Nothing makes my blood boil more than latecomers unless they have a genuine excuse. “Buffalo on the line at New Malden” might just do it – otherwise it is plain rude (Are you a ‘time optimist’? I’m sorry, we can’t be friends, 10 May). A habitual latecomer is worse. I’ve made the rule never to wait for anyone longer than 15 minutes in a social setting. As I said to a colleague who was always late: “It’s simple, leave the house earlier.”
Wendy Carter
Sydney, Australia
• I’m almost always a couple of minutes early for meetings, which are mostly remote, and always up to my eyeballs in work, so if others are late for a meeting, I just do something else. When they turn up, I (fakely) apologise with: “Just give me a second to finish this” and cut off the sound, leaving them to wait for a five-minute “second”. Most people take the hint.
Mark Wallace
Beetsterzwaag, the Netherlands
• I have/had a friend who seemed to think that her lateness was cute and endearing – a quirky little aspect of her personality. However, after many hours of wasting time waiting for her, and having to suffer such comments as “You’re not angry with me, are you?”, implying that I might be just a tad petty-minded, I discovered a way of dealing with her. I told her that the next time she wanted to meet, she should text me when she was on the bus, and not before. Strangely, I never heard back from her after that.
Louise Harper
Edinburgh
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