O surely does have some balloons. Big ones, though some might say of uneven size and shape and definitely smaller than they were yesterday...
But then, it's her birthday (well, it was this week, but her balloons are still big and shiny) and she deserves every single one of them. She's a great girl, our O, one of those people that you hope to stay in contact with forever. And one of those girls who keeps both sides of the anglosaxy household happy. Because, let's face it, how many married women like their husbands going for a beer with another woman? Add to the equation Israeli wives, and you've just halved the number you originally had.
As an example of O's charms, on her birthday she gave each one of our department a special handwritten note, glowing with genuinely good wishes. On her birthday. Just looked at it again this morning and it put a smile on my face.
So, a toast: [ scrapes around in the secret mini-bar for that last vodka miniature ] "To O and her balloons!"
I could give you the exact date of her birthday but then you might be able to track her down and get us both fired. Ha, ha! Private joke that one.