Two girls in an Irish bar, Fukuoka 2011

Sat in an Irish bar in Fukuoka with a friend on a balmy night. It’s got all the requisite dark wood and whiskies. There is room for a total of seven people, including the barman. Everyone was talking. I could only just get the basic drift of the Japanese conversation. I was drinking and scribbling away.

I gave this picture to the girl in the corner. She was delighted with it and pointed it on the wall in the bar. She then left with her friend and I spoke to her outside and she gave me her card. When I went back in the bar, the remaining occupants exploded with laughter, except the barman. I learned the girl was his girlfriend. Whoops.

He was extraordinarily gentlemanly about it all and I think we were OK after that. The picture was still pinned to the wall next time we visited.