It's so difficult to get a nice picture of Grandson these days, or at least it is if I use my phone, which has a crucial half-second delay between my pressing the button and its actually taking the photo. During this half second, Grandson, who has been flashing me a delightful smile, usually zooms off. Alternatively, I'm rushing so fast to capture the magic that the photo's blurry. In the above case, Grandson is still posing nicely but Granddaughter suddenly appears to be worrying about the rising cost of fuel. But I'm sure that Nanny and Gramps in Worcester will like to see this picture anyway. They read my blog for such photos, not for images of slightly wonky patchwork.
Tony the Painter, Michael 1 and Michael 2 (his principal assistants) and Cameron (his occasional assistant) have finished painting the outside of the house. They've made a lovely job of it. Now that they've gone we feel able to sit doing the crossword without worrying that a hardworking man may suddenly pop up at a window and make us feel like bloated plutocrats at our ease. Those who've heard about Tony previously may recollect that he suffers from name-blindness (is there such a syndrome?). He has a tendency to call me Mrs McDonald (not my name) or Mrs McMillan (no, still not). After a while he started to address Mr L as Bill (no). He addressed the invoice to Mr and Mrs Robson (no).
It's a whole different life: Mrs Bill Robson. The name isn't totally unlike that of Mr L's uncle and there are faint hints of Mr L's name in it but... .
(I wonder what his assistants' names really are. They may not be Michael, Michael and Cameron at all.)
No-one in England ever gets our surname right - fine in Scotland, and even in Wales where it's the name of a famous boxer, but here I spend a lot of time spelling it and wondering whether it's worth correcting pronunciation. We recently had a quote for some work to Mr and Mrs Er? Perhaps we don't really exist at all!
ReplyDeleteWell, the price of petrol is going up, you know.....what is it with some people that they can't be bothered getting names right?
ReplyDeleteLovely photo. I used to know a Bill Robson when we lived in Northumberland!
ReplyDeleteOh, my other-life husband. Would he have been a good choice?
ReplyDeleteBloated plutocrats. That made me smile. I feel exactly the same when I have people working for me. Never mind that I am not a qualified electrician or plumber and could hardly be expected to do what they are doing, for myself. My own mundane business of the day seems so puny though and I feel conspicuously idle even if I am snatching a quick lunch break. I have to confess to being guilty of calling one of my regular employees Chris when I know perfectly well that his name is Peter. It just stuck at the critical moment when I was committing his name to memory. Other people call me Cecile though. Quite a different person. Prettier I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm guilty of getting names wrong and Ken is just as bad. We got a quote to replace our gas fire last week, and the man in the shop came out to our house to measure up. Ken said his name was Kristin or Christian, so that's what we called him until I noticed his name on the quote - 'Kevin'. I apologised and he just laughed, but I felt like a goose.
ReplyDeleteWe are having our house painted soon by one man who is the father of one of my friends. He is about the same age as Ken, and knowing he could not possibly do it himself Ken is having doubts about this bloke being able to! I said "He doesn't have heart and lung disease, he'll be fine".
You are SO funny! What a great pastime -- we must sit around and imagine our lives with another name. Naturally, I'll be picking out a good Scottish name!
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