Careless Talk Costs?
November 3, 2007I never fail to be surprised by the amount of private or sensitive information, people seem willing to broadcast to one and all,when talking into their mobile phones it is as though they think they are in their own private phone booth…. wrong.
The World War Two poster used to say careless talk cost lives and goodness knows how we would cope at keeping our mouths shut today, if our lives depended on it, this came to mind, whilst out shopping, yes, shopping on a Saturday morning, yuk, and at the start of November in over stocked and stuffed shops, yuk yuk, I had to take one of the boys to ‘far away town’ for a sporting event and I was left with time to fill; time for me to go alone to spend my birthday book voucher, that has been burning a hole in my pocket for months.
I am always staggered by the amount of private and sensitive information people are willing to broadcast over their mobile phones; I am not alone in eves dropping on conversations Hedgewizard, heard some crackers the other day and I promise you will never look at lychees in the same light again ever, see comments to the post)
In amongst the shelves of books, a man was braying into his mobile phone, you can’t close your ears these sort of conversations, even if you wanted,
He was telling a friend / colleague all about his part in the equity buyout of Musto clothing, (top quality wet weather,sailing , equestrian gear; a ‘Musto Snug’ jacket is a fine thing indeed.) So if any one in the industry wants to know about the planned positioning of the company within the market place and the projected figures for sales growth or the guys take on his new boss, I’m ya girl; but what really made me smile though, was the reason he was taking this job/risk ‘to make enough money to live where we want, and work in a bar’
If its any consolation, I last saw heard him heading for the business books section, maybe he was looking for some tips.
For me, I bought (appropriately?) Alan Bennett’s book, Talking Heads; reading Nan Down 1, on Random Acts of Reality the other day reminded me of Bennett’s screen play ‘Cream Cracker Under the Settee’ and I thought I might enjoy reading it, although when, I’m not sure, I seem to have a backlog of books at the moment, divided into two piles, those that must be read now, and the ones I would like to read now. Never mind, I’d best
Technorati Tags: Business, Books, Shopping, Talking Heads, Mobile Phone, Musto
I’m always amazed at what gets left in the photo copiers at the two shops where I work. Passports, driving licenses, bank statements, wills, letters, airline tickets and lots more. It’s sometimes days before they’re retrieved!
As you obviously like Alan Bennett then do read The Uncommon Reader if you’ve not already done so.
Thanks flighty, I do like his work, its his ‘ear’ for the detail in conversations that makes his work (for me) so observed.
We have a saying, that there is no sound as loud as the braying of an ass - this always comes to mind when i hear someone bellowing on their cell. We both wince and feel sorry for the poor person on the other side of the line, because if we can’t stand the level of noise, what about the one who’s being roared at in their ear?
And there are really some things people talk about that are more than i ever needed to know…
Young Lad: “She were fair up for it, I had her bent over the wall and was really giving it to her…”
Just then, the phone rang!
Braying posh git on the phone: “…and the Bentley broke down, so now I’m on the train… bray bray bray”
“…and you wouldn’t believe the people on the train… bray, bray, bray”
“…lobster sounds marvellous… bray, bray, bray.”
Then a very muscular, builder-looking chap leaves over, take the phone and tosses it through the little vent window.
Entire carriage breaks into cheers and claps.
I can’t remember the exact details of the last one as it was back in 2002, so I’ll paraphrase. I was standing on a train behind a chap in his 40s, shortish hair, in a moderately smart suit and a pair of plod shoes. He had a brief case and a suit bag with him and was talking on his mobile.
I actually thought he was another fantastist as he was talking about a prisoner transfer from Paddington Green, asking about the availability of an SO19 SFO team for escort etc.
Then I noticed the clothes in the bag had epaulettes on the shoulders with the outline of what looked to be a crown on them. He was a bleedin’ Met Superintendent talking about an operation! On a mobile. On the train.
And the final one was sitting in a park, having lunch and sitting next to a 40+ battleaxe chav, fag in hand while gruesome baby snorts and grunts in a buggy. Granny Chav is having the most sexually explicit and perverse phone conversation I’ve ever heard. In a pause, she turns to me, winks, covers the handpiece and says “he’s paying £1 a minute to get his rocks off with me”!
Stonehead’s comments are a ‘read’ in themselves! Brill.
Also like, “…no sound as loud as the braying of an ass”. Brill.
I’m going to use one of the posters for my blog if that’s ok with you?
Fine by me, I took them off the net!
I bought a copy of the ‘keep calm and carry on’ poster for a friend who was leaving the area to join one of the emergency services, seemed like a handy motto for their new life.
http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/
We have an original WWII poster entitle
‘If the invader Comes’
what to do -and how to do it
It gives instructions like ‘You must not be taken by surprise’ and ‘trust your local policeman’
I’ll scan it and post it if anyone is interested.