Group dinners or lunches can go either way. Once I went to a luncheon and everyone was talking about the scores their children received in their leaving school exams. There were a few bitchy comments made at which point I said I needed the bathroom. When I returned I told them I had just received a phone call from my sister who wanted me to babysit her kids ASAP, which was a complete lie. I just couldn’t sit there another second listening to the irritating conversation. I don’t think anyone believed me, but I didn’t care, sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do.