Q. We want to keep on good terms with a potential grandson-in-law but he does not have the right kit. This doesn’t always matter these days, but it mattered when we took him and our granddaughter to our local racecourse. He came in a suit which he boasted he had not worn since school. He was bursting out of it and the trousers were six inches too short. How, without alienating our granddaughter, can I convey that he really must buy a new suit?
– Name withheld, Newbury
A. You can make an informed calculation about what off-the-peg-sized suit would fit your potential grandson-in-law and acquire one from an outlet such as TK Maxx for around £100. Next time they come to the races, engineer that you accidentally spill, for example, the contents of a Magimix as you bumble past the seated youth. ‘Oh no! I have ruined your suit. Why not wear this one that we found upstairs which is roughly your size?’
Q. I have many American friends who have been hospitable to me in the US. Each time they come here I pull the stops out and entertain them. However, two or three are now coming over twice a year and I am running out of stamina. How do I wind down without offending them?
– E.S., London W11
A. We British are famous for not returning hospitality to Americans, but your stamina issues are legitimate. Why not give a dinner party per American, then take them to a concert? In that way you can conserve your energy as you will be spared the admin of rounding up more Brits to introduce them to. Moreover you won’t be able to talk during the concert.
Q. We have moved to a town where neither of us knows anyone. My husband works but I don’t and I’m actually lonely for the first time.
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