It's difficult because people keep leaving, or proving themselves a worse version than I'd thought. It's made the optimism challenging, for sure.
I knew it! I could have put good money on you being English, too. See, and I find that interesting. Maybe it's just my family and my experience growing up, but I find that false apologies aren't so prevalent as false politeness amongst our kind.
That's both kind and generous of you, and although I beg to differ, we'll most likely never get the truth.
Oh, I have ideas aplenty. Whether they're good ones, both morally and otherwise, remains to be seen.
You can ask for anything you like, I think. Is that what'd make you happiest, helping out your friend?