I went on this blind date with a girl who slowly began to bore me to death with her tales of her unhappy childhood and the terrible job she was doing.
I had this plan with a friend of mine to ring me so that if the date was not going well I could find an excuse to cut things short.
It was a relief when the call came.
'That was tragic news, I'm afraid' I said 'I've just heard my mother has died. I'm sorry I will have to leave you now.'
'That means my mother will not have to die now' she replied.
