Ooi! Give Us Your Handbag!

Mugging in the making? Are these two guys trying to rob the young woman on the left? She seems to be desperately holding on to her handbag, isn't she? Did I happen to catch a crime on film? Like in the 60's film Blow-Up?

Just look at them; shaven head, sunglasses, swelling muscles and an aggressively pointing finger! No?

Well, if I un-crop the image slightly, you will see that the two menacing-looking men have a woman in tow, perhaps not out to rob vulnerable women after all. How easy it is to be prejudiced.

If I produce the full picture (pun intended) it is obvious nothing sinister is afoot. Another man is leaning casually against the railing of a bridge in Cologne next to the walking woman and the approaching group of three. It is in fact Weltkindertag (World Children's Day) in Cologne and I am standing by the river Rhein among thousands of people celebrating this day full of innocence and fun.

Shame on you if you thought so badly about two men out to celebrate a children's day in female company. Of course the guy who spends so much time in the gym must take the opportunity to show his hard-earned muscles on a sunny September day. The sunglasses are necessary to protect the eyes, and also making it possible to look at other woman without anybody noticing. Don't tell me you've never done it!

Breakfast For a Light Bulb

Some people are completely without shame. Listen to this.

On the way to our French house we stopped overnight at this Ibis Hotel on the outskirts of Albert in the Somme. For those of you who are not familiar with the Ibis chain I can say that it is a lowish-budget one of more than decent standard. This place in particular, is very well run with welcoming and helpful staff. We stayed there for the first time last July when they had just opened. The restaurant offers a small menu of good food, and most guests choose to eat there in the evening, often after having had a drink on the terrace watching the sunset.

When we arrived we were given a room on the bottom floor in this totally smoke-free hotel, another reason for staying there. The rooms are nice, no-frills and modern. One modern feature is the energy-saving light bulbs, which give out a lovely warm glow.

However one light fitting would not work, and we soon found the reason. There was no light bulb. My wife, whose French is much superior to mine, went to the front desk to report the missing bulb. While I was waiting I was studying a leaflet lying on the table, which promised action and problem solving within fifteen minutes, otherwise you would be their guest, as in "no charge."

They certainly lived up to that promise. A young man came equipped with the right tool and sorted it out in a flash. It turned out that a previous guest had stolen the light bulb, but failed to steal the second one on the other side of the bed. Look at this picture.

Can you see the little screw inside at the top? That is meant to be taken out before you remove the light bulb, but some greedy low-life had managed to yank it out and, on top of that, damaged the other bulb attempting to steal that one as well. So two expensive light bulbs had to be replaced. How low can you sink? I have heard of people stealing towels and other items, mostly as souvenirs, but to steal light bulbs?

Maybe somebody wanted a free breakfast and stole something of similar value as compensation. I do not know, but the hotel staff certainly lived up to the company promise and they were as baffled as we were. What are some people like?