Extreme finger nails

I was eating at the Italian Restaurant, La Grotta, in Union Street in the centre of Bristol today, with a male friend of mine.  The young woman who appeared to be in charge had exceptionally long finger nails.  I asked her about them and said I presumed they were false.  But they are not.  They have a little artificial help to keep the tips from being damaged, but they represent a year's growth of real finger nails.

These hands belong to Graziella, whose family owns the restaurant.  When I see someone who has gone to great lengths to alter their appearance I assume there is something else different about them too.  Why did she decide not to cut her nails for a year?  Graziella says it's because she likes the attention it attracts to her.  It's certainly a talking point.

Obviously there are a few people with nails that are far longer, you see them in online articles and images, but these are perhaps the longest I have personally seen on someone I have met.  After the meal our conversation about the nails opened out into broader issues.  It turns out that she is married to a well known MMA fighter called John Thompson (mixed martial arts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts) . He has a  blog that attracts 40,000 hits a day, which makes my blog seem completely puny.  http://colossalconcerns.com/  Graziella is the one that makes sure it is all over the social media.  It's quite a skill and she is a woman with the drive not only to grow her nails but to make things happen in life.

I wish I had had the courage to ask permission to take a photo of her but thought it was already quite impertinent to take a photo of her hands.  Shall we say that she is very pretty and to me very young.  but then, I am pretty old.  Well, she is certainly young ... and smart.