US tourist gets trapped inside London bookstore

Three hours. Three lousy hours and they're talking about it like he rode out a hurricane or something. He didn't sleep much and he's very tired because he sat in a bookstore for a couple of hours? Perhaps he needs to go get his driver's license renewed. Without an appointment.

I can spend three hurs in a bookstore while awake and bothered by other people. He got to do it in privacy. Should have been some good reading time.

nealraisman said:

I can spend three hurs in a bookstore while awake and bothered by other people. He got to do it in privacy. Should have been some good reading time.

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He forgot his glasses. Like Twilight Zone when Burgess Meredith complained, "But there was time now!" I probably mangled that, but fans know of what I speak.

It had to be someone from Dallas...

We're having a tough week around here.

robeiae said:

Three hours. Three lousy hours and they're talking about it like he rode out a hurricane or something. He didn't sleep much and he's very tired because he sat in a bookstore for a couple of hours? Perhaps he needs to go get his driver's license renewed. Without an appointment.

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The news story doesn't seem to be doing that. The tweets he got were mostly funny (CNN doesn't report them, but I saw them elsewhere). And the man himself seems to have been admirably calm:

Willis said despite setting an alarm off by trying to open the doors and speaking to a security guard and police via telephone, no one came to his aid. After several hours of waiting, he took to social media to broadcast his plight, posting on Twitter and Instagram.

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Has he been left out?

Cyia said:

It had to be someone from Dallas...

We're having a tough week around here.

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Didn't pick up a single book either.

Waterstone's is still having fun with this on Twitter, recommending books to read if you're even locked in a bookstore and signing off so as not to lock themselves in.

If I got trapped in a bookstore in this manner, I'd take the time to do something really useful, like rearrange the books on the shelves by spine color, make a red section, a blue section, etc.

caw

I once locked someone in a medieval castle at closing time. Fortunately his family realised. It wouldn't be a comfy night....

robeiae said:

Three hours. Three lousy hours and they're talking about it like he rode out a hurricane or something.

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For all we know, it could've been really windy in there.

robeiae said:

Three hours. Three lousy hours and they're talking about it like he rode out a hurricane or something.

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What would Anderson Cooper do?

Springs2 said:

I once locked someone in a medieval castle at closing time. Fortunately his family realised. It wouldn't be a comfy night....

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That would be awesome, comfy or no!

backslashbaby said:

That would be awesome, comfy or no!

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It was a freaky place at night, all right. Brought home what it must have been like in the past. Cold, lightless and eerie. Oh, and full of rats.... (I worked night functions sometimes.)

what is a "bookstore"

I got forgotten on a train once. I fell asleep, missed my stop, and when I woke up the train was ...is "parked" the right word for a train?

Anyway, the train was shut down, the station dark and deserted. Of course, having just enjoyed a nice long nap I was bright-eyed and bushy tailed, so I hopped off to see where I had landed at 11:30 PM (turned out to be Lourdes).

Happily I could hear music blaring in the distance. I followed my ears and found a bar where some locals were celebrating the first wine pressing of the year and, I kid you not, they were giving away free wine. It was a wonderful night.

Man, getting trapped in a bookstore sounds like a dream come true, actually

Sounds like a good story prompt to me.

If the store was closed, the lights would've been off. I find it difficult to read in the dark. (Not that I wouldn't have tried, I expect. Serves 'em right: if they lock me in, they get a few creased spines in the morning. Cheaper than the lawsuit. )

Springs2 said:

I once locked someone in a medieval castle at closing time. Fortunately his family realised. It wouldn't be a comfy night....

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Did they realize before or after he traveled back in time and changed history - or did they only learn he was stuck when he left a note in the family records, say by naming his firstborn HelpImLockedInTheCastle Smith? (Really a longshot, if you're stuck in the wrong time, but it only has to work once... )

William Haskins said:

what is a "bookstore"

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It's like a hardware version of the Kindle store.



From the first tweet in the article: "This is me locked inside a waterstones bookstore in London. I was upstairs for 15 minutes and came…"

What was he doing in there?!?

blacbird said:

If I got trapped in a bookstore in this manner, I'd take the time to do something really useful, like rearrange the books on the shelves by spine color, make a red section, a blue section, etc.

caw

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No kidding, especially the craft section where the books are seemingly hurled at the shelf with no consideration to topics, etc.! I can think of worse things than being locked in a bookstore, now if there were no lights and it was night time this would blow and big time.

Being locked in a well stocked book store would be second only to being locked in a quilt or knitting shop that was stocked to the gills with fabrics, scissors, thread, yarn, needles, and the like... another words nirvana!

Roxxsmom said:

Sounds like a good story prompt to me.

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Back in the dark ages, aka high school, our English/lit teacher had the class write a story about being trapped overnight in a large department store, and the department store could be any store of our choice. In mine I was locked in a Pamida store (now known as Shopko), the precursor to WalMart and Target, so had snacks in addition to all sorts of clothing, household goods, etc.

I actually got an "A" and my teacher told me I had a flair for comedy and horror and that I should consider pursuing writing. Silly me I was too terrified of grammar and punctuation, at the time, to take her up on that idea.

Brightdreamer said:

If the store was closed, the lights would've been off.)

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Every big retail store has security lights. The place would not have been completely dark. And in most such places, the regular lights, at least in areas, can be turned on the same way your home lights can: with a wall switch.

caw