Fame

I was delighted recently to see one of my photos published in our local newspaper, the fairly provincial but well respected Eastern Daily Press.

We had been out on the river and rounded a bend to be met by the sight in the attached photo. No panic, just get as near to the bank as possible and wait. However, there was very little wind and it seemed to take forever for the yachts to sail past us. The Broads Authority ranger who came across the same sight as us promptly turned round, shouting that he would 'clear the way' for the yachts, prompting one of the skippers to comment later that they felt like a circus parade being led by the ringmaster. I think it would have been more fun not to warn other boats and watch the antics as the hire boats tried to negotiate the daunting bunch of 'sailies'.

On an impulse I sent the photo to the newspaper, not thinking for a moment they would publish it as I have done this before with no luck but was pleasantly surprised to see my photo in an almost half page spread the same week, attached to the report of the race - the Snowflake Sailing Club first race of the winter season - the Tri-Icicle.

Fame at last!

Urban myth ...?

I was recently sent the message copied below and, whilst treating it with a slight amount of skepticism, I felt duty bound to forward it on - in particular to my daughters who are most often too distracted by loading shopping and children into their vehicles to notice a piece of paper. Whilst forwarding it, I scanned down my list of family and friends and sent it to one or two others, particularly those who live in urban areas.

Warning..!!!!
Just last weekend on Friday night we parked in a public car park. As we drove away I noticed a sticker on the rear window of the car. When I took it off after I got home, it was a receipt for petrol. Luckily my friend told me not to stop as it could be someone waiting for me to get out of the car. Then we received this email yesterday.

WARNING FROM POLICE
THIS APPLIES TO BOTH WOMEN AND MEN
BEWARE OF PAPER ON THE BACK WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE--
NEW WAY TO DO CARJACKINGS (NOT A JOKE)'

Heads up everyone! Please, keep this circulating.. You walk across the car park, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine put it into Reverse.

When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you stop and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view.
When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically run you over as they speed off in your car.

And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car. So now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!

BEWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED.

If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, lock your doors and just drive away.
Remove the paper later. And be thankful that you read this e-mail. I hope you will forward this to friends and family, especially to women.
A purse contains all kinds of personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT want this to fall into the wrong hands.

Now, I feel sure that most of the women I sent this message to would read it and store the information somewhere at the back of their minds for possible future use. However, my darling, logical brother emailed me to say that anyone who didn't notice a piece of paper stuck to their rear windscreen deserved to have his/her car stolen! I thought this was a bit harsh! I'm not suggesting that women are less observant than men but they normally have a lot more distractions during the day and after dark their first priority is to get into the car and lock the doors, particularly if parking in a city centre car park or street.

I love my brother dearly but I do wonder if he understands how vulnerable some women feel in certain circumstances, particularly as they get a bit older ;-))