what a palaver

I had a call from another expat mum yesterday. She said one of her didis (a didi is the nepali word for aunty and is a generic term used for female household staff) had got a new job in Kathmandu (the expat mum lives in Pokhara) to be closer to her family. However, the didi - let's call her L - wasn't happy at all at her new place and wanted to leave. Did I know anyone who was looking for a didi, she asked? The expat mum had heard that one of my friends, Mrs V, was looking for a didi, so could I please ask if she'd be interested in taking on L, as L was having a terrible time with her new employer, a Mrs B of Sanepa.

So, after a long conversation about how lovely Didi L is and how Mrs B must be a bit of a slave driver, I agreed to ask Mrs V if she needed a didi.

This morning I saw Mrs V (whose daughter is also off school with lurgy) and asked her whether she needed a didi.

Mrs V said, no, she didn't, it was her friend who wanted a didi, because said friend was very unhappy with the one she had just taken on, who kept leaving work early, without asking, and complaining about the amount of work.

Mrs V said, yes, my friend needs a didi because she wants to get rid of her one, so she would be interested to hear from Didi L.

I asked what her friend's name is, so we could put the two in touch. She told me it's Mrs B of Sanepa.

Oh, the irony.

I wonder what the truth is: does Didi L really want to leave, or has Mrs B already threatened her with the sack? Is Mrs B a heartless slave driver or is Didi L a thankless good-for-nothing? And did the whole thing merit a twenty minute phone call with the distraught ex-employer from Pokhara last night?

Do you care?

Thought not.

Hubby says I should stop talking about staff. He thinks it sounds ridiculous. He's probably right.

But apart from that I can only talk about the rain (oh, god, the unceasing rain!) or the lurgy (oh, god, the unceasing lurgy!), so I don't think I'll bother.

What has it come to when the only conversation I have is about other people's issues with their maids?

Night, then x