While September ended busily and October began much the same, it soon turned strange as well.
On 6th October, a Saturday, I travelled to
An odd Sunday when several small things went wrong during some DIY around the house was followed by an even stranger Monday. Everything was normal as I stopped off in Havant on the way back from a meeting with a client. I walked through the Meridian Centre on my way to collect a copy of the local newspaper, The News, from the Newspaper Office in
I was most of the way through the Meridian Centre when I was passed by some youths going the in the opposite direction, one of whom stopped, came over to me and started talking, asking questions, all of which fell somewhere between incomprehensible and gibberish. The only parts that made sense included something to do with Moo, which turned out to be M.O.O., an abbreviation for something to do with video and DVD and mention of a spoof programme whereby people were set up in some situation and secretly videoed, plus, occasionally asking me if I had a word for him.
It was at that point that I realised the youth had occasionally glanced down. When I looked down as well, I saw a video camera pointing at me. At that point I asked wheat he was up to and reached for the camera. He ran as fast as he could with me after him, catching up with him outside the north side of the Meridian Centre with the camera not in sight. Remembering he had asked me if I had a word for him, I reminded him of that and said I had not one word but two, “snivelling coward”.
In due course I tracked the student back to Havant College, the authorities of which readily apologised , along with a letter from the student, though he was still not brave enough to give his full name. The full storyof the college media student is related on my Journal Web Site.