Stephen's long haul laundry

Stephen was on a long haul holiday a month or two ago in Vietnam and found himself in the position whereby he had about a fortnight's worth of laundry needing to be cleaned.

Reluctant to pay the extortionate laundry fees in the ultra luxurious hotel he was staying in, he decided that there must be a laundry in the area (considering where he was staying!) whereby he could get them washed at a better price. After finding 'Lever House' in the Vietnamese equivalent to the Yellow Pages and using his schoolboy French to translate the word Lever to mean 'wash' in English, off he went in search of the Lever 'wash' House with his binbag stuffed full of shirts, shorts and pants.

Arriving at Lever House, he noted the smartly dressed porters at the door with surprise and equally they looked at him in bewilderment, noting his holiday attire and his overflowing laundry bag but nonetheless directed him to a lift and up to the 23rd floor.

Thinking the situation was getting odder by the minute and marvelling at the sheer luxury of this Lever 'launderette' on the 23rd floor, he stepped out of the lift with his bag of dirty clothes to be met by ultra plush corporate surroundings, the slick global branding of 'Uni Lever Brothers House' and a puzzled receptionist asking "If Sir needed any help?"

Making a swift exit back into the lift and a very red face, Steven wished he had paid a bit more attention to his French translations at school....