Ghosts - Ghoulies & other weird things !

Well it is nearly that time of the year again, when the weirdo's come out to celebrate Halloween.

As you can see some of them have appeared early this year - these hot head's were spotted in the hostelry, better known as De Lacey's.

The first is clearly in fine fettle -the second, well lets just say that he is otherwise disposed.

I do have one question, well two actually -

1. What do they do with all the waste pumkin ?
2. Where do Pumkins come from ?

Halloween as best as I can work out here is very much an adult celebration here (or just another excuse to get frazzled), unlike back home where I think the days of "Trick or Treat" by the children still goes on, or at least I hope it does.



Now on the subject of weird things, and having been caught "on camera" by I..... ( amazing bar person) J..... ( vertically challenged) - I must plead guilty to actually indulging in conversation with a group of "Cretins".

So before this photograph is published on the hostelry walls, let me explain.

First of all they were Scottish "Cretins" - a very different breed from the English species. Well I say Scottish, but whilst the whole group of about 20+ were in kilts ( remember the temperature is dropping) - it transpired that some were actually English, but as the the groom to be was Scottish, so all had to wear the Scottish attire.

To be fair they seemed a good group of "lads" albeit that the age range seemed to be from early 20's to early 50's. So whilst I still object to there presence, at least I trust that this particular group will keep the Scottish image unblemished.

So there you are - and I admit it - I have engaged in conversation with Cretins, although my ability to advise them which "Club" they should go to, was zero - like wise where they could find a Thai massage ??? ( What is a Thai massage ?).

However I am sure that they will find suitable establishments only to willing to relieve them of there cash.

A general word of warning to all you may consider visiting this lovely city, it is not without its dangers ( as in every other capital city) - but if you choose to visit some of the more dubious night clubs, be prepared to be fleeced - likewise if you choose to walk back to your hotel in the wee hours, and particularly if you are slightly inebriated, then you have a very high chance of being accosted and requested to make a donation (money, wallet, mobile phone are accepted) to your accoster (?) - and they do not take no for an answer.

This week also exposed me to a Scam, which I had not heard of before.

I have two mobile handsets, (this is irrelevant to the story but I thought you might like to know), yesterday I received an SMS message supposedly from LMT ( one of the National mobile operators), which advised that I had "won" Ls 100.00 of free calls, and that all I had to to was to call a help line number.

So I did, only to be advised that in order to receive my Ls 100.00 of free calls, I had to immediately go and buy a pre-paid voucher on TELE2 network to the value of Ls12.95.

Then I had to call back and give the details of this pre-paid voucher.

And this is the scam, first as I am an LMT customer I could not use the TELE2 pre-paid voucher, and by giving the voucher details to "them" they could immediately use the voucher for there own personal use - Nice one - if you fall for it.

So be warned - there are some interesting scams about.

Now back to some weird goings on in Riga, and in particular at the Village Centre. As you will no doubt have gathered, with the arrival on mass of the "Cretins" into the said hostelry, it can create serious problems for the bar staff, as they invariably order drinks all round for the group, and you can imagine that this can take a considerable time, and given the frequency of these orders, can result in us lesser mortals having to wait to be served.

Likewise with only two toilets, and an incessant queue of visitors to these, it takes up a significant amount of staff time to ensure that the toilets are properly maintained.

So J...... ( he of diminutive stature, but heart of gold) and with a piece of lateral thinking (No J.... you do not have to lie down for this) has come up with innovative solution to resolve both problems.

First the drink problem - bigger glasses - same amount of beer - just less servings















and the Toilet maintenance problem - well simply brilliant
















And who said the Irish were stupid

So to all, have a Good Halloween, and watch out for the Ghosts & Ghoulies, the Weirdo's are simply unavoidable.