Well, dear readers, it seemed like we were celebrating the last of the relatively warm evenings/nights. The twilight hours of this last day of the month revealed some very lively and bustling Lichfield City streets as the Fab Five set up their stall and wares ready for another night of the unexpected. And it started off in a totally unexpected way when a very nice gentleman stopped by for a coffee and proceeded to tell us that Lichfield was not his normal stomping ground and that he was out for his older son's Stag Night. He had his younger son with him - who he said had had 'too much to drink' (on a Stag Night.... nah, we thought!!).
After a short chat, where he commended us for what we were doing and let us know he was an AA Roadside 'knight', we finally got to meet Lewis, the future bridegroom. Here we are seeing a grown young man dressed as a bride (see the attached photo if you don't believe us!!). They were all just having a bit of harmless fun, most of which many of them probably won't remember come the morning...
Our regular coffee guzzler and homeless person, Francis came by, had a few and left. One of our LNL team leaders stopped by on his way home from a party in tow was Sarah, the Deputy Town Clerk who has expressed a serious interest in helping the LNL in admin and Social Media!
A lady passed by clearly struggling with her high heels and was coaxed to one of our chairs with the offer of relieving her tired feet with a pair of our very slinky flip flops for which there was no end of thanks and relief as she headed back off into the night.
Another man stopped by as he seemed to have some vague knowledge about us and what we did. He then revealed that his name was Jim and when he was 17 (and very drunk) he remembers us being helpful towards him. He is now 39, had served in the army with three tours in Afghanistan, now married with three kids and was grateful for us still being here doing what we do all those years later!! Ahhh...it warms our hearts when we hear stories like that (besides making some of us feel very old).
A sad encounter of the night was a young 16-18 year old lad who had either drunk a bit too much or was high on something. He started out by saying that what we were doing all people should do in helping one another. He then casually declared he was going to a rally/demonstration in London on Sept 13 that was being organised by Tommy Robinson, former organiser of the English Defence League and then began to ask why some people have got a problem with the 'flags' and haven't they got a love for their country? He then wandered off still slightly hyper...it seems such a sad situation when young minds get drawn in the subversive undercurrents of movements that pedal antagonism and hatred disguised as patriotism...it seems to fly in the face of a civilised and inclusive society.
It was a night of generosity from the general public via donations (even though we tell them that it is a free service)...God bless them all!
The night ended in an uplifting way for us all by a) the arrival of the lovely Millenium Chicken tray of chips, hand delivered as always by big Bobby and b) the last minute beverage request from Bailey and Millie. They were two lovely young adults who wanted to know everything about us as though we were celebrities!! We had to start packing away whilst they carried on talking to us - but such lovely genuine people...their parents should be proud of them.
Well 1am came and it was time for to get back to our Ovaltine and slippers (only kidding - we don't wear slippers).