Can You Believe It.......?

...... No, and neither can I which is why I am having to tell you about it!  First let me set the scene.  I live in a house that has been converted into three flats and a several years ago the council decided to give every householder in the borough a nice new shiny black bin to put their rubbish in, rather than the plastic sacks that we had hitherto been using.  We duly got  one bin which was tiny in the extreme and a pamphlet that went with it stating that should  any rubbish be put in sacks then they would refuse (no pun intended here!) to collect, and if you put more rubbish than the bin could hold with the lid closed, then they would refuse to empty.  I phoned the council and explained that as there were families living in some of the flats the one bin was simply not big enough.  I also said that, as we were all paying separate rates for the flats, then surely we should be entitled to have three bins.  To give the council its due, I was duly delivered three big bins and had the smaller one removed.  No trouble thus far.  Fast forward a couple of years and the council decided to give us recycling bins as well, and along came three new bins along with the requisite pamphlet.  I live on the ground floor so I now have six bins in what is effectively my front garden!

About a month or so ago, one of the black bins (for non recyclable, non compostable waste) suddenly went missing.  It was a mystery.....  However, I decided not to do anything about it as we collectively don't have so much "normal" rubbish anymore.  Don't know why I am the only one to ever sort out stuff like this; I can only assume that the others think that the fairy does all the admin!  Back to the story in hand - today I was sitting at my computer, looking out onto the world (and my bins)  when I saw a man come across the road, have a look in all my bins and promptly wheel one of the green bins  back across the road!  He parked it opposite, which happens to be the flat attached to a shop, and started putting some cardboard boxes in it.  I was absolutely astounded, which is probably why I didn't react quite as quickly as I should have done.  I mean, stealing a bin in the dark is one thing, stealing a bin in the middle of the day is another. Now this man is, I am pretty sure, actually the owner of the said shop and flat, and he suddenly disappeared along the road before returning and going into the flat.  By this time I had managed to recover my wits and decided not be be like the cowardly lion, and go and do something about it.  With what I hoped was my stern face on, I marched across the road and banged on his door.  He opened it just as I was about to knock again, and I very sweetly said to him. "I live across the road and I have just seen you steal my green bin", which in hindsight could easily have not been the right thing to say.  "Oh" he replied, "you should only have two bins so I thought this one was mine". 

"No, I have always had three green bins."

"You only have two black bins which is why I thought this green bin was mine."

"That is because someone has already stolen one of our black bins", said I, looking suspiciously at his black bin! "Oh really", said he with, I thought, a rather sheepish look on his face.  "I thought this bin was mine because you should have two black bins and two green ones".

"No we have always had three bins for the three flats" I replied, becoming a little exasperated at his repetition.  At this point he then said "I have put some cardboard in it now".

"I know!"  I said with a touch of sarcasm. "You can ask the council for a new bin if yours has been stolen". 

"I will talk to the council and tell them that your black bin and my green bin have been taken by someone and they will give you a black bin and me a green one" 

 At this point I was on the verge of giving up! I felt like I was talking to a child rather than a man obviously older than me. The man then told me that when the bin has been emptied he would give it back to me.  Talk about cheek!  The bins were only emptied on couple of days ago and, as it is a fortnightly collection, he will have conveniently forgotten all about his "bargain" by the next visit from the dustmen.  I just decided to cut my losses and report that my bin has been stolen and that I need a replacement, which I did through the Internet with very little fuss - which is what he should have done when he realised that his bin was gone.  I hope that the new bin comes quickly as we do seem to generate an awful lot of recycling between us. 

I just thought that I would write about this little incident because it is the sort of thing that you couldn't make up.  I hope that you have had a little chuckle over it....

Until next time.