Asked by a surgeon the other day if I was the same age as a colleague of his who is actually several years older than me. I’m not a vain or shallow person ahem but I do pride myself on looking younger than my years (or I did, anyway, until now). I bet he thinks I look older because English people, such as himself, don’t suffer sun damage the way we do here (i.e. it rains all the time over there, you loser!). I would have said it to him right then and there except I only just thought of that witty riposte just now. Isn’t that always the way?
To be fair, a few years ago, this same surgeon, when I told him in outraged accents that our patient had asked me, when I was wearing my (previously) favourite dress, whether I was pregnant or not, merely shrugged his shoulders and said “Oh yes? And are you?” Clearly he’s a far too busy and important man to bother with the social graces.