Being hooked on photography, I always request a window seat from the airline whenever and wherever I travel so that I can click my camera as I please, without disturbing those sitting next to me. Some people can really be grumpy! However, on this particular occasion all window seats were booked so I had to be content to be sandwiched between a neatly-dressed woman who looked like a strict school mistress and a lanky, lantern-jawed man of around 50, who by the way was happily enjoying the view through the window.

The lady minded her own business throughout the journey and was either reading or pouring over some cross-word puzzle in a newspaper or dozing. The man was quite the opposite. He appeared to be an extrovert, with a ready smile and very talkative. During the non-stop three hour flight he kept me entertained by recounting numerous anecdotes.

“You can always tell a man’s nationality by introducing him to a beautiful girl,” he grinned. “An Englishman shakes the girl’s hand. A Frenchman kisses her hand. An American asks for a date – and a Russian wires Moscow for instructions.”

By the way, my friendly plane neighbor was a cosmetics salesman and this is a funny on-the-job episode which according to him, actually did happened. “One day, trying to sell some perfume by telephone, I dialed a number and a male voice answered. I asked if I could speak to the lady of the house. Sadly, the man replied, ‘My wife is dying, and can’t talk to anyone.’ I said how sorry I was, and he continued, ‘So am I. I wanted her to stay a brunette.’”

Sometimes, you meet such interesting characters on your journeys that you never tend to forget them. This guy was one such person.