The Antiques price guide? I repeat.
Yes, for 2009, the lady replies.
No, sorry, I say, I don't keep it in stock, but I could certainly get you one for tomorrow.
You don't keep it in stock?
No, but like I say, I could get you one for tomorrow.
How much is it, please?
Thirty pounds, I say.
Thirty, the lady says, adding, I've seen it for twenty.
Which is precisely why I don't keep it in stock, I say. That and the fact that it's the most stolen book in the whole of the printed world.
I see, says my customer. A thought bubble hovers above her head. It contains a word. That word is, *loser*.
But we don't care, do we children.
More stolen than the Guinness Book of Records? I guess I could look that up. If the Guinness Book of Records hadn't been stolen.
Posted by: Marie | June 25, 2009 at 12:20 AM
Millers, Guinness, A-Zs, ... oh and hardback "autobiographies" of footballers and gangsters. And true crime. the Identikit slowly starts to come together...
Posted by: LucyFishwife | June 25, 2009 at 03:51 PM
Yeah, a Policeman taking a report of a shoplift once told me that whenever they go into homes of known criminals the only books on the shelf will be "Mad Frankie Fraser"-type memoirs and Millers Antique Price Guide.
Posted by: MikeP | June 29, 2009 at 06:45 AM