Smoke & Mirrors in Pirosmani

Was having a lovely lunch in Pirosmani with an old school friend Mr. Ireland one warm Spring in Moscow. Mr. Ireland was over to speak at a conference I'd been forced to organise

The worst job in advertising is pitching for Airline accounts. It's usually Government work so they invite 20 agencies... they re-pitch every year ... & the budget is pathetic & spread over 50 countries.  But if you are ever asked to organise a conference... pitch an Airline instead

Anyway... Pirosmani is a fabulous, & fabulously overpriced, Georgian restaurant. You're paying for the view of the Novodevichy monastery & the fact that both Bill Clinton & Gryff Rhys Jones had khatchapuri there

Before our Tinkali arrived I lit a cigarette ... & before I could enjoy my smoky moment I heard an American voice from the next table

"Oh... You're not going to smoke are you"

I politely pointed out that there was a fire free zone

"Yeah, but it doesn't have the view"

After two sentences I'd heard an inflection in his Yankee accent. So I asked

"You're originally from Eastern Europe... but not Russia"

"Very good kid... I left Romania in  '57" he replied

The third sentence, the smart caustic wit & the deadpan delivery gave me another inkling

"Oy Vey*... you're Jewish as well"

Mr. Ireland thought he was at a Henry Higgins seminar. But it's simply the result of many hours of academic analysis of 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' instead of learning German

*I may have made that bit up