Overheard On A Bus

I do not often travel on a bus, but sometimes it is handy to get into town like that and not to have to worry about where to park the car. So, the other day I needed to see our lawyer and took the bus. I am really glad I did. I keep laughing every time I recall the conversation I overheard between two English men that sat on the seats behind me.

It was fairly clear to me that one of the men lives here, and the other one was staying with him on holiday. The resident explained various aspects of life here and generally what he had to say made complete sense. Then we passed some working girls standing on the roundabout. Here working girls tend to congregate near traffic junctions and roundabouts, usually on the main road. Normally they are not to be seen during the hours of daylight, but come out in full numbers when it starts to get dark.

As we approached the village where I live it was just getting dark and a couple of early girls where already in position. The resident explained to the visitor that these were working girls and were called 'bandas sonoras' and that just before elections they are all taken away by the Guardia, only to be released again after the elections are safely over.

All of the above is true, except the girls are not called 'bandas sonoras' , that is Spanish for the rumble strips that run along the road and when you drive over them they make a noise. Very often the girls will be standing under the sign that warns drivers that there are bandas sonoras on the sides of the carriageway. Our resident had obviously assumed that this was where the girls were allowed to advertise their wares and that the state had kindly provided them with their own advertisement.

I did not have the heart to put him straight, because it is actually quite a nice way to refer to the girls, though I think it might be an even better name for a Pop Group.