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The things customers leave behind
WE'VE all done it. Left something behind
somewhere, and can't remember when we last had it. Or know where it
is but cannot go back
to retrieve it because we were simply passing through a town.
It is certainly true of the
former owners of these umbrellas which "decorate" the coat stand in
the Inglenook Tea Shoppe in Pillory Street, Nantwich. As I write, there are
eight small umbrellas, a "golfing" umbrella, a raincoat and a pair of pink
gloves.
They have all been left
behind by customers - mainly visitors to the town - otherwise they
would have been reclaimed by now.
The proprietors, Caroline
and Bob Hope, have more umbrellas at home (removed
to make space for the next batch) - and
yet more have been borrowed by locals caught out in a sudden downpour.
Not pictured is a cushion
which a person in a wheelchair brought into the tea shoppe and
transferred to their chair at one of the tables while they dined. When they left,
they forgot to transfer it back. So it became available to any
customer who needed to use it. Since then more cushions have been
put on chairs
But the best "lost
property" of all (albeit briefly) was a pair of false teeth, or dentures if you
prefer. Bob explained that the wearer took them out in the "wash room" after
a meal - and then left the tea shoppe without them. They returned,
red faced,
several minutes later to reclaim them.
Didn't their mouth feel
different? Weren't they talking differently?
Other lost property has been:
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A loaf of bread a customer had bought in the Tea Shoppe
and placed on
the umbrella tree while he enjoyed a meal. (What was wrong with his
table?) And, yes, he left without it! The day was saved by Bob
calling to him across the car park at the back of the shoppe to let
him know.
l There must have been tears before
bedtime when one youngster went home without a bug-eyed, purple
plastic centipede. It wasn't nice to touch but the child
probably loved it.
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But she couldn't find them
anywhere on Inglenook's menu. They must sell the dish, there were three fish adverts on
the tea shop's windows. Eventually, she gave up and asked where
the meal was listed. Bob had to point out that the "advertisements"
she had seen was the Christian fish symbol (right, on the
tea shop's front door). Bob and Caroline are regular churchgoers,
and while they will not insist on customers saying grace before they
eat, diners will often get a cheery "God bless" as they leave.