After the depressing week I have had I decided to go to Saumur to drink coffee with a group of friends. There was no-one there when I arrived, which is unusual, but after about 15 minutes Catarina, an Italian, came bustling in. 'Something terrible has happened, Peter took a fall and was rushed to the hospital. He came back yesterday and last night he fell again', she said breathlessly while ordering a coffee in Italian. The waitress shrugged. You get all sorts in here, I could see her thinking. One after another other members of the group arrived and Catarina, now in full flow imparted her grave news to one and all, muddling her languages, talking English to the French, French to the Americans and Italian to anybody at the surrounding tables, in the hope perhaps that the odd Italian may have strayed in from the street. I have never seen so many puzzled faces in my life and although I was concerned for our friend Peter, I couldn't keep the smile of my face.
The waitress served coffee to everyone, whether they wanted it or not, and the description of Peter's fall grew into something Trump does when he is talking about the thousands, millions even, of people pouring into the States from Mexico all intent on murdering and pillaging and selling drugs to the unsuspecting Americans.
Then Peter's son walked in and said Peter was at home watching television and feeling much better. He repeated it in French and Caterina translated it into Italian for the benefit of the bewildered people at the next table. Why would anyone want to leave the European Union when they have all this, I thought as I battled my way against the icy wind to cross the bridge.
The waitress served coffee to everyone, whether they wanted it or not, and the description of Peter's fall grew into something Trump does when he is talking about the thousands, millions even, of people pouring into the States from Mexico all intent on murdering and pillaging and selling drugs to the unsuspecting Americans.
Then Peter's son walked in and said Peter was at home watching television and feeling much better. He repeated it in French and Caterina translated it into Italian for the benefit of the bewildered people at the next table. Why would anyone want to leave the European Union when they have all this, I thought as I battled my way against the icy wind to cross the bridge.
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