i am sparticus: Getting the painters in

Getting the painters in

Ah today at work was so strange…
It was almost closing time at the cafÈ, and my boss Bruno and I were doing the final clean-up etc. when this painter guy came in (who Bruno had obviously asked to come). They started talking about how Bruno wanted the cafÈ re-painted, this is kinda how parts of the conversation went:

Bruno: …and I want the ceiling re-painted too.
Painter: Ok, do you want to keep it white?
Bruno: Yes, but maybe with a few highlights on the details at the edge of the ceiling...
Painter: Like red?
Bruno: Maybe something light, just subtle.
Painter: Red or gold maybe?
Bruno: Hmm, gold would match the light fitting.
Painter: You could do it red on one detail, then white on the next, then gold on the next, then white, then red, then white, then gold, then white, then…. (and so on and on!)
Bruno: Hmmm, I need to talk to my woman first.
Painter: But you know what I mean, red then white, then gold, then white, then red, then wh…ummm, yeah white, then red, then … (totally muddled by now!)
Bruno: Yes, I should talk to my wife first, she's the artist.
Painter: Yeah, so red, then white, then gold, then white… you know you need to have the white there to break up the two other colours. D'ya know what I mean?
Bruno: Yes
Painter: Or you could do red on that bit (pointing at some corner part of the ceiling), white on that bit, then red on the next, then white then red, (and again on and on..)

By this time I was about to cry! He was doing my head in completely.
Soon though, they managed to get onto the subject of ladders (coz our ceiling is super high, as with lots of old Edinburgh buildings).

Painter: I'm going to need a good ladder to do this part of the roof though.
Bruno: We have this ladder. (Magically produces ladder from back of cafÈ)
Painter: Oh, (once at top of it) this won't do, its only 6 foot. I'm going to need one about 10 foot.
Bruno: Well I can borrow one from my neighbor.
Painter: Yeah, it'll need to be at least 8 feet.
Bruno: Ok, I'll check with my neighbor.
Painter: (climbing the ladder again) See, I can only reach this high, it'll need to be a good bit taller.
Bruno: like 8 feet, ok.
Painter: yes, 8 to 10 feet at least, you know, so I can reach the ceiling.

Arrrgg… you can imagine how I was feeling by this stage. So I decided to focus on my watch for the last few minutes of my shift so I could run from that place as soon as I could!