Dear Mary: Do I have to display my friend’s awful painting?

Q. A long-standing artist friend, whose work now commands high prices, has sent me out of the blue a present of one of her paintings. She clearly didn’t realise after all these years that, although I have always been immensely fond of her, I have never been a fan of her work. I am grateful and will keep it in my attic but wouldn’t dream of selling it while she is still alive. My friend now lives abroad but is the sort of person who might suddenly turn up in London with no warning and drop in without ringing first. I would hate to hurt her feelings by not having her painting in pride of place were this to happen, but it is large and overpowering and there is simply nowhere in my house where it wouldn’t jar with the existing decor. Any suggestions, Mary?

— Name and address withheld

A. Choose a commanding position where the painting could conceivably hang — if you liked it. Take a photograph of it hanging there. If the artist does drop in, show her the photo while explaining that the painting is on temporary loan to another friend who is using it to lend distinction to an otherwise unimpressive flat she has on the market.

Q. Our London street has a WhatsApp group which has been very useful, particularly when looking for reliable tradesmen. Now a new resident has taken to offering her own expertise to almost every request sent out, from catering to dog-walking to cleaning jobs. Unfortunately she has turned out to be disastrously bad at all the jobs she has gone for. We know she has fallen on hard times and we want to be helpful to her — but not at the expense of having to pay for a dud service.