The Strange Case of the Paranoid Man
One man who came to stay was very on edge. As soon as he entered the cottage, he closed all the curtains and looked both ways out of the door before locking himself inside. When he left, we found he had even locked the doors between rooms.
The Odd Tale of the Undercover Policeman
Two years ago, a man booked to stay with us for two days over Trade Fair. he phoned around about five in the evening and said he was just leaving Harare, which I wasn't very happy about because it meant he would be in Bulawayo late at night. He messaged from either Kadoma or Gweru to say that he had stopped to get something to eat - and that was the last we heard of him that night. In the morning, we were quite convinced he had been involved in a car accident as driving at night in Zimbabwe is pretty treacherous. His phone was not reachable so we could not even try and contact him.
He arrived in the evening as though nothing was amiss. He said he had been all day at Trade Fair as he was an undercover bodyguard for the president who had been in town for the opening day. He never actually answered my question as to where he had stayed the night.
I have serious doubts that this man was who he said he was. I think sometimes it is just quite fun and exciting to pretend you are someone else. I got talking to someone on a long bus journey once and made up every single detail I told them. It's great to have these Walter Mitty moments in one's life. The trick is never to say you are a doctor. paramedic, dentist - anything that might mean you are called upon to deal with an emergency.
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