Fellowship meeting

Today eleven of us met at Côte Brasserie in the city centre for one of our informal Fellowship Meetings. Four of us had had lunch there after our Chelmsford walk on 26 June and thought it would be a good place for fellowship meetings. Today proved us right. We agreed we should make it one of our regular venues, along with the Fox & Raven and the Hive. Let’s hope the proposed sale of the chain does not result in it being closed down.

In our conversations someone mentioned the Quadrant in Moulsham Street, which is definitely to close following the takeover of our local Co-op by a larger one.

Bogus but believable telephone calls were also mentioned, Keith Otter having received a call from a bogus police officer the previous evening. Keith said he was completely hoodwinked until the “police officer” told him he could check that he was talking to a bona fide officer by phoning 101 and that he could do that immediately after the officer had put the phone down. Keith realised that the phone wouldn’t be put down at all but that a dialling tone would be played to make him think it had been, so that when he dialled 101 he would actually be answered by one on of the caller’s confederates. He later called 101 from a mobile phone. They confirmed there was no such police officer.

Phil Moses mentioned that he had had a similar phone call from someone claiming to be from HMRC. He was taken in until the caller told him “I’ll just transfer you to one of my colleagues who will take the payment.”

It pays to be very wary!