A primary school teacher has described feeling "mortified" after a complete stranger approached her in a west London café and silently handed her a critical, handwritten note before leaving the premises.
The Unfolding of an Awkward Encounter
Paulina, a 32-year-old teacher originally from Poland, was enjoying an Americano with a colleague in a small café in Hammersmith. The peaceful meet-up took an unexpected turn when an older woman walked over to their table, placed a folded piece of paper down, said "for you", and departed without further explanation.
Upon opening the note, written in green ink on both sides of a torn piece of paper, Paulina was shocked by its contents. The anonymous writer claimed that the volume of Paulina's conversation had been "overwhelming", forcing her and her companion to leave. The note stated they had been unable to hear each other but had heard every word of Paulina's chat, even learning the names of her cats.
Reflection and Reaction
Paulina admitted the situation was a "nightmare" and left her deeply embarrassed. However, she also saw the humorous side, noting that friends had remarked the line about knowing her cats' names "sounded like a threat". She reflected that her teacher's "outdoor voice" might have inadvertently been in use, and that the café's intimate size – comparable to an average semi-detached house's living room – may have amplified the sound.
The café owner was reportedly baffled by the incident. He approached Paulina's table afterwards to ask if she knew the women and volunteered that he, working on his laptop at the time, hadn't even noticed her conversation being particularly loud.
Balancing Etiquette and Experience
While understanding that it is sometimes necessary to inform someone if they are being disruptive, Paulina questioned the note-passing method. She suggested the writer may have been afraid to approach her directly, though she did not consider herself a threatening person. The conversation in question, she clarified, was largely about cats and work, not gossip.
Despite this uncomfortable experience, Paulina, who has also lived in Liverpool, was keen to stress her overwhelmingly positive experiences in London. She cited another interaction that same day where a stranger helpfully asked if she needed directions on the Tube, reinforcing her view that Londoners are generally "really, really lovely".
The incident highlights the unspoken rules and occasional tensions of shared public spaces in busy cities, posing questions about the most courteous way to navigate minor disturbances between strangers.
