Mary Killen Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 12 September 2009

Your problems solved

issue 12 September 2009

Q. Last weekend we went abroad to a birthday party of great friends of ours. We often meet them when they come to London, and invite them to join us at my club. They are coming to visit London again, this time with another couple, whom we hardly know. Of course we would like to invite our friends to dine with us again, and are prepared to invite their friends too; however, I’m not keen to have to pay for them as well. What do you advise me to do? To say that we can only invite two guests at a time wouldn’t work, for our friends are too familiar with English methods to believe that. Your famous wisdom please!

Name withheld, Norfolk

A. There is no way around this. You will have to invite all four of them, and as the only member you will be the only one allowed to pay.

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