Q. Our son is at school in England with the son of a billionaire. They have become friends and we would like to invite the child for the week-end. However, our own manor house, while of historic and architectural significance, does not offer the opulence to which our prospective guest might be accustomed. How can we address our pangs of social anxiety? In the country where we live, we have certain social and literary cachet but no serious money.
—Name and address withheld
A. Your problem needs to be put in context. You are a high-profile political figure; the billionaire boy will be aware of this. Even if he has difficulty with the concept of a Gandhi/Mandela-type alphadom, he will still be able to respond to the personal safety advantages of the comparatively modest lifestyle you embrace. Your son could put it this way: ‘In our country we have to be terribly careful not to appear to be living it up, so you’ll be fine, security-wise, because Daddy keeps everything really low-key.’
Q. Last week’s query about the well-brought-up young man who HKLP (holds knife like pencil) was of interest to me. Last weekend I noticed my boyfriend, back after three months working in Hong Kong, was holding his knife in a peculiar way while feebly tackling his plate of roast lamb. I was baffled by this new habit and then I realised — it was HKLC (holds knife like chopsticks) and is a temporary (I hope) response to using chopsticks every day while working in the Far East.
—Name and address withheld
A. Thank you for supplying this supplementary evidence.
Q. I have given up pheasant shooting and was very willing to lend my twelve-bore to a friend who is a keen shot. He would also be doing me a favour by storing the gun in his government-approved gun cabinet.
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