Babs. Thank you! I’ve just read your comment to F and (after nearly choking he was laughing so much) he says he completely understands how you felt. His first wife was hawaiian but her parents were Japanese (complicated story). Anway, the first big meeting between the two sets of parents (F and first wifes) was at a formal dinner. So they have a couple of drinks beforehand and then a couple of drinks during the meal and each time they raise their glass in a “cheers”. And F’s dad used his usual toast which is “chin chin” - turns out that chin chin in Japanese is one of the pet ways of describing female genitalia…ouch!

Herebe - fuck off - you’re just jealous….

And they’ve been joined at the lip and hip ever since. It’s disgusting. For the love of the children get married and start spitting out kids. I can’t - I’m between partners again - and it’s ages since we had a good party. As for the kids, I need something to torture and cats are too independently minded.

I feel your pain with the accents–two years in Chicago hanging out with my Bosnian friends was sometimes nerve-wracking just trying to understand them, and hoping I’d properly understood what they were saying. I’d sometimes say ‘Oh I gotcha’ as in I understood, and wondered why I was getting funny looks. Then I discovered that ‘Gotcha’–to them, was underwear.

Also–C sounds like a French Felix–god help this world!!