Page 44 - Seniorstoday July 2022 Issue

the corporate competition is difficult. order, they dine and in between a flower
• Lazy and work-shirkers as they got a taste
of free money dished out by governments
for unemployment.
Yes, the situation for 80% of the world is
grim.
While the well-heeled are unaffected, the
rest of the world who sees them, definitely
want a piece of this free pie.
How are they going to get that iPhone 13,
or a limited edition bag or the most coveted
prize: a wad of cash?
Where do the homeless, the immigrants
living in shelters or just the jobless get their
daily bread?
They form gangs,
They train to be suave pickpockets, bold
muggers and daylight thieves and excellent
bikers.
They survey the posh (supposedly safe)
areas, the restaurants, the shops, and the
houses in which the swish set hang.
The crime rate is at its peak and expected
to peak further later this year.
A couple of my friends have been targeted
by this crime and have relayed a first-hand
account of either getting pickpocketed in a
restaurant, mugged or home theft.
So, the family was at a restaurant in the
heart of London, Al Hambra in Mayfair
to be precise, police cars lurking around
the safe area. The restaurant has just three
tables waited upon, not full at all. They
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seller places a rose on the table, just like
he did on the other tables and comes back
for the two pounds, when she returns the
rose saying ‘no, thank you’ he takes it and
leaves. Nothing unusual.
It’s time to pay the bill, my friend reaches
for her big handbag which she had slung
on the backrest of her chair, only to find
the handles and no bag attached to it. She
immediately raised an alarm, asked for
the restaurant manager who shrugged his
shoulders. They went outside to report to
the police who were hovering around only
to get a response that this is a very common
thing and they would need to go to the
police station and file a complaint, which
could take any number of days, months or
even years. Leave alone the unhelpfulness
of the restaurant staff, the police, the
trauma of dealing with cancellation of all
credit cards, cash gone, expensive bag gone
or remembering what else was in the bag?
Plus having to reach home without a pound
on you. It’s out of your control.
Lesson learnt: carry a bag that will fit on
your lap, under your dinner napkin. Do
not carry important documents like your
passport, ID. Limit the cash you carry
around and stick to one credit card, maybe
two as a backup.
As recent as three weeks ago, another
group of friends were returning home
from an evening show at the cinema. Just a
15-minute walk to home, the crisp weather
and saving on the exorbitant Uber cab ride.
The chatty group embarked on their short
trip home. Suddenly a biker slowed down
near them, yanked the phone out of the
trouser pocket of one of the guys and sped
off. In a flash of a moment, it was all over,
before he could even react, the biker was
long gone.