Roadside Encounter

We’ve been having glorious weather for over a week now – 10 degrees Celsius warmer than is normal for this time of year. I decided yesterday to go out exploring cycle routes on my bike. I struck off in the general direction of Winterswijk, a town near the Dutch/German border. When I reached Winterswijk, I celebrated with an ice cream at Talamini’s Gelateria – the best Ice Cream Parlour in the region.

 

On my way back, I was pedalling gently through the outer part of Winterswijk, when a car pulled up alongside, and the passenger asked me a question in German. Looking over, I saw that the car was filled with German youth – boys in the front and girls in the back. I apologised, in English, that I couldn’t speak German. After a moment’s nonplussing, the boy then asked, in English, "can we buy things here in this town?". Odd question, thought I, and replied that they needed to turn around and head back to the centre, where the cafes, pubs and restaurants were open in and around the town square. More puzzlement from the boy, who then said, "er, thank you", accompanied by much giggling from the girls. They drove off.

 

It was a second or two later that I realised what they were after: drugs. And then I thought, what a bunch of idiots. They hadn’t thought to Google for Winterswijk’s one and only coffeeshop before setting off. Mad, impetuous, empty-headed youth. When I was that age, I think I had more sense than these youngsters seemed to have.