Dear Marjorie,

I have to say that after watching Hibs beat Dundee today, I'm not nearly so bothered about this as I was, but what I wanted help with is that a respectable Jambo friend of mine (at least i thought he was), called me a complete C*** on Saturday afternoon, and I'm afraid I might not be his friend any longer.

What happened was that his team didn't reach the top six of the SPFL, and when I found out I sent him the following:

Trying Not To Laugh Season 3 GIF by The Office.jpg

That's when he called me the 'C' word.

I said to him, that I was only indulging in the banter of friendly rivalry (as it seemed to me I'd taken a fair amount off him in the past); but he said 'You shouldn't kick a man when he's down'. I have to say, Marjorie, that that made me laugh even more but I thought better than to let him know that. Instead, I told him that I felt his pain, and tried to empathise with him, but I found that really difficult, if not impossible.

So. Marjorie. Maybe you can understand my problem and offer me some guidance? Do I persist in the 'banter of friendly rivalry' and risk losing him because he seems really upset? Or do I apologise to him even although I don't think I've done anything wrong - after all I'm not responsible for his team not being very good - in the hope that our friendship can be saved? I'm afraid that should I ever find myself in his company ever again, I won't be able to resist laughing at him - partly because he seemed to take it all so seriously and self-righteously; and it is just football after all.

I look forward to receiving your reply

Best from cloud nine in Leith