The Mystery of the Appearing Shopping

[sally_maria]

Yesterday morning I opened my curtains just before 9am, to find that someone had left two full carrier bags tucked just inside our garden wall. We investigated, and found food from Waitrose, new saucepans and other kitchen equipment. It had rained the night before, and they weren't wet, but at least the food must have come from Cheltenham, not here.

Baffled, we left the bags out, assuming their owner would come back for them, but no sign so far, they are still there.

Someone could, I suppose, have got off the early bus, struggled bringing them up the hill and left them for later, but you'd think they would have been back for them within 24 hours...

Comments

[heliopausa]

I threw in my initial tuppenceworth about this intriguing mystery over on LJ, before I found my way here - but would you prefer that replies come here?

In terms of clues: what perishables were there?

[sallymn]

One of Life's Little Mysteries....

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

That ... is very strange,

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Ooh! An exciting mystery - and one which, if it happened in a work of fiction, would either lead to a thrilling adventure (probably involving ancient maps and smugglers) or something disturbing involving secret agents, mistaken identity, gangsters (albeit ones who shop at Waitrose), car chases, and a blood-soaked climax on the banks of a flooded Severn.

Some 35 years ago, your town was the headquarters of a daring detective duo called The Tremendous Two. (We They started out as spies, but couldn't find anything to spy on, so decided to branch out as detectives, only to realise that there was nothing to detect, either. The Tremendous Two would have loved this sort of mystery, and even if we they hadn't solved it, would have filled numerous pages with our their well-reasoned speculations. :-D

[gurthaew.livejournal.com]

Does it look like it could have been an Ocado delivery? We have had things delivered to us when the delivery men have failed to find the correct address within the postcode and simply dumped stuff on us. One was left on the doorstep and the other was tucked behind a bush in the garden.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maybe they *planned* to collect it later, but then met a sticky end? Or maybe they were supposed to meet someone to give it to them but THEY didn't turn up (and perhaps met a sticky end)?

At what point does one report suspicious / random bags in one's garden, and the possibility of at least 2 people having met a sticky end, to the police? Technically, you find it, you hand it in, they investigate, and if it doesn't find its rightful owner you might get it back! Very useful that will be of course ;)

Or...put a Lost and Found sign up in your local post office saying how long you will keep it for for them (except the perishables which you have binned)?

It's be more fun to have an escapade a la Nancy Drew (or Tommy & Tuppence?), but I suspect the need to go to work on Monday morning might scupper that.

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

How odd! Maybe it's a donation to a soup-kitchen, delivered to you instead of to some nearby neighbour* who is involved in it? (I'm thinking of the lots of pasta aspect.)

*or even someone in a street with a similar name?

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Well don't forget to check back with the old Bill in 5 weeks time to ask about it ;-) would you like me to ask at work what the deadline is?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Are the bags still there...?

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Gosh, how odd. Have you heard anything more about it? As the Marquis says, it's worth checking back with the police once the appropriate interval has past, since then if you don't get the satisfaction of a solution to the mystery, at least you may benefit from some new pans.