Dear Mary: How do I tell my neighbours I forgot to feed their cat?

Q. We invited two friends to supper in London. As they came in they said they should order their taxi home before we began to drink as they now had to pre-book. They then discussed the booking time between themselves and agreed on 11.30 p.m. But Mary, we wanted them to leave at 10.30 at the latest. How could we have conveyed this without making them feel unwelcome?

— Name and address withheld

A. You can pre-empt overstaying in future by outlining a time scale as you issue the invitation. For example, you could say to them: ‘Could you possibly come early, e.g. 7 or 7.30, as we have to be in bed by 10.45 at the latest that night?’ Even the young, when they have got over the idea that leaving early somehow signals the evening has been a failure, will be more than happy to comply if they have been mentally prepared for it.

Q. We own a Cornish cottage, and we often give a week’s stay in it to be auctioned for charity. This year’s winning bidder had to cancel due to Covid and asked to book the same dates for next year, which we agreed. However, we are now considering selling the cottage. Mary, what is the correct protocol (assuming we can’t find a buyer who would honour the booking)?

— P.F., Barrow Street, Wiltshire

A. You are quite right to assume your potential buyer would not wish to honour the agreement. Eliminate the uncertainty at a stroke by renting a comparable Cornish cottage for the agreed week in 2021 and offering this to your bidder instead. It will do you no harm to pay the rent for this, as you would have been losing a week’s rent anyway by not charging someone else for occupancy during the period.