Liveline: Thread with no name, Host with no shame

I’m in Barcelona airport just after checking in for my flight back to Dubalin. There’s some delightful “ambassadors” for our country here. I really do wonder how these people behave at home, or do they save this behaviour for when they’re “on tour”. Of course immediately after getting through security - where one of them caused a scene and started arguing with the staff to open more lanes - they head straight to the bar…..and this was at 8:30am local time. There’s something about seeing a 50+ year old man in full Celtic/Liverpool/Man Utd/Dublin tracksuit and accompanying Jersey etc with a pair of Air Max* that just screams class, lots of GAA and other soccer jerseys around too of course. 🙄

And I say this as a 50+ year old man with a huge sneaker collection. I don’t however wear “mainstream” sneakers or wear them with a tracksuit or soccer/GAA jersey.

I realize I’m probably coming across as a snob here, but I’m ok with that!

This has been on my mind since yesterday, it’s really annoying me. The absolute brazenness of it all, and not a hint of embarrassment when called out for it.

Thinking about it now, he was behind me checking in and I suspect was eyeing the bag from there. I say bag but it’s a smallish suitcase on wheels (though too big to go overhead), and it was very expensive (note: I didn’t buy it, it was a gift - and I promise I’m not humblebragging here).

i wonder how much of an issue theft like this is?

I have seen that in the US myself.

Ah you're thinking of the SuperValu luggage promotion from at least 24/25 years ago. I remember being at a conference once where someone from SuperValu was giving a presentation and said that promotion was so successful they ran out of luggage and had to order more but they took months to arrive and they had people ringing them everyday (it was late 90s so internet wasn't really an option for many of those who applied I suspect) complaining and angrily asking "where's me luggage?!!!!". It was apparently a "don't mention the war" topic in Head Office in Musgraves as they inadvertently pissed off hundreds of customers. If Joe had been doing Da Lahv Lahn then we might have gotten a show out of it, and he could tell SV to "pony up" for Bernie's new suitcase as she heads to Ma-Jorka as she only buked de holiday when she found out about de SV luggage offer.........

I do recall seeing them everywhere on every flight for years, you'll still see them on occasion but not as frequently as used to be the case. You'd frequently see what fellas selling shoyte outside Croke Park call "headbands" (basically two strings of county colours wool tied together) tied around the handles as means of identifying the bags, used to give me a small giggle.

My incident yesterday was no accident though, that was an attempted opportunistic theft.

I have no idea.........someone said to me this morning that the flights to Aer Lingus flights to Barcelona were cheaper than Ryanair to Reus this summer and proximity to Salou may have been a factor. I've only been to Salou once, passing through it to go to the park in Portaventura and it was shall we say, not my style. I certainly wasn't going to be asking what he was doing in Barcelona! 🤣

On arriving late, yeah if I had been casual about it and gently walked to the passport and baggage areas instead of walking briskly as I tend to do in airports I suspect it would have been gone. As for Security......lol, I'd be pretty confident they'd do fock all as he'd just say "I tawt it was me bag bud" again, even though they looked nothing alike. Whatever the airport security term for "civil matter" (see Garda comments above) would be invoked no doubt.