My criminal career went down the drain

At senior school in the early 1960s, we had practical physics lessons using Bunsen burners and mercury. i was mischievous and had an idea i could convert a copper penny into a silver half-crown by rubbing in globules of mercury. it worked so well that i thought it could be passed as a half-crown in a shop. to test this theory, i strolled towards a corner shop with the intention of buying some sweets. Unfortunately, on the way i pulled some coins out of my pocket and the ‘silver penny’ dropped on the pavement and rolled into a culvert. My opportunity to become a master criminal had gone down the drain. it was just as well, as i’d probably have been caught by the shopkeeper. Fortunately, at least my conscience is clear. i wonder if the coin is still lurking at the bottom of that drain.

H. Thomas, Evesham, Worcs.