We went to the cinema last Saturday night (No Country for Old Men – not bad, thanks) and we sat near a trendy woman with a red leather jacket. To be precise we sat one seat away from her. On the far side of Mr. Waffle another couple ensconced themselves leaving one seat empty. The woman with the red leather jacket leaned across and said to me that we should move closer to her as otherwise there would be two single seats. I knew she was right but I was annoyed. She was smug dammit.
At the start of the film, I hauled out my packet of Maltesers from my handbag. I know some people don’t like you eating in the cinema, but, you know, they sell them in the foyer, so it can’t be a huge surprise that other people buy them. It may not be right, but there you have it and at least I wasn’t eating crisps. Leather jacket sighed audibly. I had baleful thoughts. I sucked through my packet of maltesers and crunched the last one. Leather jacket sighed and her partner leaned across and asked me to stop crunching. The worst part of it was that I could kind of see their point but I still hated them for making it. Cranky, moi?
you see? Look, British. You wanted to leave a nice gap between people even if it meant leaving single seats free. That’s British, I tell you.
I do think that if people in the cinema tell you off for leaving a gap between you and them, and then complain when you move up and eat your maltesers loudly in their ear, you are justified in hating them. A lot.
I am appalled on so many levels. At the rude trendy couple, of course, not you. There is a special circle of hell designed for people like that. It’s called the American multiplex.
i agree fully and completely with letterB. When I lived in Europe my most self-conscious moments of ugly American-ness were when i would enter a movie theater lobby and be woefully disappointed at the snack offerings.
I agree that the rudeness is theirs – imagine asking you to move closer and then complaining when you eat! Maltesers are made for loud, enthusiastic crunching.
We saw No Country last week too. A very noisy eater directly behind me crunched and snuffled and munched and spluttered his way through a massive tub of popcorn. We sighed but didn’t say anything. On the way about I noticed him speaking to his friend in sign language, so I suppose he had an excuse.
I suggest stalking them, and at their next cinema visit, bring the kids along with you. That’ll teach em
Lesley, I note that you and I are the only ones who have any sympathy for leather jacket (though mine is limited and I’d like to say now that I’m rather taken with some of the suggestions). Do you think that the fact that we live, respectively, in France and Belgium has anything to do with this? Perhaps, I am not British after all, perhaps I am Belgian. Sinister.
She was rude and bossy, ‘waffle. Shame you didn’t move one seat in the other direction, ay?
we saw “no country for old men” last week as well – at a theatre that sells pizzas and serves you beer and where some seats are sofas. that’s the USA for you. as for uptight red jacket, you would have been justified, in my book, if you had hurled the last malteser at her. but on the other hand, why waste good candy???