So, there I was in Oddbins on my way home, chatting to the girl behind the counter. She asked what I had on my iPod, and I replied that I was listening to Asian Kung-fu Generation, a CD picked up whilst visiting my brother in Tokyo.
“Oh yes? What’s he doing there?”, she said
“He teaches English, and gets paid very well for it by all accounts.”
“Cool. I had a friend that did that for a while, too. She’s back now, though.”
“Awesome. My brother’s still there and loving it, so far as I can tell.” – and by this point I’d got my change so I said goodbye and left.
About five minutes later I remembered that one of the people I’d met (for “met”, read “gone to a karaoke place and got horribly drunk with and sung bad songs until the early hours of the morning with”) there was a friend of my brothers – also an English teacher, who also lived in Chorlton when she lived in England, and apparently was now living in England again. Of course, by now it was far too late to go back and find out if it was the same person or not, but, y’know, it could very well be.
Of course, the only way I can find out now is by going back into Oddbins on the offchance the same girl is working there so I can ask. So, yes. I’m not an alcoholic. It’s just rude to go into a shop and not buy anything. Right? Right.
Which Oddbins was it?