Welcome to my world.....

..it's a bit late really, to welcome my regular readers to my world....but sometimes I think I do inhabitat a parallel universe..strange things just happen to me!

Take last Thursday..oh, this involves two friends, DS and DC, neither of home I have seen for weeks..really...then, like buses, two come along at once..anyway, there I was happily working on Thursday afternoon, when I get a text from DC, saying he is in St Albans having finished a meeting early, and would I like a tea break to catch up and chat? Never knowingly one to refuse a tea break, I agree to meet in 'the usual place', ie Puccinos, round the corner, where I am rather well known as a regular. I am there at least once a week, occasionally more: last two recent visits were with Caroline and Laura.

So I set off to Puccinos, laughing to myself, because as it happens, I had lunch in there with DS, not two hours before. And I had had a laugh with two of the lovely waiters - as I paid the bill, I noticed, because nothing gets past me, that one glanced at me, said something to the other, he glanced at me and both smiled. It was fleeting, a nano second, but I Noticed. Given that they are not English, I didn't know what was said, so I challenged my waiter. 'Was he rude just then?' Smirk. 'No.' 'Come on, what did he say?' Silence. 'What did he say about me?' DS starts to get nervous, sally is not going to let this go. Waiters look at each other and smirk. (What do you think they said? Before I tell you.....make a mental note and see if you guess correctly....)

'We are Czech, and he said that you look like the wife of the Czech prime minister.' Well either it was true or he was a bloody quick thinker. I am trying to find pictures of her..no luck so far........

So in I walk, meeting DC at the door, and I say, 'Hi guys, long time no see,' to the smiling waiters, and DC says, 'My turn to come in for tea with her this time', knowing I have been recently with C and L.' Of course smirking Czech people know better, and ok, they are probably thinking, what a tart.

Anyway, we sit on the sofa, which is happily free, and I turn to DC and say, I've been thinking. Thinking what dear, he says, in anticipation of me sharing my innermost thoughts. 'I've been thinking, I probably look like the wife of the Czech prime minister.' Stunned silence. Mouth open a bit. 'Ummmm..pardon?' I repeat it, and then he laughs, and looks at me like I am mad, and says, 'Where did that come from?' 'I don't know, I just think I might.' DC studies the menu, half laughing and actually, on a rare occasion for him, lost for words. How does he respond to this?

The waiter comes up for our order..(is he still smirking?) DC orders a latte. 'I'll have a cafe creme..and shall I ask him, he might know if I'm right.' 'What?' says DC..'How...' 'Excuse me,' I say, 'Do you think I look like the wife of the Czech prime minister?' ''Yes, definitely,' says Czech waiter and departs with our order, grinning.

'Told you', I say. DC looks like he really has tipped up in a parallel universe and he doesn't know what to do. This tea break was not normal. By which time I could not keep up casual strangeness, and have to collapse, confessing I was in here two hours ago, and telling him about the earlier conversation.

And I'm not sure the bruises are going to heal......