As is his wont on Sunday afternoons, Ajith arrived promptly at 4.45pm to take me to the English language mass at the Infant Jesus Church on the edge of the High Court precinct. We were treated to an American English mass today, courtesy of a visiting Bostonian priest, who offered us another variation on the pronunciation of "God", "body" and such, in what was an otherwise simple and moving experience.
Again, as is our wont after mass, Ajith took me for a "mini" shop, as we tried to find a nailbrush (I wash after every meal (and before every meal) of course, but I find that, no matter how hard I try to get those last crumbs and stains out of the fingernails, I'm not able to do so). Ajith expected it would be the case, and it was the case, that we weren't able to get such a "special lady's tool" at a mere supermarket, but I did pick up a few other bits and pieces (including the mossie zapper refills that are so necessary for dealing with the time between about 6pm and 8pm each evening).
As usual, I was in a calm and reflective mood after mass but my antennae were sent bristling by the furtive behaviour of the cashier who tried to give me Rs.119 instead of Rs.129, hoping I wouldn't notice. I quietly questioned the change and she immediately apologised for her "gaff". All she needed to do was give me the Rs.10 and I would be on my way, but it was turned into a saga which included an attempt to give me a new receipt with the Rs.10 deducted to match the amount in my hand. I stood my ground requesting and eventually demanding the correct change so that I could be on my way. What a fuss over 30c you might say, dear reader, and I guess it was. As I said to Ajith in the car, if you're going to try and "diddle" people, do it big! I gather though, if the cashier can manage Rs.10 here and Rs.5 there, it all adds up.
We then drove down the "ladies street" to the shop Ajith hoped was open, and it was. Here we entered the shop of carefully ordered "ladies items" (again, apparently men have no use for a nail brush). We found a nail brush easily with the shop assistant, who then went looking for another (presumably more expensive) and was "deaf" to my pleas that the one he had originally located was fine and I didn't need another (yes, all the shop assistants here in the ladies' shop were polite not unattractive young men ... go figure). Then it was would you like a hair brush, sir? One look at my photo will tell you how unnecessary one of those is, so I'm not sure whether he was looking for an additional sale or just taking the mickey (having a joke at my expense). Anyway, this was somewhat reminiscent of Little Britain and the "ladies", who do "ladies' things". A most peculiar evening, dear reader.
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4 comments:
Who would have guessed an Indian lady would try to gyp you! A contradiction in terms realyy. Are you sure she wasn't from somewhere south west of Israel?
A fuss over 30c? I wouldn't have expected anything less from a Scot.
Hooray! My first comment! I know other people have been reading the blog and commenting to me by email and other means, but it's good to get comments logged here as well - that's the whole idea of a blog?
So my brother Artie reckons that's nothing less that he would have expected from a Scot - and rightly so! I would have done the same if he'd been there as well - in fact, I reckon he would have yelling "you go for it laddie!" Heh heh.
Keep up the good work bro. We're all waiting for your next entry with bated (or is that baited?) breath.
Thanks Bro! You may regret that statement with the latest sets of postings (*grins*). Looking forward to catching up with you all at Christmas!
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