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Article: The Temp: Permission to tell jokes, sir?
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- December 2, 1998
CopyrightCopyright 1998 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IT'S 7.30. Beardman approaches the bar and I start grinding my
teeth.
"Evening, guv," says Mike, and, as usual, receives no response.
Mike grins and buries his nose in his lager. Beardman arrives.
"Hello," I say. "What can I get you?" I've tried every way I can
think of to circumvent his next sentence but, as it's probably the
only thing he says to anyone all day, or maybe because it takes such
an effort of will to speak to a relative stranger like me in the
first place, nothing is going to stop him getting the full sentence
out. I've tried "Hi there, the usual?" and even "Hello, pint of
lager and lime and a slimline bitter lemon, is it?" but all I've had
in return is "Thaat's roight. A ...