Yesterday, The Rotten Correspondent related a very funny embarassing moment tale. I thought about relating some of mine but I've never been the kind of person that likes to make themselves look like an idiot. I do it by default on many an occasion but I'm not comfortable doing things that will make people laugh at me. It sounds ridiculous and over the last few years I have tried to relax myself over this and not get into a panic if I'm in danger of having to do something that might make me look ridiculous.
Then last night one of those default moments occurred.
I needed eggs and I needed parsley for a recipe I was trying for dinner. Not having either in the house and not wanting to go to a supermarket just for two things, I went to our local shops instead. Now, our nearest local shops are in Wimbledon Village. For those of you that don't know, and I'm assuming that will be most of you, Wimbledon Village is a tad on the pretentious side. It purports to be a village but it is a village for the very rich. All the clothes shops are designer labels; Jaeger, Diane von Furstenberg etc. There are coffee shops and bistros and interior design shops, basically everything you need if you are a lady who lunches.
It's the sort of place that I usually only drive through or maybe stop to go to the bank. But I knew there was what I thought was a small grocery shop and I thought that would do as it was just for eggs and parsley. When I got into the shop it became very clear that this was not a small grocery shop. It was a very expensive delicatessen with a range of organic fruit and vegetables at the front of the store, which is what had thrown me.
I found some ordinary eggs amidst the sea of peeled quails eggs and other eggs from speciality breeds of hens and went in search of parsley. I found a pack of fresh Barley, Sage and Parsley. Now, I'm pretty much up on herbs but I'd never come across one called Barley before but.....well, it was that kind of shop and who was I to show my ignorance about a herb called Barley? So I picked it up and wandered over to the cash register to ask the assistant if they had any packs with just parsley.
"That is just Parsley, Madam"
"No, it's Barley, Sage and Parsley. I need just Parsley"
You know that moment when an assistant looks at you down a very long nose and you know you are about to be swimming way out of your depth?
"Madam, Barley and Sage is the name of the shop"
That was definitely one of those moments.
Then last night one of those default moments occurred.
I needed eggs and I needed parsley for a recipe I was trying for dinner. Not having either in the house and not wanting to go to a supermarket just for two things, I went to our local shops instead. Now, our nearest local shops are in Wimbledon Village. For those of you that don't know, and I'm assuming that will be most of you, Wimbledon Village is a tad on the pretentious side. It purports to be a village but it is a village for the very rich. All the clothes shops are designer labels; Jaeger, Diane von Furstenberg etc. There are coffee shops and bistros and interior design shops, basically everything you need if you are a lady who lunches.
It's the sort of place that I usually only drive through or maybe stop to go to the bank. But I knew there was what I thought was a small grocery shop and I thought that would do as it was just for eggs and parsley. When I got into the shop it became very clear that this was not a small grocery shop. It was a very expensive delicatessen with a range of organic fruit and vegetables at the front of the store, which is what had thrown me.
I found some ordinary eggs amidst the sea of peeled quails eggs and other eggs from speciality breeds of hens and went in search of parsley. I found a pack of fresh Barley, Sage and Parsley. Now, I'm pretty much up on herbs but I'd never come across one called Barley before but.....well, it was that kind of shop and who was I to show my ignorance about a herb called Barley? So I picked it up and wandered over to the cash register to ask the assistant if they had any packs with just parsley.
"That is just Parsley, Madam"
"No, it's Barley, Sage and Parsley. I need just Parsley"
You know that moment when an assistant looks at you down a very long nose and you know you are about to be swimming way out of your depth?
"Madam, Barley and Sage is the name of the shop"
That was definitely one of those moments.
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