I met my youngest shoplifter today!

No Julia and Indy .... and no Carol and Sam this morning .... and no, it WASN’T raining.

Julia’s still recovering from a migraine and Carol and Sam were running late. Early mornings are not Carol’s favourite time of the day, particularly in winter and particularly when it’s still dark.


Even Pete and the girls at the Co-op were surprised that I was on my tod. They’re used to satisfying multiple caffeine fixes in the morning, not singles. 

It was the kind of morning I love. The low tide just about to turn, the sun poking its head over the horizon and bathing my bay in early morning beauty. It was warm too .... not your typical winter’s morning.

The hound of course was confused as to why we had no furry friends for company so we walked a different route to the beach. Different smells .... different sights. She’s recognising that her walk is curtailed earlier on Monday’s and Wednesdays. Crossing the green becomes a challenge .... she dawdles .... she lays down on the grass with her ball.  Her whole stance clearly indicates that she doesn’t want her fun on the beach to be over yet.

The clock’s ticking though so with a forlorn look on her face, she grudgingly picks up her lead and follows me up the hill. The bonus is that she gets to spend the day lying on Gareth’s bed!

Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee were back ... talking at the top of their voices

He lost her the other day. He popped out to do some shopping and the garage door didn’t close properly when he left. On arriving home he found the garage door open and no hound upstairs. He raced through the house calling her, panic setting in as he got no response. La Chocolat though .... clever hound that she is .... was lying comfortably on his bed, head up wondering what all the commotion was about. 
Hmmmm ..... and he says she misses me when I’m at work
 .... I wonder.


I just met my youngest shoplifter today .... a 10 month old baby girl. Her mom was busy looking at dresses in the shop and happened to glance down at her baby in the stroller. A horrified look crossed her face .... baby is chewing on a cuddly toy from the Baby shop in the Mall. Said toy still has it’s tag attached .... baby has quite clearly claimed it as her own despite her mother not having paid for it.

I had to chuckle. Anyone with children can relate to that.

She came back after having returned the toy to the shop, to continue browsing, and very nearly sent an elderly gentleman flying. We’d been chatting whilst she was browsing and she’s one of those individuals who talks with her arms! 

It made his day .... he told us it’s not often he gets attacked by women in the mall!

I could write a New York Central Park novel from all the snippets of conversation I hear as people walk in and out of the mall. Some snippets of conversation are quite hair-raising and leave me wondering what exactly they’ve been discussing .... my imagination goes into overdrive!

Gosh ... how can I NOT love this job!