I help out on a huge allotment site in east London, mainly weeding and watering the plants.
It has about 300 plots.
The couple I help are Portuguese and Brazilian, with the Brazilian managing simple English. We’ve resorted to google translate on our phones.
One day, one of their allotment neighbours, a Turkish lady, came to pick the tomatoes and chillis that are on offer as the couple plant more than they can consume. They do the work as a form of relaxation, they say.
I found myself struggling to understand the Turkish lady as well, yet she (60) and the Brazilian lady (early 50s) were chatting away merrily while they were picking the crop. I couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying.
Later, I asked the Brazilian lady if the Turkish lady could speak Portuguese (more likely than a Brazilian knowing Turkish). She said, “No! We were speaking English!”
(London, 2023)
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