Tuesday 13 October 2009

Chat

The scene:
Friday morning, London bus to Camden.

Characters
:
Pinolona's brother (bearded, sensitive type, good bone structure, encyclopaedic knowledge of contemporary music) and Pinolona's dad (Conservative councillor, pensioner, very little hair, propensity to sing Lehar).

A pretty girl squeezes onto the bus, struggling to control an enormous circus whip.

Being well-schooled in the Art of Good Chat, Dad offers to help, strikes up a conversation and within about ten minutes has discovered that the girl is a dresser, the whip is for a photo shoot and she's trying to build up a professional portfolio to further her career.

Brother is awestruck.

Some time later, Dad and Brother step off the bus at Camden Market.

Dad: Well? Didn't you get her number? No?! Do I have to do everything for you?

Strolls away humming 'Lolo, Dodo, Jou-jou... Frou-frou, Clo-clo, Margot...'

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That shows how uselesss are contemporary young mens!

pinolona said...

Exactly.

What it actually shows is that my generation has lost the ability to be open and friendly towards other people, in a non-threatening way.

What I admire about my Dad is his natural curiosity about other people and his ability to put them at their ease. I wish they had taught that sort of thing at my school.