Q. On holiday in Greece this summer there was an area of unexpected tension in our house party. As we lay by the pool it seemed that everyone was reading either Wicked! by Jilly Cooper, or A Much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge, or Title Deeds by Liza Campbell, or The Guynd by Belinda Rathbone. This meant that at no time could you enjoy discussing any of those titles you had read or were reading yourself because, as soon as you started, you would elicit a scream from a neighbour begging you to stop on the grounds that they hadn’t read it yet or hadn’t yet reached the passage you were talking about. Mary, this was frustrating to say the least. It meant stimulating conversation was virtually barred. How could we have managed this better?
A.E., Pewsey, Wilts
A. This situation was clearly intolerable. You should have implemented a firm policy whereby people were required to announce the book they were about to discuss and wait before doing so until those who didn’t want to overhear had blocked their ears with iPod earphones. Incidentally you could also have turned the nuisance to your advantage. You could have used the Book Discussion Alarm as a pretext to require others to block their ears when really you wanted to discuss secrets with a selected few without blabbermouths overhearing.
Q. I am on a Weightwatchers diet which, surprisingly, enables me to eat various fried foods as long as they are fried in One Cal spray. I suspect my cook may be disobeying my orders and carrying on using the ordinary olive oil she brings us from her home village because she thinks it will be more delicious. How can I check without standing over her while she cooks?
S.B.,
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in