Dinner Invite Said Nothing About Taking Your Shoes Off

Early drinker & Ramble Inn regular Thomas J. Guiney solemnly stared at owner & proprietor Eamon Halligan last night, as he tapped the counter to emphasise the words, “absolutely nothing!” Guiney was referencing the unwelcome surprise he and his wife had experienced 24 hours earlier, as first time dinner party guests of her childhood friend Orla Coffey.

Upon arrival at their destination, their hostess met them with the greeting, “Come in, come in, you’re very welcome…and can you just slip your shoes off there, before you come into the living area?” She then smiled and pointed at a rug on which there were four other sets of shoes. As they looked blankly at their host, she chuckled endearingly and added, “Don’t worry, everyone gets a pair of slippers to keep their feet cosy”.

After delaying the inevitable for as long as possible, the moment came when Thomas J. had to remove his shoes and reveal the left big toe staring out through a hole in a sock, long past its retirement date. A by then purple Mrs Guiney, later made abundantly clear that while the humiliation caused by the state of her husband’s footwear, was one thing, it was nothing compared to the embarrassment caused by his observation that “This is a bit anal Sophie, to be honest with you?”

Regulars said that as Guiney later left the premises, he was overheard muttering, “absolutely nothing!”