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It was very noisy, at least forty people in there all yammering. It was hard to hear, even the company at my table, let alone any others. So naturally I assumed we were sealed off in sound walls, like wooded partitioned Chinese restaurant nooks, when I said to my friends, stated to all around the table, as we were telling travel stories, a taboo of some sort.
The whole place stopped dead. Silent night. The un-sound specific. Apparently the verbal taboo was hanging in the middle of the room like smoke in late afternoon sunlight, and it was of my-speak. Oooops. Did I say something wrong ? I'm just a visitor here, an idiot really, watch my head swivel there. So the vacuum uncommon, lasted and who knew what was coming next. I seemed to be in trouble. Were these fighting words ? Was I in trouble here ? But actually my ut-oh flash wonderments were cut-short to the quick, when the English woman of the couple I was with, began a harangue, which turned to a lecture, and then a moralist dirge.
First she bawled them out up and be listening to a private conversation of visiting guests, and she blustered with indignation at the complete lack of regard for the sanctity of privacy. At least can someone visit without a confession and conversion at the door - and oh, sorry I am not of your faith. Then she ratcheted on them for awhile : "What are you doing listening to our conversation ? Don't you have any manners ? Were you born just-yesterday", accent and all. I am going to speculate here, the accent London - wonder if it could be chased, right down to the neighborhood of rearing.
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