Dear Mary: What should I do about my husband’s schoolboy table habits?

Q. My husband has always worked extremely hard and now does so from home — so I go to great lengths to make nice things for him to eat. Yet he takes five minutes, at most, to eat these elaborate and lovingly prepared dishes, and then immediately goes through to the kitchen and starts washing up — even though that’s now my job. I don’t mind so much at lunchtime but it is dispiriting to see him reverting to schoolboy habits (he was a boarder) at supper when I am looking forward to having a civilised conversation after a day without company. Mary, what should I do?
— A.O., Sittingbourne, Kent

A. Let him know that he must stay at the table for at least 20 minutes and that if he finishes eating in five minutes, he will have to read to you for a further 15 while you eat your supper at a civilised pace.