So there I was, out in The Great Institution of Merrion Row with The Multi Instrumentalist and his four legged friend. We had just come to the end of a lovely evening of food, drink and chat. At one point we were joined by The Queen of Merrion Row herself, who proved to be charming company.

And so the time had come to look for the ‘bad news’. When the bill arrived I enquired as to the amount owed. ‘A hundred and ninety’ came the reply. A good half hour later, as soon as I had regained consciousness, I made the point to the waitress that the figure seemed a little high. She went over the numbers and maintained that the total was correct. Not wanting to throw a damper on proceedings I decided to settle up, but also made sure to pocket the bill for further inspection.

On arriving back at The Ranch, the magnifying glass unfurled the mystery. The total on the bill was indeed ‘a hundred and ninety’ as the waitress had said. It’s just that if she had said ‘a hundred euro and ninety cents’, it would have avoided some amusing confusion.

A little misunderstanding had occurred.

, but also pocketed the bbill for further inspection.