But I'm afraid I think we're living in an increasingly litigious age.
Five years ago it was an apocryphal story but I'm afraid today it's a parable.
But I'm afraid his curling leaves a great deal to be desired.
"I asked Mars to explore all options to try and keep the factory open, but I'm afraid the decision has been taken, " he said.
BBC: Peterborough Mars Petcare's 82 staff lose jobs in closure
But I'm afraid there's little in the trade numbers from the past few months to suggest we're about to export our way out of economic stagnation.
And I'm hoping that this could work, but I'm really afraid that this would not work.
"I was the woman with the strength of seven men, but now I'm afraid if I stumble, I'll fall, " says 49-year-old Akhtar Bibi, invoking a local proverb.
We face many dangerous threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them.
" (There might be a statute of limitations problem here.) "I can't tell you how that's going to play out, " Greenberg says, "but I'm not afraid of him.
"It would be easy to call it the best British musical since Billy Elliot, but that, I'm afraid, would be underselling it, " said Richard Zoglin in TIME Magazine.
BBC: Matilda's 'marvellous' Broadway debut hailed by critics
I'm afraid to admit it, but I certainly had a spoiled childhood, especially when it came to toys and electronics.
But with this sword hanging over my head, I'm afraid to use my resources to buy more equipment or hire more people.
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne said he welcomed the thrust of the government's plans to simplify the tax system, but he said "today's announcement, I'm afraid, sounds rather more like an attempt to grab headlines than real evidence of a push to improve legislation".
But if I'm not worried about the Y2K bug, I'm deathly afraid of Y2K hysteria.
"I'm afraid Liam won't reap those rewards on Monday but he will certainly gain an insight into the esteem in which he is held in Ballymena, " he added.
BBC: Liam Neeson to receive freedom of Ballymena award later
But when it comes to the gloomy reality facing the UK over the next few years, I'm afraid the chancellor and his opponent are more or less agreed.
应用推荐