Where's the Band?

Not performing in this coffee bar today, thank God . . .

I'm sitting on a sofa inches from a speaker. Jools is about to get our coffees. And we're in no mood to be bludgeoned by country or any other type of music as we drink . . . Brings back memories of the night we had dinner with friends at a trendy German restaurant in Johannesburg. The waitress placed us at "the best table in the house", which turned out to be just metres from a pedestal where a gaudy, lederhosen-clad oompah band struck up with Teutonic gusto moments after we'd started to eat.

We suffered a few thigh-slapping accordian solos before fleeing with our food and lagers to the back of the room, persuaded that loud music and good food were not an ideal mix. Never did go back, even though they did the best eisbein I've ever tasted . . .