Tuesday 20 July 2010

Faith, Hope and Charity,

www.hairyplumonster.com

I did my first proper charity event last week for Oxfam in Cheadlle Heath, and although they were advertising it for weeks as part of their own book week, the turnout was slightly disappointing.  Amongst the children who did manage to drag their parents down to the shop were Sophie and Maya, who were part of the workshop group the previous Thursday. 

They were eager to listen to The Hairy Plug Monster again and even more so to Golden Arm... as the morning went on I hung around and managed to sell a few more books to the odd customer, and one person even bought two, just because the were signed by the Author.....me!!!

Due to the fact that I hung around trying to sell more books, (the proceeds of which went to Oxfam,) I ended up being 8 minutes late back to the car and subsequently got a parking ticket....

Now, although I am not a believer, I like to hedge my bets and generally live a very good, clean life doing little to rattle my conscience.  Subsequently I like to believe that although I have not bought a ticket, they still might let me in just because I am the type of person they would want up there, (besides if I am wrong at least I can still party)..I would also like to think that doing a good turn like supporting Oxfam and donating the proceeds to the shop would earn me extra brownie points in the great scheme of things.

You might say that the 'lord moves in mysterious ways',....... which again is fine,  but I want to know why he is moving around my car and checking the time on my ticket before slapping me with fine?

Perhaps it was a sign........

So off I went looking for the over zealous warden who obviously didn't know of my mission in the hope to reason with their better nature.  I tracked them down in the adjacent car park and presented my case.

 At first I thought I was in luck as the warden was a lady, and I figured that with my cheeky grin, a smile and a wink and hey-ho "job's a gud'un".  However as I drew near and saw the short cropped hair and several facial piercings (all of which looked like they hurt a lot) I knew that boyish charm alone is not going to get me off the hook lightly.

I changed tack straight away and presented myself as a really apologetic, sycophantic man whose only crime was to stay a little longer than he ought.... in order to raise a little bit of money to help build a library in Afghanistan.....

I even showed her the book, which she declined to buy on the grounds that she didn't have any kids and even turned down the offer of an "Xtra Strong Mint".  She did however invite me to present my case to the local council and wished me good luck....

So with regards to the title of this blog.   I am now putting Faith in my fellow man, in the Hope that on this occasion I am not going to be penalised for supporting Charity....

Anyone who wishes to donate to a specially set up fund can visit www.hairyplugmonster.com and leave a deposit with paypal and in return for your generosity I will send a signed copy of The Hairy Plug Monster..... ( traffic wardens are especially welcome).

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