unfortunately there was no getting away from the boring bits , meeting herr flik and his directors formally in the board room and the design team in their offices , but then after that everyone seemed to get in on the act - even the coffee lady ( renamed tea lady for carols benefit ) spoke almost perfect english , but finally carol , with herr flik , donald and marta in tow managed to formally introduce me to the new love in my life , although she was a lot lighter than when carol had first met her .