He was delighted with his new satnav system.
He couldn’t wait to use it. He certainly didn’t need to program it to give directions to the local shops, where he was going to buy cigarettes, but he’d use it anyway. However, from the moment he pulled away and took the first turn, the directions seemed to be all wrong, but he decided to put his trust in the technology. He would go with the flow. He was in no big hurry. Instead of the usual five minute drive to his local agents, almost twenty minutes past before he came to a stop. He was parked on the side of the road in an unfamiliar part of town with the navigation system telling him he had arrived at his destination.
He looked around. The newsagency he was parked in front of had a large notice in the window. It was proclaiming that customers should hurry if they wanted a ticket in the Giant Lottery that was about to close. He was about to reprogram his new toy, when the thought struck him that he could buy what he wanted here and then head straight for home. As he entered the shop, empty of customers, he spent a few moments looking around. He had never been in this part of town, let alone this shop. He saw more placards advertising the big lottery. He smiled; he wasn’t much of a gambler. The owner appeared behind the counter and he bought his cigarettes. He thanked the man. As he was leaving, quite unexpectedly, he turned and went back to the counter.
He bought a ticket…