my brother and his family, but went to stay with them recently for the…
Dear Mary
Q. My former cleaner has now retired and lives nearby. I visit her with clockwork regularity and always enjoy seeing…
Dear Mary
Q. We have recently returned from Provence where we stayed the first night with distant relatives. We woke on a…
Dear Mary
Q. My 16-year-old son, who has recently had his first experiences of Clubland, has observed to me, his mother, that…
Dear Mary
Q. How, in a party context, can one avoid answering what used to be called ‘nosey’ questions without being rude?…
Dear Mary
Q. I agreed to give (paid) gap-year work experience in my own large garden to the grandson of an extremely…
Dear Mary
Q. I am the co-owner of a chocolate business which regularly receives requests for donations of goody bags and raffle…
Dear Mary
Q. A friend regularly hires a stall at a general neighbourhood market in order to sell surplus second-hand clothes and…
Dear Mary
Q. Two acquaintances of mine have somehow inveigled their way into my dining circuit. They are men who, despite privilege…
Dear Mary
Q. My dear English husband has never mastered the knack of timing his interventions in conversation. He hesitates politely, and…
Dear Mary
Q. An architect is overseeing some builders at my house. She is a perfectly nice woman but has a maddening…
Dear Mary
Q. On arrival at a top level dinner, I was surprised to see at the table a woman who, I…
Dear Mary
Q. My sister and I own a popular caravan park which, for 30 years, has given happiness to around a…
Your problems solved
Q. My son was invited, both verbally and via Facebook, to a schoolfriend’s 16th birthday party. However, when I met…
Dear Mary
Q. We have just moved into a charming little hamlet in Warwickshire and were delighted to find a bottle of…
Dear Mary
Q. Our son, aged l6, has a medical condition which, although not life-threatening, requires surgery by a specialist to pre-empt…
Your problems solved
Q. It’s only April and yet I am being emailed by parents who have already taken charge and are drumming…
Dear Mary
Q. I have three spare bedrooms in London and I welcome friends to come and stay. Unfortunately, some of these…
Dear Mary
Q. I am always making or receiving phone calls which get cut off. When I ring the person back their…
Dear Mary
Q. Is there a tactful way to keep one social offer on hold while waiting to see if you have…
Dear Mary
Q. My uncle, who is a brilliant dentist, has looked after my teeth since I was little. He also sees…
Dear Mary
Q. One of my best friends, who knows I don’t have a great social life at university, has a brother…
Dear Mary
Q. Recently a cousin and I gave a small drinks party in the USA. She had invited a very elegant…
