Q. I have been walking my dog with a neighbour who has turned out to be a very entertaining companion. She knows masses of local gossip and is very funny when oversharing about her own dating life. I enjoy hearing all this, but she has begun fishing for the same sort of details about my relationship with my boyfriend. It seems unfriendly not to reciprocate so how can I say, in a non-hostile way, ‘Sorry, I’m never going to tell you private stuff’ without coming across as disapproving of the graphic details she has given me about her chaotic bedroom life?
– Name and address withheld
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David Butterfield
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A. Nip this in the bud by sighing: ‘I’d love to tell you, but my boyfriend’s an unbelievably old-fashioned romantic. He would never talk about it to any of his mates and he would never forgive me if I did.
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