Walking past the Musee d’Orsay, a Roma woman coming towards us reached
down and apparently picked something off the pavement. She then stopped us
and said something along the lines of ‘Look what I’ve found, it’s a gold ring – is it
yours?’. We said that it wasn’t, whereupon she tried it on her finger and showed
us that it was too big for her. She shrugged, and gave me the ring. As we set to
walk off she grabbed my arm and asked for her ‘reward’. It was at that point that we realised that it was a scam. She wouldn’t take the ring back and pointed out some marks that looked a bit like hallmarks – I put it on the wall by the quay, and she said something which I assume was a curse. It wasn’t the first gypsy curse I’ve had, and I doubt it will be the last.
One hundred meters up the road, it happened again, only this time we saw the woman reach down, drop the ring and pick it up – as one we both loudly said ‘Non!’ and walked on. Cursed again.
Over the Passerelle Solferino, and into the Tuileries Gardens, and we’re greeted by a very plausible man claiming to be Zimbabwean. He wants us to sign his petition against the regime of Robert Mugabe – no harm in that, surely? As we sign he tells us that Mugabe is siphoning off funds that are meant for medical aid – again, no surprise there. As we make to walk away, the thumb that had been holding the clipboard moves, and underneath it is written ‘€20’. Yeah, sure, if we gave you the money it really would make its way to the poor in Zimbabwe, wouldn’t it?
Today, more ‘ring stings’ and more petitions – these ones weren’t for Zimbabwe but we didn’t even break step in ignoring them, so I don’t know which ‘worthy cause’ has lost out.
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