A few years back
A group of friends and I regularly used to drink in a pub in Kentish Town (Jorene Celeste, home of the very first b3ta bash).

Mate of mine from the Midlands had come down to visit on the occasion of his 18th birthday, and after drinking a bottle of white wine very quickly, staggered off out to Camden with the aim of scoring some pills, weed, coke, or anything remotely pharmaceutical.

About an hour later, he turned up again, looking rather beaten up, skint, and without any drugs. He couldn't really remember much in the way of details aside from the fact he'd followed a couple of blokes down an alley to buy from them.

I don't really think being pissed up, male, about 6'8" tall, and wearing a Chinese Dress & full make-up helped his cause much. Wearing a sign which just read "EASY FUCKING TARGET" probably would have been less conspicuous.


On a separate note, I did get mugged on the way back from that first b3ta bash. After drinking far too much, not eating, and going the wrong way on the Northern Line from Kentish Town, I embarked on a passed-out magical mystery tour which involved Finchley Central, Nightbuses, Broken Office chairs in Trafalgar Square, and and cumulated in me being passed out on the Nightbus back to Grove Park in SE London.

Somewhere near Catford a group of pot-smoking wideboys on the bus relieved me of my work phone whilst I was slumped out. I came to with one of them with his hand in my coat pocket trying to nick my wallet. I just grinned up and him, and chirpily slurred "Hello" to him. He just said, "Ah...", put the wallet back and just got off the bus.

It took me the best part of 6 hours to get home. At least they never noticed the Camera and PDA in my other pocket.

From this, I can only assume that in the right circumstances, being unexpectedly pleasant to a mugger or pickpocket can have the desired results of keeping most of your stuff.
(Glis, Mon 19 Jun 2006, 17:26, Reply)