Q. We have near neighbours in the country with whom I would not wish to fall out for all sorts of reasons. But they are disorganised and this is testing my husband’s (and my) patience. Whenever we go to supper with them we arrive at about 8 p.m. as requested but don’t usually sit down to eat till around 10 p.m. By this time we, like all the other guests, are stuffed with crisps, drunk and irritable and have run out of small talk. (I have tried asking if I can help in the kitchen and they always say no, everything is under control.) They are not the sort of people you can tease or be benignly bossy with. It’s difficult enough to get my husband to accept an invitation and I fear he will just refuse to go to them again.
— Name and address withheld
A. It was Winston Churchill who observed that ‘attitude is a small thing which can make a big difference’ — so next time have a light early supper à deux, catching up on private news.
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