Yesterday, I was standing at the bus stop in front of the Hilton Hotel in Shepherds Bush (London), waiting for a bus back to Oxford. There was a particular chap there, perhaps in his late 30s or 40s, very weathered, thin and looking a bit rough. He was by himself. He was ripping open the packaging of a roll of kitchen foil (aluminum foil) with such vigour and consternation that I was frightened. Although he stood less than five feet from a rubbish bin, he dashed the torn shreds of cardboard on the ground in a haphazard and disturbing way. I found myself unconsciously stepping back from him and behind a low wall as I looked on.
Having freed the roll of foil from the box, this guy ripped a square foot of foil from the roll, dropping the rest of the roll on the ground. He then neatly folded the square of foil and placed it in the back pocket of his trousers.
That done, he caught the next bus that pulled up to the stop. The discarded roll of kitchen foil remained on the ground.
So, what was all that about? Does anyone have any ideas?
(Oh, sorry for no photos on this. I was too confused and, to be perfectly honest, frightened, to snap a shot of the discarded roll of foil after the guy was gone.)
I wonder what the square of foil was going to be used for. Protecting his wallet from alien mind-control devices?
No, I don’t think so. There was a ‘wallet bulge’ in his other back pocket. It was really weird. I am still concerned about it.
He probably heard about the magnetic radiation news headline y’day and knowing that Al is not magnetic decided to get some to protect himself – effective or not is for another discussion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7706844.stm
But he did not want to take what he did not need so took what he did, and just that.
Possible. What say?
@ Shefaly – Ha ha! But then he would have only been worried about protecting a very small percentage of his body.
I wondered whether it was possibly drugs related, but ditching the rest of the ‘drug equipment’ (the foil) when it could have been used for other ‘trips’ or even sold to other drug-users makes me want to discount that theory too.
[…] So, what the hell was that?! […]
@ Liam
He is probably testing a new way to CYA… 😉 Hence back pocket. If he were protecting his vitals, it would be, er, front pocket, no?
@ Shefaly … brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. You clearly have had an extra strong cup of coffee this morning! Ha-ha!
@ Liam
To think I do not drink tea or coffee on weekdays.. Shall I come back to this on the weekend after my skinny decaf latte? 😉
@ Shefaly: Wait a minute! No tea or coffee during the week. Only on the weekends? Blimey, what is that all about? Ha-ha.
For me, from Monday to Friday, I live for my two cups of coffee every morning. Not a crutch or an addiction, but certainly a delectable productivity tool.
@ Liam
Oh, I am a major self-control-freak 😉 My leisure and indulgences are strictly scheduled (as you can tell from my frequent reading of this blog, and from the contents of my freezer, if you could see it with its tubs of ice-cream all half-eaten with spoons directly; I also save on washing-up bowls and scoops).
@ Shefaly – At least you’re comfortable enough with your control issues to speak about them publicly … Ha-ha. That’s certainly more than most can say.
@ Liam
I like to control everything including the PR outings of my self-control. 😉
I’m not really a regular here or anything and this is my first comment but I wanted to mention that it seems pretty obvious that this guy you saw was a crackhead. Crack cocaine is smoked with tin foil, I’m not an expert but I’m pretty sure they use it like rolling paper so him folding it up and putting it in his back pocket so it wouldn’t get scrunched makes alot of sense. It would also explain why he looked worn out and didn’t give a crap about littering.
Also in regard to somebody’s comment about how if he was a druggie he would have kept the rest of the foil, crackheads only really think about their next hit..
Hi J –
Welcome and thanks for coming to visit. Please visit and comment as often as you like. All are welcome here.
As for the nutter being a crackhead, I suppose you’re probably right. I thought that myself, but I also appreciate that drug addicts never miss an opportunity to turn a few quid here or there. So, since this chap still had to take a bus to get to his fix, I found it weird that he ditched the whole roll of foil. That could have been sold or traded for something …
Then again, maybe he had the crack on him already and was just heading to his favourite spot to smoke … which would make your assessment fairly reliable.
Hi thanks for the welcome. Fair point about wanting to save money but he might have just stolen it, well if you ever see him again you can ask him for us!
@ J –
Yeah, I am pretty confident he did steal it, based on his actions.
Well, I guess I shall just have to make an excuse to head into London again on the Oxford Tube. What are the chances that I run into that bloke again? I’ll be ready with my camera and questions this time!
Our chickenmonkeydog reporter / private eye is on the beat! Woohoo!