SomersetClive’s Agony Aunt, Horace Monsoon, is here to help another Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) resident with a troubling problem.
Dear errrrm Horace,
I errrm need your errrrm advice. My life is errrrm currently being made miserable by errrm two women. They are errrrm very dominant and whilst I’m errrm sure that some men may find that errrrm attractive, I am errrrm scared witless.
They errrrm don’t seem to errrrm respect my authority and have errrrm both forgotten that I’m errrrm supposed to be the one in errrm charge.
They constantly go behind my errrrm back, and refuse to errrm discuss things with me but errrrm instead make decisions on their errrrm own.
I’m not a very errrrm confident man, and errrrm these two women seem to errrrm thing they can use my inability to errrm stand up for myself as a errrm reason to do what they errrrm want without the need for errrm consultation.
One of them believes that her errrm position as Town errrrm Mayor means that sge us errrm in charge of everything and errrm everyone. How can I errrrm make her understand that errrrm I am my Party Group Leader and am therefore errrrm in charge of our errrrm decisions?
The other one also errrrm believes that she errrm doesn’t have to errrrm consult people before errrrm doing something. I keep errrrm banging on about how we errrm believe in ‘Open, Honest and errrm Transparent’ governance, but she keeps making a errrm mockery of this by making decisions without errrrm telling anyone.
Please errrrm help.
Thank errrrm you
WetFish
Dear WetFish,
I must admit I’m finding your problem completely alien to me. I have never had a problem with confidence and am the most self-assured person I know.
I don’t really know what to advise. Perhaps you could try a course in Assertion Techniques? If you can pluck up the courage to enter the classroom.
The only other thing I can suggest is that you GROW A PAIR. Stop mumbling, man. Speak up. Stand up for yourself. How can you be so terrified of a couple of women? They aren’t Maggie Thatcher, are they? (God rest her soul). No. They are a couple of ex-Teachers turned BeFuddled Party members. What’s the worst they can do?
I know the thought of being put in detention is quite scary, but it’s not as if you’ll be left alone in a room in the dark, forced to listen to the Town Mayor’s Reports on repeat. I hope you won’t anyway, no one deserves that.
The next time they talk over you, raise your voice. It’s possible that they may not have realised that you were talking in the first place.
Good luck.
Horace.