Me: I saw you playing Cheeky Animals.
Nell: Nonsense. Kev and I were showing Chris the river.
Me: You were awfully brave to go in. It was quite wild.
Nell: Yes, I know.
Me: Were you trying to impress Chris?
Nell: No, I was merely enjoying the clear coolness of the water. Are you going to tell everyone what happened after our walk?
Me: I wasn’t going to actually.
Nell: How we were driving away from a pleasant walk when you squealed that you had lost your phone.
Me: It wasn’t in my pocket.
Nell: And how Kev and Chris had to retrack all of our steps along the walk.
Me: Yes.
Nell: And even engaged the help of a couple of elderly lurchers.
Me: I think the lurchers were more than happy to help.
Nell: Never mind that. Tell everyone what happened next.
Me: They couldn’t find it on the walk.
Nell: So?
Me: So Kev put his hand down the side of my seat in the car and there it was.
Nell: Exactly where you should have looked first.
Me: I thought I did. At least Kev and Chris got another walk.
Nell: I’m not sure they would see it that way.
Me: They were both very kind and so were the lurchers so all’s well that ends well.
Nell: As if we don’t have enough excitement at the moment with Strictly starting tomorrow.
Me: Someone made an interesting comment about your impartiality as a judge.
Nell: Did they now?
Me: Will you be able to judge Rupert and Myfanwy fairly? Or will your dislike of Myfanwy, or affection for Rupert, cloud your judgement?
Nell: Nothing will cloud my judgement and as far as my affections are concerned it is nobody’s business but my own.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
