The Great Egg Heist

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I had the good fortune to spend a week in Great Britain back in 2004, and one thing that I distinctly remember about that trip was the Brits' fascination with certain sweets.  A couple of times during that sojourn I sampled British ice cream cones – or watched others as they enjoyed theirs, and that wonderful summertime treat was usually garnished with a stick of cinnamon protruding from the ice cream.  (I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to eat the cinnamon or not, or whether it was there strictly as a decoration, or to help scrape the last of the ice cream out of the cone, but I chose to eat it – because I had paid for it.  Waste not, want not!)
 
Another sweet in Britain that I remember as being rather ubiquitous was the wonderful Cadbury Egg, a chocolate and “crème” treat that is primarily available around Easter.  It seemed like any candy counter that I approached had Cadbury Eggs on prominent display.  Although the special Easter treats are produced by an American firm, they are a big hit with the Brits – with over 220,000,000 sold in Great Britain each year.  
 
One newspaper article that I read said that Cadbury Eggs have almost a “cult following” in the British Isles.  (I guess that if you are going to succumb to a cult mentality and blindly commit yourself to following some preacher, product or fad, the Cadbury Eggs’ cult would be a great one to join!)
 
I am meandering through the topic of chocolate eggs with crème centers because of a story that has been in the news this week, a crime story out of Great Britain.  Last February a previously convicted thief decided to pull another heist.  I don’t know what his first crime involved, but this year’s centered on stealing a trailer loaded with over 200,000 Cadbury Eggs from a storage facility.
 
The young, aspiring career criminal, Joby Pool (age 32), stole a semi-tractor, cut his way through a lock on the storage facility with a metal saw, and hooked his ill-gotten tractor up to a trailer full of the Easter treats.  Then, just a few minutes later as he was tooling down the highway, Joby was pulled over by some very observant and curious law enforcement officials – and, after stopping in a safe location, he walked back to meet the police car with his hands in the air.
 
This week, after already serving nearly six months in prison while awaiting trial, Joby Pool finally made it before a magistrate where he wisely pled guilty to his crime.  He was sentenced to two years in prison with half to be served on a type of parole -and was given credit for the time he had already served.
 
Damn!  Wouldn’t a Cadbury Egg taste good right about now!
 
The word from the hutch is that if Joby puts out an Easter Basket next spring, he can expect to find it filled with rabbit poop!