Went through a brief shoplifting phase when I was about 13 (1986).
It was actually very much a game and a gang mentallity thing ...there were three or four of us in the same group doing it. None of us came from wealthy backgrounds but none of us were "poor" either -as in -we'd all have had pocket money to buy bits'n'pieces if we needed to.
Easons were the usual victim -it started with felt tip pens, caligraphy pens, nice detailers and fan paint brushes -some of those quite valuable and not the type of thing a young fellah in 2nd year in any way needs in his kit. Then moved on to tubes and glasses of paint or ink, pastels (yes we were all in the same Art class ) ...if one had something -everyone else had to have it too. It all just went up the cuff of a shirt.
Then the game became "who can lift the biggest thing?" -not neccessarily the most valuable -just the largest and physically bulkiest.
So I graduated onto those Airfix model aeroplanes -which I'd been collecting (legitimately ) for years anyway so no-one was suspicious when I was hanging around the stand for ages picking my moment. I'd buy a magazine downstairs so I'd have a large easons bag which i'd leave slightly open on the ground popped up between my feet. pick your box, pick your moment,knock the box off the shelf and straight ino your bag. You're only screwed if you've been seen -directly -doing it and asked to produce a receipt.
A mate of mine stole an imperial A1 Samantha Fox poster in it's cardboard tube. He limped in on crutchs he borrowed from another friend of ours -stuck the tube down his "straight" leg -brazen as you like -and hobbled out the door. I thought it was suicide mission but he did it.
Then as suddenly as we'd started -we just stopped. A girl we knew to see got caught lifting a pair of tights or something from Penneys across the road and ended up in a world of sh1t for it. -for a £1.50 pair of tights!!!? -while some of my mates were hauling £20 and £25 worth of paint brushes at a time.
Might've been the wake up call we needed. Either way we just stopped.
So anyone else got a criminal background they'd like to confess to?
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