Without her white hat

April 2006

So I finally met her; 'The girl in the white hat'. Only she wasn't wearing her white hat this time.

For clarity, this is not the lady with the two dogs, whose hat is more of a light grey really. I described it as white before for artistic reasons.

It was after work, I had left the office later than normal and was nearly home. About a hundred yards ahead was a woman, as I caught up with, I glanced across and said "good evening".

It was the eyes, I recognized. So I said "aren't you the girl in the white hat?". She smiled, "no-one sees past that white hat", she said.
"That's because it hides everything else" I replied

On closer inspection, I could see that her bottom and legs were larger than I had thought, though certainly not fat. She must be about 35, there were lines around her eyes, her face was nice and she looked fairly intelligent.

Reducing my pace to hers, we continued along the track together and enjoyed pleasant conversation. She was going to the supermarket she said, and then to meet her boyfriend. I assume that when girls mention their boyfriends within two minutes of meeting you, it is meant as some kind of warning?

And yet, a few minutes later, as I turned towards home having already said goodbye, she looked back, smiled and said "I hope I will see you again"