manners
Dear Mary
Q. For me the hallmark of a really close friend is someone with whom you feel comfortable enough to bring…
Dear Mary
Q To your correspondent with a guest whose table manners offend (2 May), you suggest screening him off with a…
Dear Mary
Q. I am being driven to distraction by a touchy relation who has responded to the lockdown by WhatsApping me…
Antisocial distancing
Rudeness is spreading like a virus
Dear Mary
Q. Each day while working from home, I have at least one hour-long meeting via Zoom. One of my colleagues…
Dear Mary
Q. Caught in Switzerland as the ski resort shut down around my ears, and feeling like a walking health hazard,…
dear mary your problems solved
Q. How can I stop a member of the household from glutting out on the chocolate supply I have stockpiled?…
Dear Mary
Q. I adore doing jigsaws and these days there’s an added bonus — by posting my progress on Instagram I…
Dear Mary
Q. I have hired a private room in a restaurant in order to give dinner to a large number of…
Dear Mary
Q. When my mother-in-law visits, she puts newspaper on a dining chair before sitting down. I’m so speechless that someone…
Dear Mary: How can I stop other diners eating my chips?
Q. My husband and I are committed Brexiteers. For many years we have regularly enjoyed friendly bridge evenings with a…
Dear Mary, from Joan Collins: How do I stop fans asking for selfies in the powder room?
From Dame Joan CollinsQ. Invariably, when I escape to the ladies’ room or powder room or restroom (whatever the current…
Dear Mary: What can we do about our son’s girlfriend’s appalling table manners?
Q. My son has a girlfriend who we like but who has appalling table manners. They come to stay most…
Dear Mary: How do I stop getting lumbered with the washing up on weekends away?
Q. A friend, who is very careful with his money, occasionally invites a group of six to eight out to…
Dear Mary: Is my brother being gaslighted by his boss?
Q. My brilliant brother, who graduated last year, could find nowhere to live in London so we were all delighted…
Dear Mary: How can I stop my neighbour making weird noises when he exercises in the garden?
Q. I sing soprano in a small church choir, ten to 12 singers. The woman I am placed next to…
Dear Mary: How can I tell a man at yoga class to cover up?
Q. My sister runs a yoga school and a middle-aged gentleman has joined. Although she is delighted to encourage male…
Dear Mary: How do I cope with university flatmates who can’t cook?
Q. For many years I employed around 60 people with whom I worked in an open-plan office. I moved on from…
Dear Mary: What can I do about the vexatious racket of windchimes?
Q. I took an old friend to Bellamy’s for lunch. We were just settling in for a proper gossip when…
Dear Mary: How do I stop men sending me articles from the Guardian?
Q. It is difficult to know what to do when homeless people ask you for cash as you are leaving…
Dear Mary: How should I deal with a friend who leaves appalling comments on Facebook?
Q. Friends and I keep in touch and share our more memorable experiences on Facebook. One friend is an elderly…
Dear Mary: How do I handle the dreaded ‘B word’ at supper parties?
Q. I have lost many friends and acquaintances by discussing Brexit and finding fundamental differences of opinion. Recently I have…
Dear Mary: How can I stop the book club gossip from snooping around my house?
Q. One of the members of our book club is particularly nosy and gossipy. I like this woman, but when…
Dear Mary: Is it ever acceptable to blow my own trumpet?
Q. A friend of 30 years moved abroad three years ago. He then was diagnosed with throat cancer but mercifully…
Dear Mary: What should I do when my host won’t serve the champagne I brought?
Q. Was I right to feel aggrieved when, having contributed a bottle of fine champagne to a small supper party,…
