Q. A very dear friend has lugged back a present from China. It is the most hideously frightful, huge, garish, golden ‘money’ cat with a waving paw which he has specifically asked me to put in ‘my’ drawing room (along with the Meissen and Chippendale). My problems are fourfold; I do not want to upset him after all the trouble he’s taken; I live in a National Trust house so ‘my’ drawing room is not actually ‘mine’ and is open to the public most of the year; I certainly do not want to lose the opportunity of money for myself; I fundraise for a charity and obviously do not want to lose money for them either. What on earth should I do?
A.H., Wiltshire
A. There is no need to cause any upset. The cat can be transported to the offices of the charity for which you fundraise. For those of a superstitious bent this unselfish act would be the most logical way of maximising the cash opportunities offered. In aesthetic terms an office is a no man’s land where normal standards of aesthetics are suspended so no visual upset can be given either.
Q. A friend of mine arranges an annual walk each year on the Sunday of the Mayday Bank Holiday for her birthday, often of up to 30 friends of mixed ages. We then have a delicious and congenial lunch at her house. I have been asked again, and have accepted, but today two old friends from another part of the country have told me they will be at a memorial service in a local town the Friday preceding that weekend. Naturally I have asked them to stay for the whole weekend as I do not see them that often.
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