I lent a friend a tenner last Friday, as he had lost his own tenner and had no taxi fare. He paid me back today, but he also told me that last Saturday morning he had found the lost tenner in his jacket pocket. Why then, I asked, had he not paid me back last week? He said I was being "bogus" and should be happy he paid me back at all.

Which brings us back to these questions. Friendship. Character. Ethics. Did I not have a right to expect repayment?