Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Is there any 21st Century Civilisation in Hay?

A young man recently asked where the nearest toilets were while I was at work. I pointed across at the door, clearly marked 'Gentlemen' - and watched him wander straight out of the front door.
A few moments later, he was back. "Er, I couldn't find it," he said.
I pointed across at the door, clearly marked 'Gentlemen'. "It's inside" I said. (Hay may be quaint, but we have managed to get to the stage of having indoor toilets).
Also recently, a lady asked to pay a very small amount with her credit card. I looked a bit dubious, and she said she had no cash on her. "I've come up from London, and I didn't want to carry a lot of cash on the train," she said.
There was a short pause. Then I said, "We do have cash machines in Hay." (They do exist outside the M25).

(In re-enactment circles, these are known as MOP stories, short for Member of Public - and while doing living history we have been asked "Is that a real fire?" "Are you really going to eat that?" and have been told emphatically, "They didn't have babies in those days!")

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