• Please be advised there is a potential issue with DD collections, which may result in an excessive amount being taken. Please read the stickied thread in Fortean Times Magazine > General Discussion, Subs etc

Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
I get endless complaints about the weight of my jackets when they apparently "need" to be moved. Weighed down by numerous keys equally balanced side to side. My explanations seem to fall on deaf ears but I've never not been able to find a key unlike those around me who continue to ask "have you seen.....?".
Keeping keys and other metallic property in pockets wears them out and spoils the line of garments. (The importance of this line is the reason women's clothes often don't have pockets.)

I sometimes replace trouser/jeans pockets for males of my acquaintance after damage from carrying keys and coins around.
My own pockets would get the same treatment until I went for the lanyards and, I suspect, since I've almost completely stopped carrying cash around.
 

Min Bannister

Possessed dog
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
5,747
Came home, went upstairs & found the bunch on the floor close to the swivel office type chair in the room. They could’ve been hiding behind one of the wheels all the time I suppose but I’d been into the room several times whilst searching & didn’t spot them. Can’t be certain whether I moved the chair or not.
The ‘normal’ explanation is I dropped them & they landed hidden by a chair wheel, but I think I’d have heard the impact when they hit the floor. I just tried dropping them from sitting height & it made a very noticeable sound. You couldn’t possibly not hear it. I’m surprised I didn’t notice them if they were there all the time but short of weirdness, gotta be it.
Could they have slid out of your pocket and gone into the gap between the back and seat of your chair? Then slid out on to the floor while you were out?
 

catseye

Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
6,737
Location
York
I cannot imagine leaving the house without locking the apartment door, and then the front downstairs door.
I once had a front door which, when leaving the house, had to be opened with a key on the inside. Which is actually illegal, because if there were a fire or something similar and you had to leave in a hurry, you wouldn't be able to get out without the key!
Very low crime area in the village. Population of about 100 and we all know one another, anyone strange sticks out and is liable to be quizzed as to why they are here - there's nothing in the village bar the Saxon church to see. Plus I've not nothing much to steal.

And my keys are always put into the inside of the front door (because it's locked at night) and left there. That way, in an emergency at night I could unlock the door), and it means I always know where my keys are. I did have them in a bowl on the side, but I kept putting other stuff in on top of them and having to hunt for them. So now they hang in the door. But then I don't have many, just my door keys and my car keys. I'm not allowed other keys because I lose them...
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
Could they have slid out of your pocket and gone into the gap between the back and seat of your chair? Then slid out on to the floor while you were out?
Those big back door-style keys with the structure at the end that looks disturbingly likely to catch on your front teeth and snap them off*, they can catch on a pocket opening and be carried along before falling into an obscure hiding place.

*A childhood fear of mine, still terrifying. My tongue is currently wrapped around my front teeth and my lips are firmly pursed against the danger of attacks by passing back door keys.
 

Ronnie Jersey

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Nov 22, 2021
Messages
2,778
Very low crime area in the village. Population of about 100 and we all know one another, anyone strange sticks out and is liable to be quizzed as to why they are here - there's nothing in the village bar the Saxon church to see. Plus I've not nothing much to steal.

And my keys are always put into the inside of the front door (because it's locked at night) and left there. That way, in an emergency at night I could unlock the door), and it means I always know where my keys are. I did have them in a bowl on the side, but I kept putting other stuff in on top of them and having to hunt for them. So now they hang in the door. But then I don't have many, just my door keys and my car keys. I'm not allowed other keys because I lose them...
I don't believe anyone 'strange' is allowed to be questioned here, lawsuits would be flying.
Things have become so dangerous that cameras have been installed on the two bridges here to keep watch, first time that has become necessary.
 

Tunn11

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
1,522
Location
Under the highest tree top in Kent
Last spring Pete, we had a little robin redbreast come knocking at our bedroom window. It would stand on the outer window ledge and peck at the window for a full 5 minutes. Obviously looking at its own reflection.

