Dear Queenie,
I don’t like talking to my husband’s family about anything personal because they are gossipy people and whatever I tell them will get spread all over the island, especially now with “social media”. But if I don’t talk to them about what I’ve been doing they tell me not to be so “stuck-up”.
Queenie, how can I avoid telling them what I’ve been doing without them getting vexed?—Fed up with gossip
Dear Fed up,
Tell them all the little stuff that really does not matter to you, like a new recipe you tried out and liked or a new place you found to shop for clothes (the proprietor surely will appreciate the word-of-mouth advertising).
Beyond that, just change the subject by asking them about themselves – surely they will be delighted to bend your ear with all that gossip and you might even learn something about them worth knowing.
