David vs useless mugger. Fight!

[davywavy]

Wandering home from the gym last night, logging my session on fitocracy as I strolled, a man approached me on the pavement.
"Excuse me", he said in a thick accent*, "do you know the way the Chelsea Bridge?"
"Sure!", I said, half-turning and pointing with my free hand. "It's over-"
At that moment he lunged forward, grabbed my other arm and tried to snatch my phone. I shook him off and gave him a shove away.

There was a long moment where we just looked at each other. He wasn't that much shorter than me, which is unusual, but he was either noticeably older than I am or had spent the last couple of decades drinking far more than me. It's difficult to say. I could have sworn at him, or run away, or punched him, but didn't. Instead I was just annoyed.
It's interesting to learn how one reacts in a situation like this, and I can report my reaction is one of peevishness.
He, in his turn, glared at me as if I'd acted entirely unreasonably in declining to give him a free telephone**. Lord knows. Perhaps he thought I should be handing it over just because. "Here, take this iPhone. Tip-top condition. It's even got Flappy Bird on it." Something like that, perhaps.

And then he ran off.

Actually, I say "ran" but he went off in a sort of half-walk half-jog and I went the other way looking over my shoulder. It was mildly embarrassing in a British sort of way. This always happens when someone tries to mug me and realises I'm not going to let them, like that time during the riots a couple of years ago.

About five or ten minutes later it struck me that I ought to hail a constable and let them know this fellow was about.

And then I went home and ate pancakes, none the worse for my little adventure.

*I'm not going to say what accent it was. I'm going to let you imagine based on your personal prejudices. It's funnier that way.
**Bloody socialists.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Did he look like Don?

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

The universe wanted to give you a birthday present and this is simply the best it could come up with.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

The universe is a bit rubbish, isn't it?

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

A bit rubbish, yes, but in its defence it absolutely tops the list of Best Known Universes.

[nicnac.livejournal.com]

Welsh, I reckon.

[(Anonymous)]

Did he look a bit like Gordon Brown fallen on hard times?

H

[kormantic.livejournal.com]

Pancakes do soothe all manner of excitements, but maybe a description to the local cops would have been okay. The next person a-strolling might have been a wee old lady or a scaredy cat. I'm glad you still have Flappy Bird!