What a completely outrageous thing to say, but sadly it's not surprising. We receive the same reaction here in the states, although I've never encountered anyone brave enough to speak up about it. We just get the strange stares, even when a group of us would go to lunch when we were still in the office. At one point, we would actually stagger our exits so they wouldn't see us all leaving at the same time until I decided we are all entirely too old to be doing that! Thanks for giving credence to this situation that so many Black women encounter when we are just simply trying enjoy being a part of a sisterhood.