A ticklish case of mistaken identity

My HUSBAND and I took our grown-up son and daughter on their first cruise ship holiday, which they both loved. Halfway through our week, having docked, we finished breakfast and wondered if our children were planning on leaving the ship for the day to see the sights, as we were, or whether they wanted to have a relaxing time on board, basking in the sun and swimming in the pool. We set off to look for them and I spotted Paul, our son, on a sun lounger, wearing his

sunglasses, swimming trunks and headphones. We stood over him. ‘Paul,’ I said to attract his attention. ‘Paul.’ Then, louder: ‘PAUL!’ There was no movement or reaction. I thought he was playing a trick on us and was pretending to be asleep, so I decided to tickle his feet. A very startled guy sat up. It wasn’t our son! I said I was very sorry and explained it was a case of mistaken identity. To my relief, he took it in good heart and laughed it off, saying: ‘you must have a good-looking son!’ Mrs M. Gathercole,

Marlow, Bucks.