You could set your clock by it - 7am every day for an entire month. Haven’t seen it since though.
We had a couple of long tailed tits who used to turn up every evening and start tapping at the window. We named them Greta and Garbo after the Pete and Dud sketch.
Greta from 3.30 onwards
 

hunck

Antediluvian
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
8,479
Location
Hobbs End
Do you have a cat Hunck?
No, I don’t have a cat, or any other pets.

Keeping keys and other metallic property in pockets wears them out and spoils the line of garments.
I’m not bothered about spoiling the line of my garments!

Could they have slid out of your pocket and gone into the gap between the back and seat of your chair? Then slid out on to the floor while you were out?
No, that’s not possible - there’s a big gap between the seat & back, they don't meet. If they’d slid out of my pocket they would've hit the ground straight away & I’d have thought made some sort of noise. If they were on the seat waiting to fall I’d definitely have noticed them in my searching.
 

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,704
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
Wearing the pockets out is a pain though.
The cheapo jeans of the sort you can buy in Primark/H&M/Peacocks (before they went bust) etc are the worst for crappy pockets.
Little more than a folded over bit of thin fabric stitched together at the bottom.
I got so fed up with crappy cheapo strides that I vowed 'never again' recently, and bought 2 pairs of Levis 514s. Proper jeans with pockets that feel like they have been made out of the same material as old GPO (Royal Mail) 'postbags'.
1684766218311.png
 

yodigo

Fresh Blood
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
10
A few days ago I needed to book a flight, I'd stopped looking at British Airways as they're always more expensive than Ryanair/Easyjet for the route. The Ryanair price wasn't too bad, but more than expected for September (a month which can be cheap or expensive depending on when you go).

A voice popped the words "Try BA" into my head.

So I did and the BA flight at roughly the same time (within 1 hour) as the Ryanair was half the price! Result!
 

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,704
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
I needed to book a flight,
If you have a VPN you would find that you can book flights at ridiculously cheaper prices by fooling the internet into thinking you are booking from another country.
Especially when you can find a country that has it's 'summer' holidays at a different time to us in the UK, because of course they ramp up the prices during August here.
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
Very low crime area in the village. Population of about 100 and we all know one another, anyone strange sticks out and is liable to be quizzed as to why they are here - there's nothing in the village bar the Saxon church to see. Plus I've not nothing much to steal.

And my keys are always put into the inside of the front door (because it's locked at night) and left there. That way, in an emergency at night I could unlock the door), and it means I always know where my keys are. I did have them in a bowl on the side, but I kept putting other stuff in on top of them and having to hunt for them. So now they hang in the door. But then I don't have many, just my door keys and my car keys. I'm not allowed other keys because I lose them...
How safe you feel, it reminds me of the woman I heard scary South Africa stories from on a train few a years ago.

First post on this thread -
Stories you've heard at work

She now lives in a Lake District village and determinedly leaves her bicycle outside the Post Office, laden with shopping, while she buys stamps and posts off gifts to her family.
 

catseye

Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
6,737
Location
York
How safe you feel, it reminds me of the woman I heard scary South Africa stories from on a train few a years ago.

First post on this thread -
Stories you've heard at work

She now lives in a Lake District village and determinedly leaves her bicycle outside the Post Office, laden with shopping, while she buys stamps and posts off gifts to her family.
It is wonderful. I honestly love it. It's such a tiny village, it's like living surrounded by family. Of course, it will only take one episode of breaking and entering (or, really, I suppose, just entering) for us all to lose the secure feeling, but, for now, it's like living in St Mary Mead.
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
It is wonderful. I honestly love it. It's such a tiny village, it's like living surrounded by family. Of course, it will only take one episode of breaking and entering (or, really, I suppose, just entering) for us all to lose the secure feeling, but, for now, it's like living in St Mary Mead.
The passenger told me about taking the shopping home in South Africa.

1. You park outside your house, car doors still locked, look all around for suspicious loiterers.
2. You get out of the car, lock it, approach your front door, inspect for damage, look around again for anyone about to jump you.
3. Unlock the front door, open it, look inside, listen hard.
4. Satisfied there are no intruders? Close and lock the door.
5. Walk down the path, looking all around for loiterers.
6. Unlock the car boot, take out shopping, lock the boot again.
7. Look all around AGAIN for loiterers, march smartly up the path to the front door.
8. Unlock and open the front door, fling the shopping through it, step inside and close and lock the door.

