Am I distressed that my gentle scam is leading friends to ruin?
As much as profit, English seapower was on his mind, and accordingly Leicester became a friend and leading supporter of Dom António, the exiled claimant to the Portuguese throne after 1580.
He has already swum the Straits of Gibraltar and the Channel, as well as cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats, all for charity, leading his friend and stalwart swim supporter, the comedian Jimmy Carr, to comment he was "turning charitable endeavour into a personality disorder".
Verlaine was full of contradictions - by turns wildly exalted and deeply depressed, leading one friend to remark that he was both a clown and an undertaker.
They are attacked by more ninja, and Zatch rigs their house to explode, leading their friend Iggy into believing that when he says "What If" whatever he says comes true.
I actually kissed my current girlfriend for the first time at Union Pool, leading my friend Laura Stevenson of the fantastic band Laura Stevenson and the Cans to tell me "You're the first person I've ever met who made out with someone at Union Pool and actually talked to them afterwards".
Gently leading your friend to draw their own conclusions will be the most effective method for encouraging their commitment.
Not only does this sound discouraging to someone who is having difficulty dealing with the blues, but it can also have an added, negative effect of making you appear insensitive and unsupportive, possibly leading your friend to stop listening to you or coming to you for help.
In one of her last "Epistle to Friends" (1698), Fell sternly warns against the dangers of leading young Friends into "the observation of outward things".
But he said isolation, despair and lack of opportunity were leading many friends down the wrong path.
