Former colleague: Can you get out for drinks on Friday night?
Me: No, sorry, I’m going to French karaoke at the Alliance with Mr. Waffle and the kids.
Him: You win being middle-class.
It was quite good actually. We sang a song (La Mer– it sounded exactly like it does in the video at the link) and if herself hadn’t been ill with a cold and Michael hadn’t spent the evening with his fingers in his ears and his head on the table, I think we could have ranked it among our successes.