Advice
Dear Mary: How can we get our messy little boys excused from formal lunches?
Q. To my surprise I have been asked to give a eulogy at the funeral of someone I knew only…
Dear Mary: How do I stop my boss sending me rambling voice notes?
Q. I am a concierge for a high-net-worth individual. She likes to communicate with me mainly via WhatsApp voice messages…
Dear Mary: How do I stop my friend’s banal WhatsApp messages?
Q. I have a very dear friend who lives in Scotland, so we rarely see each other. Before the internet…
Dear Mary: Should you flush the loo in the night when staying with friends?
Q. We live in an area with no mobile reception and trying to get hold of taxis for guests leaving…
Dear Mary: How do I shake off charity collectors?
Q. A friend, who I love dearly and who comes to stay a lot, has always been unforthcoming with gifts.…
Dear Mary: how do I hide my pregnancy from my boozy friends?
Q. We love having friends to stay at our house in Cornwall. One particular guest has the habit of arriving…
Dear Mary: How do I keep my phone safe on the beach?
Q. My husband and I have just been on a wonderful long weekend abroad to a friend’s 60th birthday. We…
Dear Mary: Help! My teeth are too white
Q. I ride a bike from Chiswick to the City each morning. It is a ten-mile journey that takes 45…
Dear Mary: How do I choose who to sponsor for the London Marathon?
Q. For the past couple of years, many of my sons’ friends have been gamely running the London Marathon for…
In praise of minding your own business
Athens With energy bordering on the demonic, I strut around an ancient stadium trying to make up for…
Dear Mary: Should I tell my boss I swiped his champagne?
Q. I have got myself in a pickle. My boss was given a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal by a…
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 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…
