"This gentleman"

There is an elderly couple among our neighbours, Amy's owner. They are very nice as elderly English people often are, always friendly and as they are cat owners themselves and our cats are friends, we get along fine. Something amuses me about their manner: the woman, talking to her husband once I had knocked at their door asking to keep an eye on Domino when we were away, referred to me as "this gentleman". In fact she always refers to me as "this gentleman". I find it surreal. As I mentioned in this blog post from 2013, I don't find myself particularly, or at all, gentlemanly. I am more from pleb than anything else really, in manners at least. It is a bit strange to receive this label and to have someone giving it to you with such sincerity. I know it is a sign of politeness, but still.