I just called to say ...

 

The telephone rang. I did not answer it. I was in Paris at the time and could not hear the phone ringing at my home in England. 

The next day my wife rang me from England to my cell-phone in Paris. She said the phone rang the previous day and no one answered it because everyone was out. I told here I was not out I was in my hotel room. She said the phone at home in England not in my pocket in Paris. 

Whoever had phoned had left a message on the answering-machine. It said, "Is Sally in?" We don't know anyone called Sally, and anyway, if she was in she would have answered the phone whilst everyone else was out. In fact she would have been an intruder in our house. 

My wife asked me who Sally was. I asked her the same question. In the absence of Sally we could not respond to the caller who had not left his name and number anyway.

I then realised that there's a clever system whereby all my calls at the office in London can be re-directed automatically to my cell-phone wherever I am. I could be in Paris, (which I was), or in Rome or anywhere and someone phones my office in London and I answer, and they think I'm in my London office.

Why not use the same system to make all calls to our home re-direct automatically to my cell-phone so I can answer them when the family is out.

It worked marvellously. I was asked if my wife will attend the bridal shower party at Dolores? Whether we'll be visiting the in-laws next week? Is it OK for the workers to come and fix the garden fence on Thursday? Or am I interested in purchasing new house insurance or whatever other product or service the tele-sales people were hoping to sell that day? In effect I became the answering-machine for the whole family whilst they were out enjoying themselves and I received all their calls and relayed them back to them when they were in.

The whole thing became insane; which in fact I nearly was when I once answered the cell-phone whilst walking by the Paris river. 

When I got back home my wife wanted to know who Sally was. I told her to ask Harry.