In Paris, Invisible.

The weather is once again, in the interests of total accuracy, appalling.  

Sadly when there are places to go, things to do, people to see, one can't do hide in bed much beyond ten or so before the day starts to get away from one.    Even more sadly, if one has a job to go to, say in a telecommunications shop, or a consumer electronics store, one tends to really resent those who may have had the opportunity to do just that, apparently.

We timed our assault on the telephone shop until after lunch time, when staff should have been happy, and when perhaps we would be alone in daring to brave the by now torrential rain (and the appalled looks on the faces of Bill and Jane next door, who asked if there was anything they could do to help so that we didn't have to go out), so that perhaps we might receive some special attention.

And we did.  We were told in no uncertain terms by our telecommunications provider that we should deal with the store across the road, where we would be treated more kindly apparently.  So we braced ourselves and waded across the street to a large consumer electronics store.

What we could see of the ceiling was flat white with fluorescent lights, but in the eyes of some, the ceiling in this store must at least have equalled in splendour the dome above poor Napoleon's corpse. Whenever we came within "hello" distance of an assistant, he or she invariably lifted their eyes heavenward, completely avoiding our attention.    The game became so intense that as we walked around in growing desperation to attract the attention of one young man who had carefully positioned himself with his back to us between a column and a cabinet, he actually turned and walked in the opposite direction!

Eventually by using teamwork and spy strategies that would make John le Carre proud, we captured a startled "assistant" midway between blinking and gazing heavenward.   He seemed quite surprised, firstly that we had caught his attention, secondly that the people in the first store had told us such a whopper  apparently just so they could go on staring at their own ceilings unimpeded, and kindly suggested we try them again.

This we did, to no greater avail, although we now know that perhaps they do indeed sell the product when they have it in stock, but the item will not be coming in tomorrow or even Wednesday.  Perhaps we could find one at the Opera?

Actually it might not be coming in on Friday either, and no it's not possible to reserve one, perhaps we could phone sometime after they finish painting the ceiling.