Discussion Forum

Ladies and gentlemen of the Spoof:

What do yo think of the below tale? (Email example contributed by Kenneth D., July 6, 2009.)

Cheers,
Philbert



Email tale about a 'very pleasant attendant' who, for 25 years running, showed up every day at Bristol Zoo and collected parking fees from visitors, then one day simply disappeared with all the cash. Turns out no one had ever officially hired a car park attendant for the zoo. The man now lives in a villa in Spain.


Fw: A well-planned retirement

From The London Times:

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England, there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses.

It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars 1 pound (about $1.40) and coaches 5 (about $7).

This parking attendant worked there solid for all of 25 years. Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work.

"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management - "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant..."

"Err ... no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."

"Err ... no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?"

"Err ... NO!" insisted the Council.

Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, is a bloke who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at 400 pounds (about $560) per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over 3.6 million pounds ($7 million).

And no one even knows his name.

Sounds like the guy who wheels out a wheelbarrow full of sawdust from the sawmill one day. The guard at the gate contacts the foreman and finds out that, sure enough, the man asked if he could take home a load of sawdust.

The next week, the same thing happens and the guard once again calls the foreman. It happens week after week and the guards eventually just stop calling and start waving the man through.

Many years later, the guard and the employee are both retired and they happen to meet up in a bar. The guard asks "what did you do with all that sawdust that you were stealing for all those years?"

"Sawdust?" says the man. "I was stealing wheelbarrows."

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Quote: Jalapenoman

Sounds like the guy who wheels out a wheelbarrow full of sawdust from the sawmill one day. The guard at the gate contacts the foreman and finds out that, sure enough, the man asked if he could take home a load of sawdust.

The next week, the same thing happens and the guard once again calls the foreman. It happens week after week and the guards eventually just stop calling and start waving the man through.

Many years later, the guard and the employee are both retired and they happen to meet up in a bar. The guard asks "what did you do with all that sawdust that you were stealing for all those years?"

"Sawdust?" says the man. "I was stealing wheelbarrows."

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JM:

Thanks.

I am eagerly awaiting the UK folks to weigh in with their comments! Hello Skoob! I will provide the source, after that.

Skoob did you every see my comments about your mentioning American Football vice European Football?

Cheers,
philbert

Hi Philbert

For openers, I'm a Times reader, and can verify that Philbert's story about the car park attendant is true.

I'll have to check out your football story.

I'll do it now.

Regards

Skoob.