In Liberty buying a teapot for a friend's birthday, I get into a discussion with the shop assistant about the relative pouring merits of different spouts. She expressed concern over my choice although the water cooler was broken so she was unable to test it for me. She told me that the best pour was from metal industrial teapots (she uses these at home) although sometimes the lids can come loose. Having scoured the shop floor for alternatives, we settled on my original choice. As she wrapped, I asked my question. She said she had seven because she was from Nigeria but she couldn't remember them all and didn't know how to spell them. In the end she wrote down an approximate spelling of those that she remembered on the back of a receipt. 'Adsubomie' means 'the crown surrounds you'. She told me that her first name meant 'nurtured from birth', which is, I suppose, what we would all wish to be. She was born in Ladbroke Grove, moved to Willesden and now lives near Luton with her parents. They call her on her phone to see if she is in because they don't like shouting.
I apologised for the randomness of the question but she told me that she gets a lot worse. Her colleague thought that my resolution sounded 'cool'. As the purple ribbon was tied round the tissue paper we agreed that I would be back if the teapot was not a success.
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