Vignette: Very Good English

"Since I arrived here, the craziest thing has happened twice."

"What's that?"

"Well, I'll go into a shop and a clerk will say, 'I can hear you've got an accent. Where are you from?' And when I reply with 'London', the clerk will shrug and say, 'Oh, but you speak very good English.'"

(conversation I had with a transplanted Briton)