Dear Mary: Should I give weekend guests paper napkins or napkin rings?
Q. I have a hatred of paper napkins – eating outside, they blow away; inside, people drop them on the…
Dear Mary: How do I curb my brother’s unsavoury language?
Q. My brother, who lives in southern France, uses unsavoury words to gain my attention, such as ‘infernal swine’, ‘schweinhund’…
Dear Mary: how can I snoop on my neighbour’s house?
Q. I am at the stage of my life where I am often sending presents to newborn babies. These presents…
Dear Mary: Why aren’t I getting more Instagram ‘likes’?
Q. As a novice user of Instagram I was flattered at how quickly I gathered followers – 200 already. Many…
Dear Mary: How do I get out of a friend’s bad birthday party?
Q. I shall be spending more time in the company of newer acquaintances in the West Country and would appreciate…
Dear Mary: is it OK for guests to steal pears at Glyndebourne?
Q. We have been invited to a small but formal dinner in the presence of someone who has been a…
Dear Mary: How do I confront my husband without telling him I hacked his emails?
Q. The Queen had the knack of making you feel that you were the only person in the room. At…
Dear Mary: How do I get my friends to leave after a dinner party?
Q. We have made available our mews cottage – 30 yards from our main house – to a woman with…
Dear Mary: Was I wrong to tell my friend’s boyfriend he was snoring?
Q. I have had an email inviting me to an old girls’ reunion, class of 1976. The organiser suggested we…
Dear Mary: How can I find out whether old friends fancy each other?
Q. How can I find out, without making things awkward, whether one of my close male friends fancies one of…
Dear Mary: How can I stop my husband overeating?
Q. Some older American friends take me and my husband out to dinner once a year when they are over…
Should you grass on a neighbour who breaks the hosepipe ban?
A neighbourly feud is worse than a hosepipe ban
