On the “lighter” side of writing, I thought I’d share this humorous story about how words (and letters) can lead us astray.
“The Wayside Chapel”
An English lady, while living in Switzerland was looking for a room and asked The Schoolmaster if he could recommend any. He took her to several rooms and, when everything was arranged, the lady returned to her home to prepare for the move. When she arrived home, the thought suddenly dawned that she had seen no WC (water closet or toilet) around the place, so she immediately wrote to The Schoolmaster asking him where the WC was.
The Schoolmaster was a very poor master of English so he asked the Parish Priest if he could help in the matter. Together they attempted to discover what the letters WC meant. The only solution they could find was the local “Wayside Chapel.” The Schoolmaster then wrote the following note to the lady seeking a WC with her room.
Dear Madam,
I take great comfort in informing you that WC is located nine miles from the house, in the center of a beautiful grove of trees surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 200 people and is open on Sundays and Thursdays only. As there are a great many people expected in the summer months, I would suggest that you come early, although there is usually plenty of standing room. This is an unfortunate situation, particularly if you are in the habit of going regularly. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good number bring their lunch and make a day of it, while others who can afford it go on Thursday when there is organ accompaniment. The acoustics are excellent and the most delicate sound can be heard anywhere. It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the WC, for it was there she first met her husband. I can remember the rush for seats. And there were 10 people to a seat usually occupied by one. It was a wonderful sight to behold. The newest attraction is a bell donated by a wealthy resident of the district. It rings every time a person enters. A bazaar is to be held to provide plush seats for all, since the people feel it is too long a wait.
I shall be delighted to save the best seat for you, if you wish, where you will be seen by all.
Hoping to have been of service, I remain,
Sincerely,
The Schoolmaster
Hysterical!
Glad you enjoyed!
Not that did make me smile – especially as I’m not great at working out what acronyms stand for myself! And the picture reminded me of a WC I was forced to make use of (literally) though it was built of concrete blocks with a wooden door with WC painted on it in huge white letters. It was at the top of a mountain and surrounded a hole in the ground. I had gone up on the back of a lorry with others to para glide down and we weren’t allowed to do the jump / run off the mountain until we’d availed ourselves of the ‘facilities’.
Oops I meant of course Now, that made me smile – I didn’t notice the auto-correct! Sorry.
Quite the experience, Margaret! When it comes to Europe, many “conveniences” are not at all convenient. Heh.
To be fair, there wasn’t any plumbing up the mountain – which was (I think) c 3000 feet. And they wanted to be absolutely sure no one had a wee accident through being scared… running off the side of the mountain was quite exhilerating.
Hmm. Sounds quite scary, actually!
One person was sick on the way down – landed on the beach clutching a wee paper bag… I absolutely loved the paragliding – we stayed up for an hour and caught thermals and so on, I could have stayed up for ever. And what was impressive was that there was a circle on the promenade at the beach which was about maybe 8-10 ft in diameter and the guy brought me down right bang in the centre of it after gliding round and about for all that time.
So funny!