Did I need to know that?

It was yet another eventful walk with Charlie this morning. As we passed the bus stop, a random, lit candle was sat next to a discarded Red Bull can. I mean, why? How did it get there? There's a factory wall and the road, there's nothing there! Maybe some kids found it? It must have been lit last night; I can't see anyone bothering to light it at seven in the morning, can they? We walked on, determined to snuff out the image; see what I did there? No? Moving on.

After walking through the mini market, we greeted Charlie's favourite stall holder, who sells animal foods, treats, etc. We then walked past the vagrant's belongings stacked outside Home Bargains. Nice! I could give you my thoughts on these five guys that turned up in the town about three months ago, but then certain individuals will start calling me a Fascist or a Nazi. 😂😂
They'd probably move on if the cafe and Greggs stopped feeding them.

As you can imagine, we meet a lot of 'regulars' on our walk, and I've posted a lot about how I like to listen to books while on my daily circuit around the town and yet even though these people must be able to see my earbuds or headphones they insist on launching into a full-blown conversation as if I can hear every word they are saying never mind that they are interrupting my one bit of immersive peace. So, a guy Charlie and I have seen a few times headed towards us, clearly on a mission. I have no idea who he is or what his name is. I remember once, a couple of years ago, he asked me if the paper shop was open. Perfectly legitimate question, I hear you respond, except.

• a. I don't go anywhere near the newsagents on our walk.
• b. The Newsagents is about half a mile away from where we were.

Is that not weird in the slightest, is it? 😱

So he's walking with purpose towards us and speaking to me from about twenty feet away: "mmhhhmmhhhmmm." I promptly tear the right earbud from my ear, holding it towards his face in the hope it dawns on him that I was in a world of my own. "You'll be seeing a lot more of me; I've retired now!" he said.

WTF? What the actual F....? I don't know you, we don't speak, and the only thing we have in common is that I might nod towards you as a greeting now and again as we pass each other. They say that Londoners are miserable feckers because they don't speak to each other. I often wonder if that's not such a bad thing.

Northerner terrifies Londoners by saying "Hello"