I wish to send waves of positivity to whoever handed my wallet ~ formerly of the first cubicle at the gents' toilets, Birch Services Eastbound on the M62 ~ to Costa Coffee for safekeeping, wholly intact.
I cannot ever sit on a public lavatory seat ~ a cross I bear throughout life, so hit the donations button below ~ without recalling a time I relieved myself at Brussels Airport of more than I expected.
I transferred my wallet from rear trouser-pocket to toilet-roll dispenser in the time-honoured fashion, only to leave it there subsequent. I did tho' realise what I'd done prior to leaving the airport, and when retracing my steps am sure I passed someone I shall forever view as the world's luckiest lavatory-cleaner.
Wallet and cards were as they were, minus the 500-Euro note which for a reason I still cannot fathom I'd withdrawn from an ATM some days prior. The EU is likely the only institution to print so large a denomination, which is designed to make the money-laundering at which we excel so much easier.
When in China, I could not help noticing that their own largest note was worth just ten pounds for precisely the reverse... it would mean that I left the country passing through the scanner like Michelin Man on steroids. Other pilots were smarter, simply converting cash into gold coins that would barely register at the security section.
The value of that note from 2005 in today's terms is $900... enough for the guy to have bought his 'forever' toilet-brush.
Ed. The halo above the signage is not photo-shopped but a reflection of the lighting above, and now attracts pilgrims from all over the world who seek to cure their prostates.
