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The other day, I was defrosting a Tesco meal with one hand, feeding the dog with the other and yelling up the stairs to my son that supper was on the tray (I've finally conceded that lone teenagers and tables don't mix) when the phone rang
A voice that I fail to recognise, asks in a cheery tone if that's me.
Since the caller is using my first name in a rather chummy way, my first thought was that it's a long-lost friend, of whom I have many, since – along with several other working mums – I don't have much time to socialise any more.
So I make the mistake of agreeing that yes, it is me or at least it was, the last time I looked in the mirror when I was smearing on the pile cream in an attempt to reduce my eye bags. Upon which the caller turned out not to be a long lost friend after all but a rather
desperate sounding young thing who hoped I'd like to upgrade my current telephone scheme.
Why is it that a) these companies always ring at a time when you're trying to find the tin opener and b) you feel almost rude in telling them that actually, this isn't a very convenient moment? It was the same the other day with the electricity man. 'Someone knocked on the door just now to say we might be paying too much and he's going to try and reduce our bills,' piped up my teenager optimistically. 'I told him to call back later.'
Of course, he rang the bell just when the phone
went. This time it was a squeaky sounding man asking if I wanted to pay 30 a year to protect me against card fraud.
I declined, put the phone down, had second thoughts (what if I lose my Laura Ashley card?) and only then realised the electricity man was still hovering on the doorstep.
For a minute, I almost
wavered.
After all, the poor boy looked cold and he had come back at my son's suggestion. Perhaps he could write instead?
Write! His face fell a mile and that's when I realised. No one likes writing any more. They prefer cold calling when it's tin opener time. But if you politely suggest they put pen to paper instead, they can't scarper fast enough. Now all I have to do is get rid of the leaflets which keep blocking my letterbox.
In the meantime, would the cold caller from the
card fraud people, please ring me back?
l For details of Jane's 'How to write a novel
or short story' visit www.
sophieking.info
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
