[00:01.080]--- lesson 31 A lovable eccentric
[00:06.040]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:11.600]--- Why did the shop assistant refuse to serve Dickie?
[00:17.720]True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.
[00:23.400]They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
[00:30.080]This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
[00:38.600]Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town.
[00:45.200]He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life.
[00:53.400]He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
[01:01.920]Dickie disliked snobs intensely.
[01:04.920]Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot.
[01:11.200]Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella.
[01:15.720]One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower.
[01:23.240]He wanted to buy a £300 watch for his wife,
[01:27.440]but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him.
[01:33.040]Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag.
[01:39.040]As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter.
[01:43.320]The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager.
[01:50.840]Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely.
[01:58.960]When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag.
[02:04.160]It contained $300 in pennies.
[02:08.720]He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left -- 30,000 pennies in all!
[02:16.000]On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings.
[02:23.520]This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press,
[02:27.720]for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie.
[02:34.200]It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.