Aldren Tomlinson was reinstated after pinching an egg breakfast. Or did he pinch it? Maybe he borrowed it? The two weathermen tried to hear each other properly.
Weatherman 1 : That hospital porter got his job back.
Weatherman 2 : It was only a bit of breakfast. The GMB union came to the rescue. They were about to ballot their hospital members and the hospital would probably have shut down.
Weatherman 1 : He wanted to defer paying for his breakfast because he had left his wallet at home.
Weatherman 2 : The canteen staff wanted him to defer eating it until he had £4. The chap at the canteen till apparently misheard his explanation. The porter said "can I pay for this tomorrow because I have left my wallet at home?"
Weatherman 1 : It's hard to know how that can be misconstrued for "watch me eat this big breakfast and you can whistle for the £4."
Weatherman 2 : And the company he works for dismissed him on the spot without any disciplinary comeback. I saw a picture of a breakfast and it had 2 eggs, 2 sausages, baked beans, a grilled tomato and toast. But I wasn't sure if that was the porter's breakfast. Does the number of eggs and sausages increase the seriousness of the offence?
Weatherman 1 : The canteen must have been short of eggs, or short of £4. The porter said the chap on the till nodded in agreement to a payment deferment, but the chap on the till said he didn't nod. And the porter went back for a cup of tea and a knife and fork. So if he was nodding, it should have been easy to spot.
Weatherman 2 : Perhaps the chap on the till just twitched a bit. The porter confused a twitch for a nod. And when the cashier said "No, you must pay NOW" the porter thought he said "it's fine, pay me tomorrow."
Weatherman 1 : Hunger is tied to low blood sugar levels and affects focus. Maybe it affects hearing too. But we weren't there so we don't know what was said, whether it was a nod or a twitch, and if it was one or two eggs.
Weatherman 2 : It seems like he thought he was in the clear to have his breakfast because he sat down to eat it. The GMB said he never tried to hide it.
Weatherman 1 : It's hard to hide two eggs, two sausages, toast, beans and tomatoes and it's hardly the action of a thief. You don't sit down to eat a stolen breakfast under the noses of the people you stole it from.
Weatherman 2 : It does seem like an over-reaction. The management seemed satisfied there was intent to steal and it made the GMB union rep's blood boil.
Weatherman 1 : Maybe he needed some breakfast too. There was certainly intent to eat, but if a chap hasn't had his breakfast and is going to push patients around all day on trolleys, well he needs a few calories inside him. And how can we ever prove intent to steal if the offender says he was going to pay tomorrow when he is reunited with his wallet? Restaurants do it all the time - they feed you and only ask for the money at the end.
Weatherman 2 : Fifteen years he had worked there. That's a lot of breakfasts he has paid for. If I was the chap on the till, I might think "hold on, he's paid every morning for fifteen years. He's not stealing, just sort of having a bit of calorie credit." Unless it was my first day on the till that is, and I hadn't seen him before. And then there's still the 'oh yes you said I could, oh no I didn't' argument.
Weatherman 1 : You could say that after buying so many egg and tea breakfasts, he deserved a free one - as commission or a loyalty payment.
Weatherman 2 : The question remains why, if the company thought he was guilty and it was a naughty enough crime to deserve sacking him, they changed their minds.
Weatherman 1 : The CPS wasn't involved and it wasn't passing through courts, so the media had a frenzy and made his bosses seem hardhearted and mean. They lost the PR battle. That, and the possibility that hospitals would be shut down amounts to a persuasive argument for a change of heart.
Weatherman 2 : I bet he won't eat there again. He'll have his egg and sausages at home before leaving the house.
Weatherman 1 : He dare not be late from now on. He'll gobble his breakfast, rush to work, get indigestion, and end up on a trolley himself.
Weatherman 1 : He wanted to defer paying for his breakfast because he had left his wallet at home.
Weatherman 2 : The canteen staff wanted him to defer eating it until he had £4. The chap at the canteen till apparently misheard his explanation. The porter said "can I pay for this tomorrow because I have left my wallet at home?"
Weatherman 1 : It's hard to know how that can be misconstrued for "watch me eat this big breakfast and you can whistle for the £4."
Weatherman 2 : And the company he works for dismissed him on the spot without any disciplinary comeback. I saw a picture of a breakfast and it had 2 eggs, 2 sausages, baked beans, a grilled tomato and toast. But I wasn't sure if that was the porter's breakfast. Does the number of eggs and sausages increase the seriousness of the offence?
Weatherman 1 : The canteen must have been short of eggs, or short of £4. The porter said the chap on the till nodded in agreement to a payment deferment, but the chap on the till said he didn't nod. And the porter went back for a cup of tea and a knife and fork. So if he was nodding, it should have been easy to spot.
Weatherman 2 : Perhaps the chap on the till just twitched a bit. The porter confused a twitch for a nod. And when the cashier said "No, you must pay NOW" the porter thought he said "it's fine, pay me tomorrow."
Weatherman 1 : Hunger is tied to low blood sugar levels and affects focus. Maybe it affects hearing too. But we weren't there so we don't know what was said, whether it was a nod or a twitch, and if it was one or two eggs.
Weatherman 2 : It seems like he thought he was in the clear to have his breakfast because he sat down to eat it. The GMB said he never tried to hide it.
Weatherman 1 : It's hard to hide two eggs, two sausages, toast, beans and tomatoes and it's hardly the action of a thief. You don't sit down to eat a stolen breakfast under the noses of the people you stole it from.
Weatherman 2 : It does seem like an over-reaction. The management seemed satisfied there was intent to steal and it made the GMB union rep's blood boil.
Weatherman 1 : Maybe he needed some breakfast too. There was certainly intent to eat, but if a chap hasn't had his breakfast and is going to push patients around all day on trolleys, well he needs a few calories inside him. And how can we ever prove intent to steal if the offender says he was going to pay tomorrow when he is reunited with his wallet? Restaurants do it all the time - they feed you and only ask for the money at the end.
Weatherman 2 : Fifteen years he had worked there. That's a lot of breakfasts he has paid for. If I was the chap on the till, I might think "hold on, he's paid every morning for fifteen years. He's not stealing, just sort of having a bit of calorie credit." Unless it was my first day on the till that is, and I hadn't seen him before. And then there's still the 'oh yes you said I could, oh no I didn't' argument.
Weatherman 1 : You could say that after buying so many egg and tea breakfasts, he deserved a free one - as commission or a loyalty payment.
Weatherman 2 : The question remains why, if the company thought he was guilty and it was a naughty enough crime to deserve sacking him, they changed their minds.
Weatherman 1 : The CPS wasn't involved and it wasn't passing through courts, so the media had a frenzy and made his bosses seem hardhearted and mean. They lost the PR battle. That, and the possibility that hospitals would be shut down amounts to a persuasive argument for a change of heart.
Weatherman 2 : I bet he won't eat there again. He'll have his egg and sausages at home before leaving the house.
Weatherman 1 : He dare not be late from now on. He'll gobble his breakfast, rush to work, get indigestion, and end up on a trolley himself.
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