Letter to our resident agony aunt

Dear aunt Taragony

Can you help me? I have been married for some years to the younger son of some quite wealthy people. All was well with us initially but then, my husband started gambling heavily and we lost our house and had to go elsewhere. My husband had to change jobs and, because of the current economic problems, he could not get a job in his old profession. So he became a tenant farmer and started keeping sheep - a particular breed, known for their fine wool.

The problem is this: These rare sheep do not yield a lot of wool and the terms of our tenancy force my husband to give one large sack of the wool to his landlord, another to the landlord's wife and yet a third to their son who lives in quite a grand house just down the lane on the estate. The drain on our revenue is such that we have a very hard time making ends meet. What shall we do?

Penelope




Dear Penelope,

I do really sympathise with your predicament. Your husband was clearly badly advised when he signed the tenancy agreement with his landlord. No competent conveyancing lawyer would countenance such harsh terms. I think your only solution is to diversify and maybe to keep some other farm animals. Some goats for milking or perhaps, angora rabbits which are known as good little breeders. Perhaps also, to get you out of your financial hole, you could do some b & b. But the most important advice I can give you for the future is: Always read the small print.

Aunt Taragony