Why I was late"On the way to the station, I got hit by a bat, it almost took my head clean off. Then the machine would not accept my ticket and the guy at the gate didn't think I looked like the photo on my travel card. So I had to go home and get my passport.
Then the train was 45 minutes late to the station because of the dangerous badger threat at Carpenters Park.
When I was on the train it took and hour and a half to get past the biscuit factory because the driver was really fat.
Then there was a delay stopping at the station because the train in front had heard we were coming and decided to play a practical joke with a rubber shoe on the track.
That is why I couldn't get here on time today."
What's your best excuse?
(
chthonic, Thu 28 Jun 2007, 10:36)
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Greek timeDuring my time in Greece, I learned that lateness does not exist as a concept because punctality does not exist as a concept. It was impossible to arrange any kind of meeting - people would get edgy and nervous if you mentioned a specific time - as if agreeing to a time represented a blood oath or deal with the devil.
I once agreed to play pool with a Greek guy. He said he would pick me up in the town square at 7.00 and we would drive to the pool hall. I waited for two and ahalf hours in the rain before he turned up, and then he drove perhaps 20 metres to the pool place. My anger was a matter of amazement to him. Presumably, he expected me to add a couple of hours on to his time.
In Greece, even the TV news does not start on time. Films can be an hour later than in the listings (why bother with listings?) I have been to cinemas and theatres and seen people turn up over an hour into the performance. And yet the buses are virtually Swiss in their punctuality.
(, Fri 29 Jun 2007, 11:30, Reply)
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