STRANGERS

While researching the fabled gnome garden of Bognor train station for lebeautemps (she has better pictures here), I came across the following handy mnemonic from the winter 2006 edition of the Arun News and Views newsletter^[1]. I'm sure you’ll agree that it’s as catchy as it is memorable.

Door Step Code

Strangers can rob you
Try to say you are not alone
Remember to put cash away
Always use your chain before opening the door
Never leave the chain on all the time
Go and look out of a window first
Examine caller identity carefully
Refuse entry if you are not sure
Seek help from a friend if you are worried

If I were elderly and confused, I might well find the “Examine, Refuse and Seek help” part useful. So long as I could remember that far. Although personally I'd advise “Going and looking out of a window” before opening the door. And any mnemonic instruction beginning “Remember” is asking for trouble—you run the risk that your target audience is going to be stood in their hallway thinking “Now, I had to remember something… um…” The command should probably be something like “Cash should always be hidden”. Oh, and I’d recommend doing so before claiming not to be alone in the house, or there’ll be a suspicious pause in the conversation. Which leaves us with… SCTGANERS. Excellent. Can anyone improve on this further?

^[1] Voted “least interesting link ever posted by webofevil” by experts.

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