Just look up and smile.

As I was entering the gentlemen’s toilets at my local Sainsbury’s supermarket the other day, I saw a sign on the door warning that CCTV was in operation. I didn’t take too much notice as I was in a bit of a hurry, but as I sat looking at the coat peg on the door of the stall, I noticed another ‘warning’ written in felt-tip ink just above it. It read … ‘Look out for the pinhole camera in the light fitting above your head’. 

A joke ? … Well I hope so, but not too far from the truth if the latest reports on our surveillance mad society are to be believed, for it seems that the UK has more CCTV cameras than any other country in Europe.

Now we know that these cameras are good at making money by catching parking offenders, or people dropping litter in the street, but has all this expensive technology made us all safer ? … Of course it hasn’t. In fact according to the boss of Scotland Yard’s Visual Images, Identifications and Detections Office … “It’s been an utter fiasco”.

All I know is that the bloody things are everywhere, and they are not always easy to spot, because now these devices come in all shapes and sizes and can be disguised as … street lamps … light fittings … smoke alarms etc. … and now you can even be ‘caught on camera’ by your local school crossing ‘lollipop’ lady.

So be warned … Be careful where you park … put your bleedin’ litter in the bin … don’t swear at the lollipop lady … and …

…  don’t use too much toilet paper !