How to cause a Queue with 21,80€

I got fed up with carrying my small change around in my pocket. Because it regularly fell out, down into the gaps around my cars handbrake. Convincing me, that one day, it would cause the hand brake to fail leaving me rolling backwards down a hill in a panic.

Therefore, I started throwing all my 1, 2, and 5 euro coins into a small bowl. Soon they overflowed so I got a bigger bowl. Then deciding enough was enough I sorted them into three bags. That was 4 years ago, I know because that was the last time we moved and I meant to take them to the bank prior to the move. I forgot and having been given (very friendly bar) a little leather purse (call it girly I don’t care because it is so practical) my coins problem was solved.

Recently I grew tired of having three dusty bags of coins getting in my way, so I set off to take them to the bank. Opting for a main branch, confidently thinking they are bound to have a machine to count coins – no problem, I arrived at the bank to complete this long overdue chore.

Spain is full of unexpected surprises, big and small; of course, the bank was no exception. On reaching the counter, I asked in my best Spanish whether they had a coin-counting machine.

“No,” the young smiling female cashier replied “Only these,” waving her fingers at me. Oh, I explained well I have three bags full of coins. “No problem,” she said disappearing into the back office. I waited for her to return, confused why she had left the counter and wondering what would happen next. The queue behind me started to grow.

Finally, she returned, with three different types of little shaped plastic trays sized to take each type of coins. We then proceeded to lay my coins into the little trays and when they were full, she sealed them up with sellotape. This was a slow process, especially the small fiddly 1 cents, which she had craftily given me to do. Meantime the queue grew longer.

I must say she treated it like great fun, even when she dropped one of the trays and all the coins escaped.

Finally we were finished, every coin in its plastic container and she totalled them up to 21,80€. I heard the sighs of relief and sensed the cola (the queue) grateful the game was over and the guiri had finished at the counter.

Moral of story – don’t save your loose change, spend it as you go unless you want to spend half the morning in the bank playing cashiers and causing a long cola.

However, keep an eye on your handbrake, because I bet your insurance policy will not cover handbrake failure caused by stray centimos coins. You have been warned.

Or, of course, you could get yourself a girly purse.

Rob Innis

October The Inland Magazine here