The wedding buffet at work this evening was a carvery style and I was in charge of cutting and serving the salmon. As the guests filed past me, however, they were not best pleased.
“Would you like any salmon at all, sir? Madam?” I would say. And they would give me a look that suggested that this was the single most preposterous offer they’d ever received; as if, for example, I’d just asked them if they wouldn’t mind if I urinated on them, or, “would you like any horse manure with those vegetables? Yeah? Just a little bit on the side there? Yep? Lovely.”
In reality what I was offering people was just salmon, so I was totally surprised by the hostility with which I was met. I mean, what would be so offensive about a slither of salmon if you’ve already piled your plate up with a smorgasbord of various other cold meats and potato salads? Never before have I seen people react to seafood with such contempt.