If there are additional shopping bags that you can't carry all at once, repeat steps 5-7 as necessary.

Taking the shopping home in the Lake District village:
Drive home, park outside house, grab any perishables, saunter up the path, unlock and open front door, walk through house to kitchen, put kettle on, forget about retrieving rest of shopping until you've had a cup of tea.

She does lock her doors though, which we agreed wasn't overly cautious.
 

Floyd1

Antediluvian
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
5,670
How safe you feel, it reminds me of the woman I heard scary South Africa stories from on a train few a years ago.

First post on this thread -
Stories you've heard at work

She now lives in a Lake District village and determinedly leaves her bicycle outside the Post Office, laden with shopping, while she buys stamps and posts off gifts to her family.
I saw a documentary a while back about Johannesburg (I think) and a gang went into a hospital- where their victim had been taken- and they told the doctors to stand aside so that they could 'finish the job'.
 

Floyd1

Antediluvian
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
5,670
The passenger told me about taking the shopping home in South Africa.

1. You park outside your house, car doors still locked, look all around for suspicious loiterers.
2. You get out of the car, lock it, approach your front door, inspect for damage, look around again for anyone about to jump you.
3. Unlock the front door, open it, look inside, listen hard.
4. Satisfied there are no intruders? Close and lock the door.
5. Walk down the path, looking all around for loiterers.
6. Unlock the car boot, take out shopping, lock the boot again.
7. Look all around AGAIN for loiterers, march smartly up the path to the front door.
8. Unlock and open the front door, fling the shopping through it, step inside and close and lock the door.

If there are additional shopping bags that you can't carry all at once, repeat steps 5-7 as necessary.
I take it that using a cash-point/ATM is a definite 'No' then.
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
I take it that using a cash-point/ATM is a definite 'No' then.
A big worry for her in SA was indeed using cashpoints - 'You might look around and see a man with a gun.'
One assumes there are cashpoints in secure places.

This was only up to about 10 years ago so you'd expect shoppers to find cards safer to use.
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
I saw a documentary a while back about Johannesburg (I think) and a gang went into a hospital- where their victim had been taken- and they told the doctors to stand aside so that they could 'finish the job'.

:omg:

That was rather like the picture of the place my passenger was painting. Violent and frightening, living with a background of menace.

Being British she found it hard to get used to and eventually gave up and went home. Can't blame her.
 

catseye

Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
6,737
Location
York
:omg:

That was rather like the picture of the place my passenger was painting. Violent and frightening, living with a background of menace.

Being British she found it hard to get used to and eventually gave up and went home. Can't blame her.
The most 'background of menace' that I have to deal with is the dog getting out and chasing next door's cat while the front door swings open as I faff about carrying stuff through to the back of the house.
 

IbisNibs

Exotic animal, sort of . . .
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Messages
2,786
Location
Outside my comfort zone.
It is wonderful. I honestly love it. It's such a tiny village, it's like living surrounded by family. Of course, it will only take one episode of breaking and entering (or, really, I suppose, just entering) for us all to lose the secure feeling, but, for now, it's like living in St Mary Mead.
Um, wasn't there a murder in St Mary Mead? And at the vicarage of all places?
 

PeteS

Seeking refuge
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
3,025
It is wonderful. I honestly love it. It's such a tiny village, it's like living surrounded by family. Of course, it will only take one episode of breaking and entering (or, really, I suppose, just entering) for us all to lose the secure feeling, but, for now, it's like living in St Mary Mead.
Sounds idyllic. Got room for a lodger? I'm extremely well house trained.
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,330
Location
HM The Tower of London
It is wonderful. I honestly love it. It's such a tiny village, it's like living surrounded by family. Of course, it will only take one episode of breaking and entering (or, really, I suppose, just entering) for us all to lose the secure feeling, but, for now, it's like living in St Mary Mead.
England is chock-full of picturesque villages, through some of which Techy and I cycle happily together. We particularly enjoy Tamworth Springs, Whitcombe Mallet and Lower Blissingham.

Burward Mantle though - we keep pedalling. :omg:
 
Top