The Night Turn always guarantees to bring out the oddest people and therefore some of the oddest calls that generally, as a rule, you don't get during the day.
There is apparently, some medical evidence (somewhere, don't ask me to look for it) that states that the effect of gravity from a full moon on the chemicals in the human brain can have some bizarre effects and it is where the term "Lunatic" comes from.
Also the cover of darkness with enough light from the full moon can allow people to move about almost undetected.
So no surprise to be asked to assist a call in the small hours to a lady who stated that she had been burgled.
Nothing unusual there, except for the fact that she said over the phone that she was out in the garden squatting on her lawn going to the toilet when her neighbours broke in and took her stuff in the ten minutes she was sat out there.
She said she "knows its wrong to do toilet out on the lawn but next door are just evil, just evil!"
Thankfully, within ten minutes she called back to say that she had found all her stuff and all was well and we don't have to worry about coming round.
Queue sighs of relief over the radio!
We all do some odd things in time and the light, be it from a blazing sunny day or a moon lit night can play havoc on your perceptions.
One Sunday a few years back, we were called to an Immediate grade to a street in Brixton, South London, for a robbery in progress. We arrived about 10 minutes later and witnesses had informed us that the robber and his victim had both left the scene. So after taking descriptions we carried out an area search of which there was no trace.
To double check everywhere we went up on the Brixton train station which we knew had no service due to engineering works.
It was a very sunny day and as we were up on the platform I could see a man at the far end leaning against the wall with his bag by his side. Thinking to myself that this man could be either the victim, robber or witness it was a good idea to check him out, either way, I was going to inform him that there was no service on this day and he needs to find another route.
As I approached, I called out a “Hello” to which I received no response, I thought maybe he didn’t hear me so I repeated my call, still I got no response. The man was just leaning with one foot up against the wall and staring into no where. I thought either he’s genuinely deaf, or just plain ignorant so I waved my arms above my head and shouted “YO! You on the platform!” Still I got no response. “OI!” I shouted “OI MATE!” still nothing!
It was only as I got about 10 feet away from him I realised that this man would never answer me
…he was a statue and not just any statue,
......he was the famous Brixton statue of the “Perpetually Waiting Man”
A chorus of laughter from my bewildered colleagues as I turned back meant that, damn they had seen it all! I was getting comments like,
Well, I instantly blamed the bright Sun in my eyes!
“Was you going to arrest him under section 25, failure to provide details”?
And “Who’s that over there? ….Statue?
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