Small foot firmly in big mouth!

I am not and never have been renowned for my ability to speak tactfully at all times, I have a nasty habit of finding myself with my size 3 in my gob when I least expect it and really, honestly, without any intention of causing offence. I just seem to have an uncanny ability to be a little too forthright at times despite attempts at being otherwise. Sunday at work was one of those occasions.

You have to understand that I am a city girl at heart and transplanted as I have been into a field, with very few inhabitants by comparison, I struggle to get used to the lack of anonymity here. There is very little I dislike about my little patch of Scotland but I really do struggle sometimes with the 'everyone knows everyone else' thing......and I forget that by virtue of that, I really ought to be much more careful what I say and to whom!

And so Sunday I was making conversation with a customer who then proceeded to offer me a tidbit of local gossip regarding the landlady of a local pub/guest house. This is an establishment I have experience of, my parents had the misfortune to stay there when they visited a year or two ago.....and 'guest house' I would consider to be a description way and above what it deserves. The place was barely worthy of any title other than maybe 'yuk' but certainly not 'guest house'. So Mr customer is chattering away about this lady and her establishment, in a none to flattering way and at some point he referred to it as a 'hotel'. I chirped in, mind apparently blank to the risks, with a giggle and some degree of derogatory comment regarding my opinion on it's more honest status....that of a tumble-down heap!

The guy went quiet, looked me in the eye and said "I built that hotel, ran it for years and sold it recently"!

Oh crap! Oopsss....foot firmly in big mouth again gemmak.