Rumours

There's a rumour doing the rounds of our neighbourhood that a paedophile has moved into the area, about a hundred yards away as the unladen African Swallow flies. It all began when a car stopped next to one of the girls in Nathalie's year and said something to her, nobody knows what was said but the girl in question was upset enough to run home to her mum in tears.

The Mum told Dad and he went round to the person in question's house to 'sort him out'. Meanwhile the Mum phoned a friend of hers who is also a friend of Janis's and soon the old jungle drums were being hit loud and clear. The girls father knocked on the front door of the house in question and didn't get a reply so he sat on the pavement outside of the house waiting for signs of life. After an hour of waiting a police car turned up and asked him to move on because he was causing a disturbance. Now, I'm not wanting to advocate mob law but, can one man sitting peacefully on a pavement constitute a disturbance?

Anyway the Police it seemed weren't being completely heavy handed, they sent him off with the knowledge that "they already know about him and are keeping an eye on him."

When Janis had a word with Nathalie about him, simply restating the old adage about not talking to strangers (policeman, vicars, shop-keepers, the lollipop lady, aside) Nathalie replied by saying that she would just walk off if he stopped the car near her and if he came after her she would, in her own thirteen year old words, "kick him in the nuts."

I knew karate would have to be more than a defensive martial art one day.