Ripped off

I knew that people habitually steal items from restaurants, but I had no idea it happened on such a huge scale.
 
Just about anything in a restaurant will be stolen sooner or later – cutlery, cups, glassware, plates, salt and pepper shakers, condiment bottles, soaps and lotions. Even tips left on tables can be stolen.
 
Well, Jenny and I are scrupulously honest and never steal anything. Partly because we would feel so deceitful and partly because we know restaurants operate on very tight margins and could do without the cost of replacements.
 
Why are people happy to indulge in such petty theft as if it’s the most normal thing in the world? They can easily afford to buy what they’re stealing so why steal? Do they just like the frisson of doing something they shouldn’t?
 
Not to mention the “dine and dash” types who have a hearty meal and then sneak out of the restaurant without paying. No doubt they entertain their friends with stories of how they got the better of extortionate prices. No doubt they could easily swallow the prices but fancy the cheap thrill of ripping someone off and being five-minute rebels.
 
No, I’m not being sanctimonious. Just a decent citizen.

Feeling the pinch

If you thought nobody would have the nerve to steal from a charity shop, you'd be wrong. In fact right now thefts are rocketing because crowded shops make it easy.

The recession has tempted more and more hard-up people into charity outlets, and it's hard for the staff (often elderly volunteers) to keep a close eye on what's going on.

Usually there's no security equipment and volunteers have no specialised security training. So things like clothes, DVDs and books are disappearing in droves.

Whether the thieves are taking things for their own use or to sell on to others isn't clear, but it's certainly making a big dent in charity income.

The British Heart Foundation estimates they're losing up to £2.5 million a year - money urgently needed for medical research and improved treatments. And that's just one charity.

Do the thieves believe their own needs are more important than those with heart disease? Or do they simply not care and just see charity shops as easy pickings?

If people really are desperate enough to steal, you'd think they would at least choose big commercial companies that can afford to lose some of their fat profits rather than organisations trying to help the sick and vulnerable. Have they absolutely no conscience? Or shame?

It might also deter people from donating to charity shops if they think their offerings will simply be ripped off for nothing. Donations are slowing as it is, with hard-pressed households hanging on to things rather than replacing them.

It's depressing to see how many people have the morals of a turnip.
.................................................................................

How about that? Scientists have discovered the world's first known vegetarian spider. Bagheera kiplingi, which was found in South America, lives almost exclusively on the leaf buds of wild acacia plants. All the other 40,000 species of spider are thought to be carnivorous. Let's hear it for those ground-breaking arachnids!