Scary Moment!

My daughter Michelle is feeling a bit hormonal and her favourite chocolate is Toblerone. When I went in to Poundland, I saw some on display by the door, and thought I would get one for her, so I put it in my basket and did the rest of my shopping. When I took my basket to the till, the lady asked if I realised that Toblerone was on Special, three for £1. As I didn't want to delay the queue, I asked her to ring up three Toblerone, and said I would pick up the other two on my way out. I kept my receipt in my hand, and very openly picked up two more, went out and put the bags in the scooter basket and drove off.

Next thing I hear is the sound of running feet and shouting. To my astonishment, the men were chasing me! They were security guards who said they believed I had left Poundland without paying. I said I understood why it might look like that, and explained what happened and showed them the receipt. They immediately apologised and said my story agreed with what had been seen and I was wished a cheery good morning.

I have to say that even when they stopped me, they were courteous. I had no problem with them challenging me because I know that shoplifting is rife. What comforts me is that their response was very fast. They would have had to have been notified by a CCTV operator somewhere. If they can respond that fast to a suspected minor theft, they would surely respond just as reliably if there was an assault or some violence going on. I have never felt threatened in Folkestone Town Centre during the day, but there is always a first time for anything. Also, when I go into shops, I leave my scooter outside with Brakkie sitting on the seat, often with a bag of shopping in the back. I now believe that if anyone were to interfere with Brakkie, my scooter or my shopping, the security guards would know about it and intervene.

Yes, I got a fright when I was stopped. But on thinking it over, I am glad it happened because the conclusions are so reassuring.

Here is a photo of Brakkie that I took last week. He looks so sweet but he is showing signs of age. At times he visibly looks tired, he is getting grouchy and needing to sleep more. Poor old love!