Overfamiliarity

There is such a thing as being over familiar with someone. For example, the ladies in the supermarket queue in front of you comparing the relative merits of their monthly cycles. Or the lady in the bank who insists on telling the cashier about all 15 of her nieces and nephews, despite the bank seeming to have laid-off all but one employee, who is now left manning every branch of said bank on their own.

Then there is the local curry house recognising you from not only your order, but from your voice on the phone.

Chicken saag, chicken tikka masala (a speciality of the house, no less), egg fried rice, boiled rice and 4 onion bhajis in case you’re wondering.

Despite there only being 5,000 residents of my chosen locale, there are 8 pubs and 3 curry houses. And I only frequent one of each. My choice of pub is easily explained by its Suffolk-brew Greene King on tap and the fact that its gentleman’s convenience not only is called ‘gentleman’s louvre’ and is adorned with oil paintings in every available crevice, it also has a sideboard in it.

My choice of curry house is less obvious. At first I thought it was the large-print picture of Princess Anne greeting the owner that sits proudly over the fireplace. Then I thought it was the way it is a hive of activity with waiters running everywhere even when it only has 2 people dining. Then I started to dig deeper. I think really, if I were to really put my finger on it, it would be the fact it is in a very old building which before becoming a curry house was ye olde town inn. Better still, before that it was an apothecary which later served as home and office of Dr Edward Jenner (he of vaccinations fame). He cured cowpox in that very building, and I like seeing the cows on the common. There’s a tenous connection there. Honest.

So there you have it. I get my curry from an apothecary, and it weaves its spell on me.

Maybe we’ll exchange Christmas cards this year. Maybe we’ll talk about the old days in 10 years time, leaning over the bar, standing on the same paisley carpet.

Maybe there isn’t such a thing as over familiarity after all.  Or am I just convincing myself to buy more curry?