Drunken Scruffs!
My friend Mary who I used to work with came to visit during a sunny and warm week in October 2004. While she was out and about looking for things to draw, she often found herself approached by men that would seem to just hover around her attempting to look over her shoulder in the hope of catching a glimpse of what she was sketching. Not only this but they would find a seat or just stand on the other side of a road looking at her! One even tried to make conversation. Needless to say Mary made some very quick get exits!
I shared her experience one afternoon while I was waiting for the bus at Barletta, the town just north of Trani, after I had finished teaching English. I was sitting on a bench minding my own business when a drunken scruffy man with a bushy beard, who was probably in his 50's began talking to me. I looked at him and decided walk to the safety of the bus shelter where there was a young girl and another man. I then watched in slight amusement as the scruffy man walked back and forth across the road several times to speak to anyone that would listen! It brought back memories of when I was working in Sydney (see Australian Diary Snippets) and I was approached during a lunch break by a man who I can only describe as a tramp claiming to be a friend of Mick Jagger!