PROBLEMS
ALAN JOHNSON
The former Home Secretary uses his wisdom, wit and experience to tackle the problems troubling you
Q
My husband and I live on the coast, and a good single friend of mine has come to stay once or twice annually for years. But since she retired, she's taken to inviting herself much more regularly. It's not just the extra bills -we miss having our own space and companionably pottering on our own. I don't want to fall out with my friend, but am starting to dread her calls.
O'\
No friend, no matter how close, is U., entitled to force their company upon you by inviting themselves to stay. It breaches 'Johnson's First Law of Friendship': never impose.