Scousers

By way of explanation, let me tell you about "Gordon":
Gordon runs the "Staff Fitness Centre" at the hospital - a small basement hovel stocked with decrepit gym equipment. Gordon is never seen without his Adidas shell-suit, which is not quite big enough to disguise his paunch, which, in turn, is not quite big enough to distract from his horrible greasy moustache. His role is to sit in his tiny office, eating chips, looking at his Liverpool FC posters and regailing me with incomprehensible stories about his humorous scouse existence.
The last time I popped down to use the old treadmill, he spent a good ten minutes outlining one of his favourite anecdotes. I can't share it with you, because most of the time I had no idea what he was saying. I think it involved a small child painting a penis on the wall of the hospital. He seemed to think this was very funny, so I nodded and smiled.
Gordon has a meticulous approach to health and safety in the gym: "Be a bit careful, yeah?" was the sum total of his risk assessment. Brilliant. This was followed by another story about someone getting beaten up in the local pub, or something. Again, the accent made things a little murky.
On the subject of the local pub, my rather serious-looking colleague was cheerfully advised not to set foot inside its doors, "unless you fancy ending up in a pool of blood on your own shoes." Gordon does like his evocative turns of phrase. I think.
Apparently, my haircut and voice would not be too displeasing to the resident drinkers, so I could probably order a pint, as long as I didn't try to talk to anyone. What a friendly, welcoming place Liverpool is!
*Names should have been changed to protect anonymity. But I couldn't be arsed.







