Trying to get guests to go home (Letters, 6 October)? No problem in lots of Irish homes years ago. Simply start to frantically search for spare rosary beads, expressing the number of visitors you need them for, and then start moving chairs around in preparation for the rosary. Usually worked.
Siobhán Ní Chuanaigh
Dublin, Ireland
My father would bring a sociable evening to a close by quietly getting up from his chair and saying: “I’d better go and let the cat out.” There followed the sound of the front door opening and shutting. We never had a cat.
Caroline Alexander
Shoreham, Kent
After finishing a meal, we were presented by our hosts with a visitors’ book for signing, indicating the end of the evening. At another dinner date, one of the hosts turned on the TV in another room and opened the front door.
Peter Hames
Northam, Devon
Our ultimate deterrent, “You must see our holiday slides”, invariably had the desired effect. And we could only admire the Dordogne hotelier couple who served our last course in their pyjamas.
Warwick Hillman
Pinner, London
My mother’s favoured device for people who had called unexpectedly was: “Sit down there and make yourself at home, which is where you should be.”
Eoin Dillon
Dublin, Ireland
“A cup of tea before you go?”
Nick Lindesay
Frankby, Wirral
Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
