Mime’s a cough please

I used to regularly “nag” our young men for not having the top buttons to their shirt fastened.  There were a few regulars, however, who need a little more encouragement than others. One such young fellow spotted me in the corridor once and immediately put his hand to his neck to hide the offending sartorial slip. Knowing that I was heading directly for him, he paused and then put his other arm out to hold the balustrade. In wonderfully histrionic fashion, and with a performance that would have done justice to the great Marcel Marceau himself, this young man acted out an ever developing coughing fit which, on reaching its climax, left bystanders assuming he was in the throes of a seizure of epic proportions. As I walked past him, with onlookers wondering how I was going to deal with this lifeless body clutching the balustrade, I said quietly in his ear “Fasten your top button please” and he replied, in completely measured tones “Yes sir” and then calmly walked away. Those who witnessed this event forever held the view that I possessed some mystical powers that could ail tormented souls by simply whispering in their ear!