- Joined
- Oct 2, 2011
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- 1
I was in the Pound Shop in Edinburgh's St James Centre around a year ago when I noticed a girl around the age of 17 or 18 looking quite disorientated and confused as to her surroundings. I would never usually focus on someone for more than a few seconds (as you do) when out shopping, but I couldn't take my gaze off her as there was something a bit 'strange' about her....
She was studying the bags of sweets hanging on the display rack, and I then watched her very timidly ask one of the store assistants for help. She said she was looking for a specific type of sweet, and I've forgotten exactly which type she named, but I remember it was something 'old fashioned' and traditional like 'boilings' or a name not associated with a brand. I thought it odd at the time that a teenage girl would be looking for this type of sweet, and secondly, specifically in a pound shop.
The shop assistant was being as helpful and kind as possible and seemed quite concerned about the girl. The conversation between the two went on for a good 5 minutes, and I had trouble hearing what was said, but it was all very intense and mainly concerned the type of sweet and that the girl was okay (her well being)
The assistant recommended to the customer that she try Thorntons which was a short walk along to the end of the precinct, and would seem like the obvious choice for a specialist sweet of that type.
I should point out, the girl wasn't partially blind (with stick etc), or disabled in any way, and had seemingly got to the shop on her own. But I remember her asking the assistant for help or guidance OUT of the shopping centre before even enquiring as to how to get to Thorntons.
The other thing that I noticed was her clothing - very 'matronly' for a teenager (old fashioned). She spoke English but I couldn't decipher the accent.
The reason I've typed this story is that I have recently read a book called 'UFO Scotland' which tells of two strange people, about 5 ft tall, with American accents walk into an Edinburgh Pizza shop. They each raised their right hands and with their palms facing the counter, they announced 'Hi, we're Americans'.
The female had lopsided shoulders and the male was looking around the shop in amazement as if he'd never seen a pizza parlour before.
They asked the assistant 'What do you make?' When they were told 'Pizza' they asked ''What are pizzas''?, and seemed completely unfamiliar with this type of food. They pointed at a pepper (in the cabinet of ingredients) and asked what it was. 'Does it taste nice?' they asked. After ordering, they waited while the Pizza was being made, and stood absolutely still, not uttering a word to each other.
After being given the Pizza, they left the shop. The assistant noticed they each took a bite out of the Pizza and threw the rest in the bin outside.
Alien life forms masquerading as humans, and not doing a very good job of it - that's the theory with this story, and it reminded me of the strange girl in the pound shop, so thought I'd post it here!
She was studying the bags of sweets hanging on the display rack, and I then watched her very timidly ask one of the store assistants for help. She said she was looking for a specific type of sweet, and I've forgotten exactly which type she named, but I remember it was something 'old fashioned' and traditional like 'boilings' or a name not associated with a brand. I thought it odd at the time that a teenage girl would be looking for this type of sweet, and secondly, specifically in a pound shop.
The shop assistant was being as helpful and kind as possible and seemed quite concerned about the girl. The conversation between the two went on for a good 5 minutes, and I had trouble hearing what was said, but it was all very intense and mainly concerned the type of sweet and that the girl was okay (her well being)
The assistant recommended to the customer that she try Thorntons which was a short walk along to the end of the precinct, and would seem like the obvious choice for a specialist sweet of that type.
I should point out, the girl wasn't partially blind (with stick etc), or disabled in any way, and had seemingly got to the shop on her own. But I remember her asking the assistant for help or guidance OUT of the shopping centre before even enquiring as to how to get to Thorntons.
The other thing that I noticed was her clothing - very 'matronly' for a teenager (old fashioned). She spoke English but I couldn't decipher the accent.
The reason I've typed this story is that I have recently read a book called 'UFO Scotland' which tells of two strange people, about 5 ft tall, with American accents walk into an Edinburgh Pizza shop. They each raised their right hands and with their palms facing the counter, they announced 'Hi, we're Americans'.
The female had lopsided shoulders and the male was looking around the shop in amazement as if he'd never seen a pizza parlour before.
They asked the assistant 'What do you make?' When they were told 'Pizza' they asked ''What are pizzas''?, and seemed completely unfamiliar with this type of food. They pointed at a pepper (in the cabinet of ingredients) and asked what it was. 'Does it taste nice?' they asked. After ordering, they waited while the Pizza was being made, and stood absolutely still, not uttering a word to each other.
After being given the Pizza, they left the shop. The assistant noticed they each took a bite out of the Pizza and threw the rest in the bin outside.
Alien life forms masquerading as humans, and not doing a very good job of it - that's the theory with this story, and it reminded me of the strange girl in the pound shop, so thought I'd post it here!