Click on the links below to read our resident mistress of etiquette's pearls of wisdom on all the most pressing issues of contemporary life... follow Debrett 's on Twitter or read Miss Debrett's Blog

Miss Debrett on...

...New Baby Bores

Yes we know they're little bundles of joy, uniquely beautiful and models of unutterable perfection, but just don't go on about it....

...Being a Godparent

Are you actually prepared to commit? Eighteen years of birthdays and Christmases stretch out before you; will you be able to stay the course?...

...Attending a Christening

This is, first and foremost, the parents' day... the baby at the centre of the event is likely to be at best bewildered, and very possibly positively outraged...

...Becoming an Adult

For many parents, their supposedly grown-up children are still in advanced states of dependency...

...Becoming a Bride

The diamond is sparkling on your finger... unless you're very careful you're about to undergo the transition from ordinary woman to bridal fury...

...Celebrating Anniversaires

Once a year the marriage faces its annual challenge - to celebrate or not to celebrate? Few dates in the personal calendar have become so freighted with significance

...Divorce

Divorcees were once seen as predatory - man-eating gorgons intent on stealing husbands. The whole business was surrounded by an atmosphere of lingering titillation...

...Funerals

There can be few events as fraught as a funeral, and few places where faux-pas are likely to be as disastrous...

...Public Mourning

The hyped hysteria of public mourning is a temporary aberration... Only when you experience the profound pain of a genuine loss will you realise its true artificiality...

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