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The Rhodesian Herald, February 13, 1971

LONDON. – Last night, thieves were chewing over the Great Potted Beef Sandwiches robbery.

The gang set out to grab a payroll and ended up with Bert Barnes’ lunch. But that wasn’t their only blunder.

They got the time of the pay-roll pick-up wrong.

They attacked the wrong man.

They grabbed the wrong briefcase.

And when they jumped into a getaway car they drove straight into a five-foot hole, and had to abandon their car.

The raid was at a petrol depot at Colwick, Nottinghamshire. The bandits burst into the accounts office and pinned the manager, Mr Bert Barnes, to the floor.

Bert, aged 44, said: “They wrenched the telephone from the wall and kept shouting: “Where is the money?” I tried to explain I didn’t have it, but it was difficult to talk because they were waving an iron bar in front of my face.”

They ransacked the office and found Mr Barnes’ briefcase containing the sandwiches.

He said: “They must have been horrified when they found my wife’s potted beef sandwiches instead of the money.”

They dropped the briefcase and fled. And, Mr Barnes never did get his sandwiches. The police took them away for forensic examination.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• People tend to make a lot of mistakes when they do things hurriedly. The thieves in the story failed in their mission because they were racing against time to complete their mission.
• When executing a mission, it pays to be precise and accurate to ensure success. Many people fail to achieve what they would have set out to do because of poor planning.
• Those who believe in karma note that a good action creates good karma, as does good intent, while a bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent.