The Oldie

VIRGINIA IRONSIDE

Frenemy from Hell

Q We've been friends for a long time with a woman who refers to my wife and I as ‘the only family I've got’, even though we're not related. Recently, however, she's become manipulative and although most of the time she is sweet, on these occasions she rings us weeping saying we're neglecting her and that she wants to kill herself.

My wife has become so stressed with reassuring her that she's now on antidepressants herself. I really resent this friend for starting

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Oldie

The Oldie2 min read
Lord Brooke CH (1934-2023)
Sir John Major paid tribute at St Margaret's, Westminster, to Peter Brooke. As Northern Ireland Secretary, he did much to start the talks with the IRA that led to the Good Friday Agreement. As Culture Secretary, he introduced legislation to launch th
The Oldie10 min read
Arts
THE TROUBLE WITH JESSICA (15) Think of the worst dinner party you've ever been to. Then multiply the desperation by a thousand. That's the premise of The Trouble with Jessica. At a smart professionals’ dinner party in fashionable London, uninvited gu
The Oldie14 min read
Pursuits
WELSH WONDERS On a recent cold and blowy afternoon, I spent a few hours in a series of greenhouses, sniffing exotic scents and marvelling at the sheer abundance of flowering bulbous plants. I was just a mile from the National Botanic Garden of Wales

Related Books & Audiobooks