Paulina says it was like a ‘nightmare situation’
A teacher was left “mortified” after a stranger passed her a handwritten note in a café, accusing her of being so loud she had to leave. Paulina was enjoying an Americano in Hammersmith, west London when the “nightmare situation” unfolded.
The 32-year-old says she was sitting with a colleague when an older woman came over and put the note on their table – saying it was “for you”. The double-sided note, written in green ink on torn paper, read: “Hi, I don’t know if you are aware; your voice, volume of, has been overwhelming to us.
“We have been unable to have a conversation as we cannot hear each other. However, we have heard every word of your conversation – we now know the names of your cats. This is a space for more than yourself and unfortunately we have had to leave. Something to think about.”
Paulina said: “I was, of course, mortified, as everyone would be, I think. It’s like a nightmare situation.”
However, she admits she can see the funny side. She continued: “It’s really funny, some people said it sounds like a threat – ‘I know the name of your cats’. It was a small café, very small – the size of the average living room in a semi-detached house.
“There were people in the corner. Some people said: ‘were they not giving you death stares?’ No, I believe they weren’t talking when I came in. I was meeting a co-worker, we were just chatting. I think that was the only part of the conversation I was loud for. I’m actually a teacher, so my theory is I was still in teacher mode with my voice not being quite an indoor voice, I do reflect on myself as well.
“It’s OK to let someone know if they’re being disruptive – for example, parents letting children play really loud sounds on their tablets, and I know for them it’s probably white noise. Maybe they were afraid to approach me, but I don’t think I’m a threatening person. The content of our conversation was about cats and then we were just chatting about work, it wasn’t like a gossip session or anything like that.”
Describing the person who handed her the note, Paulina said: “I think they looked like the type of person you’d expect to have this kind of handwriting – an older British lady. Some people said the cursive looked American, but I think the content is more British.”
The south-east Londoner, who is originally from Poland, said the owner of the café – which she does not want to name – was baffled following the incident. She said: “The owner came up to our table asking ‘do you know those people?’ I did want to ask him ‘was I really loud’, but that puts him in a really awkward situation, he wouldn’t want to say it.
“But he volunteered that information – he seemed really shocked. He was working on his laptop and he said he didn’t even hear us. It was very strange.”
Despite her experience, Paulina, who previously lived in Liverpool with her husband, says she has had many positive interactions with strangers in the nation’s capital. She said: “Even on the day when I got the note, I was looking at the Tube map and a lady approached me asking ‘hey, do you know where you’re going?’
“I’ve had so much positivity from this city, so I really don’t want it to sound like I just moved to London and hate it. I really don’t subscribe to the ‘rude Londoner’ experience, I think people are really, really lovely and we do feel welcome in the city.”
