The other side

Having berated people for not talking to me, I found myself in another position entirely yesterday evening, in The Cardinal in Victoria. A friend, Ben, and I were sharing a few drinks at the bar and a man began hovering behind us. He was quite tall, gangly perhaps, and had thick NHS style glasses, though they obviously weren't actual NHS glasses, more 'NHS chic'. Ben and I continued to chat, and he continued to hover, until, staring intently at the bar, he shoved his head into the space directly between Ben and me. We stopped talking. After a few seconds, the man, a very drunk Australian, explained. He was having difficulty reading the names of the beers at the bar.

Recovering quickly from the wierdness of the situation, Ben and I retired to a table, where we dined. Later, Ben encountered said Australian. By this time, not only was he having difficulty reading, he was also having some difficulty standing, from Ben's report. Maybe alcohol has its place as a social lubricant. Maybe in the chip shop on Wednesday I should have bought everyone a beer.