Anita Chaudhuri
Recently, a woman in my Pilates class invited me to a local drinks party. It was a very casual ‘drop in any time after 6pm’ invitation. My first mistake was to take these instructions literally. I turned up at 6.15pm wearing jeans and a baggy jumper, and there was only one other guest in the room. Everything about this stranger was immaculate – from the roots of her perfectly coiffed blonde hair to the pointy toes of her designer boots.
My hostess beamed at us both. ‘Ah Anita, meet X, she’s from Glasgow, too.’ Without thinking, I said, ‘Ha ha, you’d better lock up your wine then.’ Silence. The blonde looked daggers at me, so I stared at the floor until more guests arrived. Of course, by now I was feeling really uncomfortable. The socially intelligent thing would have been to transcend the awkwardness and carry on. Alas, that’s not what I did. Instead, I swigged two large glasses of wine and proceeded to repeat my, ‘Ha ha, better lock up your wine’ anecdote to other guests. I felt wrong-footed, on edge and, if I’m being honest, on dismally familiar ground.