Body Talk
by Alan Pinkett
“You seem to
have kept a stiff upper lip as usual, too…
Chin up, not batting an eyelid.”
“Kept your
head.”
“Head screwed
on… “
“Mm…
“ replied Boothroyd absent-mindedly.
“You’re
looking a bit straight-faced. Not in the mood for
a bit of tongue in cheek ribbing?”
“Leg
pulling… “
“Sorry,
h’I was thinking about the nurse… She
was mortified when she messed up a couple of
stitches. Having managed to work her way up to
become a professional, she takes her job very
seriously.”
“That’s
you all over… warm-hearted… “
“Heart in the
right place… “
“H’empathy,
I suppose… “ livening up. “I also
started out at the bottom. No lap of luxury for
me, no silver spoon in my mouth.”
“But with a
lot of elbow grease and by the sweat of your brow,
you managed to get tennis elbow!”
“And
determined not to bend the knee, with true guts
you managed to get housemaid’s knee!”
“You put your
best foot forward, showed real backbone and got
athlete’s foot!”
“Aye! But it
were tough… Specially in’t early years
when I were puttin’ me toes in’t watter.”
“You had to
keep your nose clean, toe the line, keep your
mouth shut.”
“Not poke
your nose in, point the finger… “
“Yes,
h’I certainly had to keep on my toes…
“
“But you
knuckled down, shoulder to the wheel.”
“Put your
back into it.”
“And legged
it for the line h’on my own two feet!”
“Nose to nose,
shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe… “
“But ever
fleet of foot, you managed to keep them at
arm’s length.”
“Still within
a nose, though… Breasted the tape by the
seat of my pants.”
“A pat on the
back to you, sir.“
“Yes, well
done… But, er… I’ve lost track of
what achievement we’re talking about…
“
“My degree,
of course!”
“Oh yes, of
course… Well done.”
“H’I
like to celebrate the peak of my achievements. As
you know, it went downhill a bit from there
– construction is not the best of
professions for the accident-prone. The last
thing designers and building sites need is an
additional hazard.”
“What you!
Shoot yourself in the foot, put your foot in your
mouth and kick yourself in the teeth!”
“Yes! I could
kick myself!”
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