It's a crazy job!Over the last weekend, a colleague and I attended the opening event of a client restaurateur's latest venture for which we had carried out the legal work.

We had had our annual staff Christmas dinner at his restaurant four months before, and our needs had been catered for by his French waitress whose English, sadly, leaves something to be desired.

She was present at the opening on Sunday.She indicated that she remembered us and, to emphasise this point, added 'vous tes nutters'.

We endeavoured in our halting French to explain that a few high jinks with a water pistol won from a Christmas cracker and the usual drunken speech from the senior partner did not necessarily make us nutters.

She persisted in her contention.After about 20 minutes, her English husband who had been somewhat amused by the conversation, explained that she was in fact saying not that 'vous tes nutters' but that 'vous tes notaires'.After the merriment had subsided, I reflected that a few days before the Christmas dinner, I had in fact signed a legal services contract with the Legal Aid Board.

I am not so sure that our initial translation was not indeed appropriate.E David Brain, E David Brain & Co, St Austell, Cornwall