Mary Killen Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 31 August 2017

Plus, why you should always buy a choc ice and not read at a wedding

issue 02 September 2017

Q. Our best friends own a house in Morocco which sleeps about ten. They rent it out but go two or three times a year themselves and always invite as many people as they can cram in. They have much more social stamina than we have, so whenever they invite us, we beg that it can be just the four of us. They agree but always renege at the last minute and invite others on the grounds that it will be ‘much jollier’. We just want time alone with them in their undiluted company and we find big house parties mentally exhausting. But it’s not our house so we can’t lay down the law. Next time, Mary, how can we ensure we are the only guests?

—S.R., Haddington, East Lothian

A. Enquire whether you can rent the house yourself for a special occasion. Then invite the owners to come as your guests.

Q.

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