"Isn't it"
A while ago, before the wife and I were married, we decided to take some dance classes - nothing amazing, just so we could do a little waltz, as opposed the usual, grab-arse-and-rotate shamble - especially as we were at a posh venue and had made the effort to look nice.

With this in mind, we found a local class, run by an old biddy who certainly knew her stuff, and went to a few sessions.

The clientele were mainly middle-aged couples looking for a hobby, but there were another few couples of nearly-weds trying desperately to learn their left foot from their right before they got hitched and it was a very friendly atmosphere.

Each evening was broken into two halves, with a traditional (waltz/foxtrot, etc) half then a latin half (which we tended to duck out of), separated by a break for tea, biscuits and a brief chat.

There was one fellow, who must have been in his forties, who cycled to each session, wearing an anorak and the sort of shoes you see advertised at 2 for the price of 1 on the back of magazines - grey, leatherette lace-up things. Kiddy-fiddler shoes, as I think of them. The sort of footwear worn solely by the clergy and the mentally deficient. It was into this category that "Isn't it" fell, I think.

He was pleasant enough, in a desperate needy sort of way, usually dancing with whichever old dear was free while their husband took a break, but it was during the tea break that he came into his own. He'd prowl around the various groups of people, trying to get into conversations, but it was obvious that he had no social skills at all. Instead of conversing normally, he'd no vigorously at everything anyone said, whilst making loud affirmative noises, then when they'd finished, merely repeat their last sentence, adding the phrase "isn't it?" to the end. When people stopped to hear what he as going o say next, he'd simply turn on his heel and wander off to the next group.

Odd, but harmless. Well, that's unless they find a dozen schoolgirls bricked into his bedroom walls...
(Chad, Fri 31 Oct 2008, 14:29, 1 reply)

sort of reminds me
of an elderly couple I met when I briefly had a job delivering large electrical appliances for a company whose name sounds a exactly like Transco. The lady was quite interested to have a nice young man to talk to, tea and cakes and all that. The man kept trying to second guess my answers to her questions. E.g.: "do you have a girlfriend?", he'd get in a "yes" before I did. So I started forming my mouth to look like I was about to say "no" then say "yes" and vice versa, if you see what I mean, to trick him. Great fun.
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Fri 31 Oct 2008, 14:45, closed)