About five years ago not long after starting a new job as an assistant manager in a pub in darkest scumtown, some guy came in claiming to be ex army raising money for the kid of one of his army mates who had leukemia or something similar. The guy seemed genuine, and wanting to make as impression in my new job, I badgered the owner into having a charity night for the guy. We had donations at the door and planned to raffle off all the promotional bumf that was cluttering up the celler. On the night this character arrives in uniform weighed down by a truly stagering amount of gongs, and goes about thanking everybody for turning up etc. As the night goes on the stories start getting wilder and wilder (knowing nothing about the military I put it down to a few too many shandies). Shortly before closing four of Strathclydes finest burst in the door and walk through the bar taking a good look at all the customers. While im dealing with them (unrelated matter) said character aparently goes chalk white and goes for a cool sharp harp, never to be seen again.
Think the guy was at it. Certainly made me look like a right
with all the customers and the owner. If the police hadnt have come in when they did the guy would have walked away with the best part of £600 and nobody would have been any the wiser. As a result the owner, who was not the most charatable at the best of times, now blanks any kind of charity approaches.
On a lighter note, in the summer i met a guy working as a security guard in a bank who kept us all amused with stories about his service in Iraq with the TA SAS. Won a medal for his part in a covert mission that involved him hand peeling 80,000 spuds in just one day. Why? "Cant tell you that. National security".!