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Mary Killen

Mary Killen writes The Spectator's Dear Mary column.

[ISTOCKPHOTO.COM]

Dear Mary: How can I get my annoying children to answer my texts?

Mary Killen 16 February 2019 9:00 am

Q. I have learned through a third party that a friend, who is feeling particularly insecure these days, has not been…

Dear Mary: How can I deal with an aggressive Big Issue seller?

Mary Killen 9 February 2019 9:00 am

Q. I wondered if you could advise me on a rather embarrassing situation please. I sing in my local Church…

Dear Mary: Should I ever tip at a private club?

Mary Killen 2 February 2019 9:00 am

 Q. I am an artist living in the UK and was charmed to be invited by a fellow artist, a…

Dear Mary: how do I stop a Londoner dominating my village book club?

Mary Killen 26 January 2019 9:00 am

Q.A senior colleague, on discovering that I’m a friend of someone who has become quite famous, engaged with me warmly…

Dear Mary: We have new friends but can’t bear to eat in their filthy kitchen. What to do?

Mary Killen 19 January 2019 9:00 am

Q. I note that (Dear Mary, 12 January) you advised your correspondent, resentful of Christmas expenditure, to offer instead ‘mutual…

Dear Mary: How do I get an answer from my elusive publisher?

Mary Killen 12 January 2019 9:00 am

Q. What is the current etiquette regarding chasing an opinion from a publisher to whom, by agreement and via a…

Dear Mary: is it ever acceptable to use a dental brush at the dinner table?

Mary Killen 5 January 2019 9:00 am

Q. Whenever I go to the theatre or cinema with any man of 60-plus, he falls asleep, even when the…

Problems solved for Michael Fabricant, Liz Truss, Piers Morgan, Richard Madeley, Anthony Horowitz and others

Mary Killen 15 December 2018 9:00 am

From Michael Fabricant MPQ. When I go for intimate meals at a restaurant with a friend, I am invariably asked…

Dear Mary: my Botox treatments make me look standoffish. How can I appear warm?

Mary Killen 8 December 2018 9:00 am

Q. A friend and I are giving a combined Christmas drinks party for 120 people. It’s being held at her…

Dear Mary: How can I stop chatty friends from phoning when I’m meant to be working?

Mary Killen 1 December 2018 9:00 am

Q. May I pass on a tip to anyone facing large family house parties at Christmas? I always used to…

Dear Mary: How can I turn my arrogant son into a snowflake?

Mary Killen 24 November 2018 9:00 am

Q. I am organising my 30th birthday party weekend at a large country house kindly lent to me by friends…

Dear Mary: How do I stop rabbits eating Mum’s graveside flowers?

Mary Killen 17 November 2018 9:00 am

Q. A difficult couple of our acquaintance always object to other guests at dinner and can be very rude to…

Dear Mary: What can I do about loud train snorers?

Mary Killen 10 November 2018 9:00 am

Q. At every drinks party one will be in mid-conversation with another guest and someone will walk over and loiter…

Dear Mary: How can I face the friends who warned me that my girlfriend would dump me?

Mary Killen 3 November 2018 9:00 am

Q. Previously a long-term and content single man, earlier in the year I began a relationship with a wonderful girl,…

Dear Mary: How do I stop my wife from sabotaging my anecdotes?

Mary Killen 27 October 2018 9:00 am

Q. My wife and I have been married for 50 years. The marriage is basically sound but she has recently…

Dear Mary: My friend’s cooked breakfasts make me gag

Mary Killen 20 October 2018 9:00 am

Q. My fiancé and I spend many great weekends with another couple. I am a vegetarian and quite particular about…

My long gossipy letters to an old friend get just a few words in response

Mary Killen 13 October 2018 9:00 am

Q. An old friend shares aesthetic sensibilities and tastes in people. Hence we have sustained a highly enjoyable correspondence over…

Dear Mary: what do you say to neighbours who find you in your nightdress?

Mary Killen 6 October 2018 9:00 am

Q. I recently gave a jolly dinner for eight friends (some old, some rather famous), all home cooking, ending with…

Dear Mary: Is it really forbidden to eat with a fork’s tines facing upwards?

Mary Killen 29 September 2018 9:00 am

Q. My husband and I have been invited to the birthday party of a distinguished public figure with whom we…

Dear Mary: Our insufferable children are rounding on our eightysomething neighbour

Mary Killen 22 September 2018 9:00 am

Q. A neighbour, a wonderful old friend in his late eighties, is a marvellous raconteur. As a family we have…

Dear Mary: I had £300 stolen while at a friend’s house. Should I tell them?

Mary Killen 15 September 2018 9:00 am

Q. Following a small dinner last night in a private house, I got home to find £300 missing from my…

Dear Mary: I can’t put names to faces – and it’s starting to upset friends

Mary Killen 8 September 2018 9:00 am

Q. I am in my mid-sixties and have started to suffer from nominal aphasia. At a recent wedding in the…

Dear Mary: How can I weed out the party ‘flakes’?

Mary Killen 1 September 2018 9:00 am

Q. I invited four younger colleagues, all in their mid to late thirties, to go for a meal at a…

Dear Mary: How do we evict a narcissistic flatmate without starting World War III?

Mary Killen 25 August 2018 9:00 am

Q. I live in a houseshare with two other people; one of whom I am very fond of and the…

Dear Mary: What do I say when people want to visit my family’s stately home for free?

Mary Killen 18 August 2018 9:00 am

Q. My husband and I were among the first to arrive at a recent large house party in Scotland. We…

1 2 3 4 5 … 33 »

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Cartoons

‘Least said, texted, tweeted, retweeted, Instagrammed, posted, uploaded, shared, blogged, vlogged and Snapchatted, soonest mended.’
‘Least said, texted, tweeted, retweeted, Instagrammed, posted, uploaded, shared, blogged, vlogged and Snapchatted, soonest mended.’
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‘On a clear day you can see five county lines drugs rackets.’
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