The Art of Saying 'No'
"Admittedly it’s thin, but there is definitely a silver lining to the pandemic: for the best part of a year we have all been granted a bulletproof excuse to turn down pretty much any invitation, and I, for one, am grateful. Before long, however, we will need to restart the excuse generator and begin declining things awkwardly again. For that reason I want to revisit a subject I’ve touched on before, and have gathered together a list of knock-backs pulled from the letters of others. Some are tactful and eloquent; others are entirely free of both. All are admirable."
Thank you for your invitation to host a fundraising dinner in the private room of a top London restaurant.
I would rather die.
Harold Pinter | Letter to Tom Stoppard, 2001
Thank you for your letter of 10th January. I would be useless at this debate primarily because I have been dead for 24 years now. Apart from that, I hate scientists and I hate artists. In fact, I hate everybody including you, do tell them that is why I’m not at the debate.
Spike Milligan | Letter to Cameron Robson, 1990
Article: I Hate Everybody, Including You