It’s a cliche to say that you shouldn’t talk to strangers.

People do talk to strangers all the time, of course – you can’t help it if you want service and so on. Of course, there are also times when you don’t have to talk to strangers but you do. I went to give blood a few months ago and, having drunk copious amount of water so that I would bleed quickly and beat my brother, I needed to find a toilet. I didn’t want to take my bag with me, though, so I turned to the woman next to me. I didn’t know her; I’d only heard her speak once or twice, to her friend. However, I said something like – ‘excuse me, could you mind my bag, make sure no one runs off with it?’ And she smiled, and said yes, so I left and then came back a few minutes later and it was all ok. I thought about it later, though, and I wondered – who was to say she wouldn’t run off with my bag? I had no idea whether she was a kleptomaniac or not. Did my having sat next to her for maybe 10 minutes somehow alter her status as a stranger? And was my bag any safer with her supposedly keeping a watch? Was she exuding some sort of alert to would-be bag-nickers that she would beat them over the head if they attempted to steal the bag of a person she didn’t know?

It was very strange.