51. London - The Thief


Photo: of the piece of Liberty fabric I bought today.

Today has been a day that we won’t forget in a long, long time.

As we were having breakfast this morning in ghe hotel in which we are staying, a man stole my handbag. In it were my credit cards but not my phone or passport. As soon as I noticed it was gone and it was only minutes later, Norm immediately cancelled my cards and then while I scoured the local streets in the hope that he tossed it , Norm reported it to the police. But alas there was no sign of the bag. The man was caught on cctv and so if there’s any chance of finding him, then the police have got a good chance. He was Caucasian and in his 50s or maybe 60s, clean shaven and looked every part your regular tourist, strolling in the dining area of a tourist hotel - which is on the ground floor with no checks of who is availing themselves of breakfast. However, his modus operandi was one of an experienced opportunist, as the cctv clearly showed. And “no, I didn’t leave my bag unattended”, it was on the chair next to me, as I ate my breakfast and I was right there!!!! I can’t believe it!!! Norm was at the machine making a cuppa for himself.

Anyway, we’ve done all we can for now and other than some inconveniences to us he hasn’t actually got much for his effort. There wasn’t much cash in it but it did have a topped-up Oyster card.

One irony is that the bag he took is a “thief-proof” one! So that wasn’t much use to me, was it?

Once we took a deep breath and dusted ourselves down, we caught the bus into Oxford Circus for me to visit one of my favourite shops - Liberty.

And I bought a souvenier from there in the way of a gorgeous piece of fabric.

We’ve both had a rather flat sort of day but are optimistic that it won’t spoil the rest of our holiday.

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