To have shouted at this person for taking more than 2 apples from my box of apples outside my

[BigRedBall]

I have an apple tree in my garden which grows nice big cooking apples. We just moved here and I thought it would be nice to put a box outside our house for neighbours.

Anyway, I put a sign up saying "free to take, 2 per person" so all our neighbours got some.

I just saw a man come in a car and was piling up a tesco bag full of my apples and taking them to his boot.

I went running outside and asked him what he thought he was doing and to put them back. He looked at me and said it says free apples. I told him it's 2 per person. He just ignored me and sat in his car and drove off.

Now my box of apples is empty and some person who doesn't even live on my road has taken them all. I'm really not happy.

Why would someone do this? AIBU?

Not really healthy eating if they are cooking apples and therefore destined for pie, crumble or cider

Next time with the apples, keep them in a bag inside your door and just put a few (6? 8? Depends on size) outside in the box marked free apples. You can then easily top up the box if you notice it's empty and it stops anyone running off with massive numbers of them at once.

It sounds like the opening scene from a never aired episode of Midsummer Murders.

I hope the bloke comes back they were delicious and DH has no shame.

No I won't be contacting the police. In the grand scheme of things, it's not really a big deal is it? But it was to me. And the man was very greedy and entitled to take a whole bag full of them. He was driving a green Volvo hatchback type car with a roof rack.

Yes cooking apples may not be a good snack, but at least it's promoting healthiness.

Anyway I put some more out this morning, (not a whole box full mind) and a few old biddies have taken a few and put them in their handbags and shopping carts. I have removed the "2 per person" sign now.

Bigredball - You wanted everyone to see how generous you were??!! Hmm, very altruistic.

Ha ha @ ShatnersBasoon.

Just for info, OP, re. your latest post, can you please tell me how old a woman has to be to be described as an old biddy? I just want to know if I'm one yet.

Send them over here OP, I don't care if they hire a skip to take them away with- my lovely , generous apple tree has excelled itself this year, we are overrun.

Shatners....I knew it was you in that 'green Volvo' avec roof rack

I think this OP is up there with our Sharon

We have a lot of 'free Xs' around here. Some people will take a reasonable amount and put some money in an honest box, and some people will take loads.

When you put the stuff out with a help yourself-type sign, you are saying that you don't want it, and I think your intention of how it is distributed is gone at that point. If you really want every neighbour to have 2 apples, then you will have to go to each neighbour and give them 2 apples, otherwise it is a free for all.

Unfortunately, you can't stipulate how things are distributed when you stick them out on the road. It just doesn't work like that. It's a bit like having a cake sale, but only selling a certain number at a time and only to certain people. It just doesn't happen like that.

He should have behaved better when you challenged him, but I agree with others that two isn't really enough to do much with; and if you wanted specific neighbours to all get some, you should have taken them round.

And TBH you lost me when you said this: I wanted everyone to see how generous I am.

"He was driving a green Volvo hatchback type car with a roof rack"

WTF? Why have you only now given us this vital piece of information? Talk about drip-feeding! That makes a huge amount of difference!

Not.

grunt, its not really about age, but the way they dress. Brown/blue mac, calf length flowy skirt, sensible blue/skin coloured leather slip ons with tassley bits at the front, pretty flowery scarf on the head and a shopping cart or large handbag. Normally with all white hair.

Do you look like that?

Yes and i know, the green volvo info was vital. Be weary of this type of car people. It may be driven by a greedy twat.

I don't wanna be weary.

Thanks for the warning, sitting at the window on the lookout for green Volvo man - can't be too careful!

You might want to be wary then.

He was rude ignoring you . However you are being a bit unreasonable to limit it to 2 per person. I know I wouldn't be able to make a decent apple crumble with 2 apples.

I am loving this thread. Im still hoping someones dh will arrive home with a big bag of apples.

"Do you look like that?"

No! I look like this:-

For the nth time, they were big apples! How much filling do you people put in a crumble?

Four. you need four big cooking apples. They reduce.

old biddies

its not really about age, but the way they dress. Brown/blue mac, calf length flowy skirt, sensible blue/skin coloured leather slip ons with tassley bits at the front, pretty flowery scarf on the head and a shopping cart or large handbag. Normally with all white hair.

You are sounding less nice by the second.

Blimey do you sit in the window Op like a nosey twitcher....you seem to have every fine detail of your apple recipents....

I'm weary. Weary of people offering two apples so people know how generous they are. I've given loads of stuff away, damsons, eating apples, hazlenuts - took bags of them to a local farmshop. And I didn't even stamp my name on every single one of them!