A friend rang the other day, 'Hello' he said.
'If my missus rings I was out with you at the weekend, we were in the Ambassador Club playing blackjack until 4am'
It got worse.....
' Your name is Steve and you work for ABN Ambro and you're trying to head hunt me.'
'OK' I said.
'Oh yes, and you're a Geordie'
All I could think to say was 'How much did I win?!!!'
Luckily I never got a call but it made me wonder about mates and favours, and just being there really. What is acceptable to ask of a mate, and what is thought to be crossing the line? The example above probably gives a clue. If you would do something for a friend, you would hope, or even expect, that friend to do the same for you, otherwise we would all end up living in a one way street.
Fear not for my safety though, my philandering days are well behind me.......
Great favours or support always stay with me. I had tremendous support when my first marriage fell apart, particularly from Stu, of cardiac climb fame. I have not needed to provide that sort of support to him or any other mates, in return, but having a house with a few spare rooms has allowed me to take in a few waifs and strays when the situation called for it. Indeed if there was a Blue Plaque on my wall for everyone who had been in residence, the house would look like a game of Connect 4!
Two in particular were nightmare tenants as they seemed to have a fear of the dark and needed company, any company, to get them through the night. They were not usually there at the same time though, that would have just been carnage!
Going back to the phone call though, it was a bit unfortunate it was on speaker phone with my missus sitting in the passenger seat, she now thinks men are far bigger rats than she always imagined.
To quote Reg Smythe; ' No man is a hero to his missus, not because the hero is no hero, but because the missus is a missus.'
'If my missus rings I was out with you at the weekend, we were in the Ambassador Club playing blackjack until 4am'
It got worse.....
' Your name is Steve and you work for ABN Ambro and you're trying to head hunt me.'
'OK' I said.
'Oh yes, and you're a Geordie'
All I could think to say was 'How much did I win?!!!'
Luckily I never got a call but it made me wonder about mates and favours, and just being there really. What is acceptable to ask of a mate, and what is thought to be crossing the line? The example above probably gives a clue. If you would do something for a friend, you would hope, or even expect, that friend to do the same for you, otherwise we would all end up living in a one way street.
Fear not for my safety though, my philandering days are well behind me.......
Great favours or support always stay with me. I had tremendous support when my first marriage fell apart, particularly from Stu, of cardiac climb fame. I have not needed to provide that sort of support to him or any other mates, in return, but having a house with a few spare rooms has allowed me to take in a few waifs and strays when the situation called for it. Indeed if there was a Blue Plaque on my wall for everyone who had been in residence, the house would look like a game of Connect 4!
Two in particular were nightmare tenants as they seemed to have a fear of the dark and needed company, any company, to get them through the night. They were not usually there at the same time though, that would have just been carnage!
Going back to the phone call though, it was a bit unfortunate it was on speaker phone with my missus sitting in the passenger seat, she now thinks men are far bigger rats than she always imagined.
To quote Reg Smythe; ' No man is a hero to his missus, not because the hero is no hero, but because the missus is a missus.'
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