Etiquette
Name dropping
The death of the surname
Dear Mary
Q. My son has moved his girlfriend into our fairly small house for the second lockdown. I am grateful for…
Dear Mary
Q. I have a delightful young goddaughter who, thanks to the virus, I have not seen since last year. Her…
Dear Mary
Q. Is there a tactful way to wind up a Zoom call when one of you has more time on…
Dear Mary
Q. I would welcome your advice on a tricky family matter. For my 70th birthday earlier this year my brother…
Dear Mary
Q. An old friend offered to treat me to a birthday lunch, provided I choose and book the restaurant myself.…
Dear Mary
Q. A year ago we sent out 150 save-the-date notices for our wedding this December. We are still going ahead,…
Dear Mary
Q. I am running out of suitable responses to a friend who now has the slightest possible connection to one…
Dear Mary
Q. Many years ago I was asked to officiate at a funeral for a family I did not know. As…
Dear Mary
Q. My husband and I have spent many happy weekends in the seaside cottage of long-standing friends. Knowing how much…
Dear Mary
Q. Almost a year ago I attended the funeral of my godfather — a bachelor and distant relation whom I…
Dear Mary
Q. I have just been out to my first lunch in months. Ten of us sat around a table in…
Dear Mary
Q. Some friends persist on displaying our email addresses in large address lists when sending out round robins to all…
Dear Mary
Q. For professional reasons it is important that I am not fat. However I have put on more than a…
Dear Mary
Q. My son is having his 30th birthday next weekend and has invited 50 friends to a garden party. We…
Dear Mary
Q. We invited two friends to supper in London. As they came in they said they should order their taxi…
Dear Mary
Q. I am not expected to pay rent at the cottage which has been lent to me by a super-kind…
Dear Mary
Q. Our daughter is going ahead with her wedding despite the restriction on guest numbers. Although it is a relief…
Dear Mary
Q. As we attend socially distant events, we expect of our hosts a scrupulous accommodation of our preferences around physical…
Dear Mary
Q. During lockdown I have done my level best to assist with household chores. Last week, while my wife was…
Dear Mary
Q. Just before Covid, we moved out of London with the intention of having a quiet life in the country.…
Dear Mary
Q. How can one politely stop predatory kissers? I am (or was) an affectionate and demonstrative person but I don’t…
Dear Mary
Q. I know it is rude to ask, when invited to a dinner party, ‘who else is coming?’ I assumed,…
Dear Mary
Q. Now we are instructed to mingle again, I’m sure I’m not alone in being surprised to find an awkwardness…
Dear Mary
Q. I own a small, somewhat shabby and antiquated but well-located flat in central London which I have been happy…
