Q. I was invited to stay with a friend of
a friend for a weekend and, before setting off for her substantial property in Devon, I telephoned to announce that I was on my way. My hostess told me she hoped I would arrive in good time for dinner that night since she had ten people turning up for it. I had already packed a box of superior French chocolates as a present for her but, in an attempt to be helpful, inquired whether there was anything else I could pick up for her on my way. ‘Oh how kind,’ she replied. ‘What about some delicious wine? I rather like Sancerre, don’t you?’ She calculated that ten guests would require five bottles. The contribution cost me £75, which I feel was excessive. My hostess did not offer to pay me back (and she is not vague — on the contrary she has always struck me as quite beady). Nor did she comment on my generosity. What would you have done, Mary?
Name and address withheld A. You should have acted daft and turned up instead with five bottles of a serviceable wine costing roughly £4.50, such as the fashionable Viña Sol from Spain. Walking in with it you could have said, ‘Guess what I managed to find! This is the wine that all the smarties are drinking. Apparently it’s absolutely delicious. Make a nice change from stuffy old Sancerre!’
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