Monday 30 May 2011

Things you hear when on your gardening rounds, Part One

I was in Amyl Hempstead on Saturday again, fancied a coke, so stopped at a shop in the Old Town (quite nice really, the Old Town, not the shop). While queuing the most beautiful girl walked in, early 20s I'd say, looked Thai to me. She was the kind of girl that makes everybody stop and I mean everybody, women too.


The whole queue watched as she walked by. Two women behind me, mid to late 40s sneered. The conversation went:


1st woman Too much make-up (not so, hardly any really)


2nd woman What's she doing over here anyway? (bearing in mind the shop we were in was what they euphemistically call in those parts "The Paki Shop", even though they were so obviously Indian)


1st woman Yeah, come over here, take our jobs (such a pointless cliche)


At this point I looked over my shoulder and shook my head, the shopkeeper raised his eyebrows when I looked back at him. I shrugged my shoulders.


1st woman She probably can't speak a word of the lingo


2nd woman Yeah and she probably works in the brothel up the road


Thai girl (in perfect English, with a slightly plummy accent) Excuse me, could you tell me where the washing up liquid is please?


It's times like this that make me so happy we do have the semblance of a multi-cultural society in Britain, however miniscule it may be. I'm not aware that there is a brothel in Hemel Old Town, but why did these meatheads assume this beautiful girl would work in one anyway? The fact she spoke such pristine English is by the by, but it was a lovely moment and made me and the shopkeeper rather happy for just a short while!


Happy integration...


PS: Just up the road from the Old Town high street is a little area festooned with union flags and St George's crosses. It also had a flag that looked like a St George's cross with a double cross of gold on the inside. Parked outside one of the houses was a BNP van. Sad...