Picture the Scene.....
It's the centre of Cardiff, around Novemberish of last year, about 7 in the evening. I'm wandering through the rainy evening streets when I'm approached by a young lady carrying a clip-board.

Now I'm a gentleman (honest) so I offer her half of the dry area under my umbrella and let her talk to me about the plight of poor people losing their sight in Africa. We chatted, our eyes met, we smiled.

"Yes, of course I'll sign up for a direct debit.. What? You only need two more and you've finished for the day? Well, I'll sign my mother up as well using my savings account." What a nice Christmas present it will be...

Turns out she couldn't leave her team, so I headed off to a leading brand coffee shop for two take-outs while she filled in the paperwork in a doorway.

I returned, signed on the dotted line, let her use my mobile to call someone she'd signed up earlier for their bank details, left her my phone number (as one would) and departed.

It was only a couple of days later, when I got a text from the bloke she rang (asking about that drink they were going to have) that the penny dropped. Grr... Isn't there a name for girls who only cuddle up with you in the rain for money?

Yep, I'd been had...

However, a few months later I met my current girlie (who is lovely...) and had previously worked demanding charity money on the street. Only then did I learn that by cancelling the direct debits after less than 3 months, I've denied her any form of payment at all for my signature... The last laugh is mine....
(mellotron never could get the hang of Thursdays, Sat 20 Oct 2007, 19:05, Reply)