BB FANS

Cameron,

First of all thanks for answering so many questions... you are an invaluable 'resource'.

Can I trouble you with yet another question...

During BB4, one day (morning or early afternoon), you were out in the garden..and you told some story about being in the U.S., and buying some fast food (may not have got that bit right)..and there was some question about getting the incorrect change..or something.

I know this is all a bit vague..but I only heard part of what you said, and I remember thinking it was a good story, but I wondered if I had taken it up correctly....did you end up getting too much money or something?

I'm not making any sense...but it has bothered me that I only heard half the story.. I'm a bit of a 'bargain-Annie' myself, and take great interest in hearing tales of people saving money....!

Thanks


STOP PRESS: I made it sound boring - but read Cameron's reply and you will see why I wanted to hear it again!

[/b]

If you can narrow the day down a bit I might have it on tape.
I still have every day from 12 Midday till 6pm off both broadband feeds.
They used to have a good achieve on DS that might help.

I'm afraid I can't narrow the day down..sorry..

It was just one sunny day...thanks anyway, Larry...before July, I think!

Maybe The Great Man himself might remember, some drizzly November Tuesday morning..and reply!

(On the other hand, it might feel a bit like being on trial - 'And do you not remember, Mr Stout, that you clearly said on the such and such that such and such...!)

Sorry gg! Here goes...

My brother, a friend of ours and I spent one summer at an American summer camp. My brother headed home afterwards but our friend and I wanted to go travelling, so we took a "driveaway" from Boston to San Fransisco. (A driveaway is when you take a car from one place to another on behalf of a person moving house or the like - similar to renting but there's not usually a charge, as you're doing the person a favour (albeit an "official" favour))

At the driveaway office, on collecting the Toyota 4x4, I had to pay a $300 deposit, refundable at the other end of the trip. We were very lucky securing the car from Boston to SF, because it was the exact journey we wanted to do, and normally you just have to take more or less what's on offer.

In the BUNAC (summer camp) handbook, it advises not to take the returned deposit by cheque, as it's difficult for non-Americans to cash cheques in the US. Anyway, at the return office in SF, I had no choice but to take a cheque and the office person assured me that thier bank on the next block would cash it no problem.

With an empty wallet I went to the bank and asked for the cheque to be paid $200 in travellers' cheques and $100 hard cash, which they kindly did.

So, with 5 x $20 in my wallet I went across to McD and got about $3 or $4 of stuff for lunch. I got my filet-o-fish or whatever it was and handed over one of my $20's. The woman gave me $15 in paper change and I turned to collect my food. She shouted me back to give me the rest of the change (which I obviously expected to be a dollar and some change) but she gave me coins and $80. I said that I had given her a $20 and that she had given me too much change, but she was sure I had given her a $100 bill. I knew I hadn't had a spare $100 bill, so insisted that I had only handed over a $20 but she was as adamant as I was!

I went to my seat and felt a bit uneasy about it so checked my receipt and right enough - I had given $20 and my change should have been about $16 but it was in fact $96 or so. With receipt in hand I went back to the counter to show it to the lady, but she opened the till drawer, held up a $100 bill and said, somewhat irately "This is yours, finish! Finish!" (It was a Spanish-speaking area to the South of SF).

I went back to the table and couldn't eat my stuff. I've kept the receipt in my travel journal. I hope she didn't get into trouble at cashing-up time at the end of that day.

(Hopefully that's the story you meant! Apologies if not...)

That's it!

I KNEW it had something to do with fast food - and a lot of money..

Pity it ruined your appetite, though. You did your best to return the money. When I was 15 I worked in Woolworths on Saturdays. I was on the till for my first (and probably only) time, and a gentleman came back with £5 (which was quite a sum in 1976...er, em, no, I must mean 1986, ahem!), and said "You gave me too much change".
I was so flustered and embarrassed that I just took the money from him, hurriedly put in back in the till, and mumbled a very unemotional 'thanks'. I'm sure the man was sorry he bothered. I was just scared of the supervisor finding out - though at the end of the day, had the money not been returned, I'm sure they would have worked out who was at fault.

One doesn't wish to be cynical...but one can't help wondering if EVERY BB contestant would be able to recount all the tales they told in the BB house a year later.. poor Jason is already confused about some of the things he said in the house..

That's what I liked about BB4 - most of the people felt real, the sort of people you wouldn't mind sharing a house with....funnily enough, I might even welcome Mr Tickle - our tomato plants have been extremely naughty this year.

One story that I particularly enjoyed this year was about Nadia's tatoo - I wonder how many people heard it? I don't want to give away the 'punch line', as I reckon if it came up as a multiple choice question on a BB quiz, 80% of people would pick the wrong choice! The question would be 'What does Nadia's tatoo (in Chinese script) mean in English?

I don't know gg - go on! Tell!

O.K. how about Multiple Choice then:

Let's imagine this is the 500,000 question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire..

The Winner of Channel 4's Big Brother in 2004 had a tatoo in Chinese script. What did the tatoo mean?

(a) Nancy

(b) Nadia

(c) Not a man

Is that your final answer? Confident?

A) Nancy, Chris, i'm positive Chris, A

Irizar, you could have walked away with 250,000. You didn't,....oh, Irizar, I have to tell you that your answer is............CORRECT!.........................................................

Fantastic! You've got 500,000....now do you want to risk it all for the million pound question... Will Michelle and Stuart be together in 2 years' time?

Yes, I'll Gamble Chris, I came here tonight with nothing, so what have I got to lose?

My answer is................No, I don't think they will Chris, It's NO Chris, my final answer

(Do I have to wait 2 years for my million squid if i'm right )

You may not have to wait two years at all, Irizar!

I think you may be right GG