"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> ChattyCathy wrote:
>
>>> Yes, it's a great solution up to the point of putting on a coat and
>>> leaving. That certainly would be awkward for the remaining guests, and
>>> doesn't give the hostess any chance to redeem herself.
>>
>> Why should the hostess be given a chance to redeem herself?

Oh, she wasn't a friend of mine, Goomb, but barely an acquaintance - we have
mutual friends, and I was likely invited only because they were.

> Because maybe she's clueless but it wasn't intended to be hurtful or
> malicious? Her foot was in her mouth, but she obviously was a friend to
> begin with so why not give her a chance?

Again, she wasn't my friend. If she had been, it would have been a
different story altogether. I doubt she was intentionally
hurtful/malicious, more like insensitive and (arguably) just plain stupid.

> And... if I were a guest forced to witness someone putting on their coat
> and leaving mid meal, it would ruin the entire evening for me also. I
> think that's a bit extreme, especially as I would hope it is a
> misunderstanding not a deliberate attempt to be hurtful.

I would not ever have done that, it would have compounded an
already-uncomfortable situation. "Discretion ... better part of valor" and
all that.

TammyM