Some advice please

Back early 1970's, I lived in a small town just outside of Greater London. New builds all occupied then by young families. My friend, next door, got very excited at a phone call she had received one day in which she was told that M&S were considering siting a new store in that town. He was very polite and asked her all about her lingerie purchases. It was not until that evening when she told her hubbie, when he came home from work did she realise it had been a 'dirty phone call'. She was so disappointed!!!!!

MawsRosie

When I was a Sam we would sometimes get (hoax) calls (at night) about some potentially embarrassing situation often involving a man and his teenage daughter’s friend who invariably omitted to lock the bathroom door, or some tale involving underwear or accidental, of course, voyeurism. The story would develop becoming more and more risqué and our aim was to deflect the caller from achieving their their intended objective IYKWIM.
With experience you could usually spot the genuinely distressed or potentially suicidal caller so we would start by giving the benefit of the doubt, but the dodgy ones soon became easy to spot.
# justsaying.

@MT62 - your post of 20.11- really?

Same experience as a Sam. Those calls were always at night and they were hard to deal with when inexperienced at first.
One Sam I did overnight duty with said even if he got repeated phone calls and the caller rang off immediately he answered until they got a female Sam you wouldn’t know if it was someone who couldn’t share their fears with a man or someone who was hoping for help with . . .

Things ain't what they used to be.
Mu friend had someone call her everyday for literally years, no talking, just heavy breathing.
Wally W*****, she nicknamed him.

MissAdventure

I once had an "obscene" phone call all about my knickers, and I didn't even realise, as I chatted away.
He told me he was from "Pretty Polly" tights, and was conducting some research.

Those were the “Good old days” when you got a naughty phone call.

I remember back in the 80’s having a few, always between about 9am and 3pm.

Poor men tried to keep you talking just long enough…….

Then 1471 and caller ID came along and ruined it for them.

There was a primary school near us in the North East and the janitor had been using the school phone for just this purpose and hadn’t realised the calls could be traced !

I once had an "obscene" phone call all about my knickers, and I didn't even realise, as I chatted away.
He told me he was from "Pretty Polly" tights, and was conducting some research.

MawsRosie

When I was a Sam we would sometimes get (hoax) calls (at night) about some potentially embarrassing situation often involving a man and his teenage daughter’s friend who invariably omitted to lock the bathroom door, or some tale involving underwear or accidental, of course, voyeurism. The story would develop becoming more and more risqué and our aim was to deflect the caller from achieving their their intended objective IYKWIM.
With experience you could usually spot the genuinely distressed or potentially suicidal caller so we would start by giving the benefit of the doubt, but the dodgy ones soon became easy to spot.
# justsaying.

@MT62 - your post of 20.11- really?

Just young men larking around apparently.
I’d be horrified if they went through my washing basket 😩

When I was a Sam we would sometimes get (hoax) calls (at night) about some potentially embarrassing situation often involving a man and his teenage daughter’s friend who invariably omitted to lock the bathroom door, or some tale involving underwear or accidental, of course, voyeurism. The story would develop becoming more and more risqué and our aim was to deflect the caller from achieving their their intended objective IYKWIM.
With experience you could usually spot the genuinely distressed or potentially suicidal caller so we would start by giving the benefit of the doubt, but the dodgy ones soon became easy to spot.
# justsaying.

@MT62 - your post of 20.11- really?

Busy person, obviously.

Wish we had a “like” button, MissAdventure 🤣

MissAdventure

I don't think it was just the writing getting some "exercise".

I think so too, the OP has also been on Mumsnet advocating naturist holidays.

😳🤣😉🤣🤣

I don't think it was just the writing getting some "exercise".

Bellanonna

Creative writing exercise?

I think so.

Creative writing exercise?

I have had stuff taken from the garage but not underwear.One very blatant theft was a new spray of weedkiller I had just taken out of the car. As the gang of men had left I couldn't pin it on one of them.

Nyman1962

Sago

I’m a bit confused, looking through past posts it seems you have a husband and a wife.
Could one of them have moved your underwear?

I did have a husband. We've seperated now.

What about the wife that was a funeral celebrant?

There we are then🤔

Thanks for everyone's comments. The underwear is not to be found. The more I think upon this and the more sure I am that things have been tampered with, the more uncomfortable I feel about having him in the house again. I'll settle up and provide a plausible reason and then think how I will finish the project!

Sago

I’m a bit confused, looking through past posts it seems you have a husband and a wife.
Could one of them have moved your underwear?

I did have a husband. We've seperated now.

ferry23

I think I too would notice something like that. I once had some super comfortable knickers I bought in the US and they went missing. When the washing machine was pulled out when I moved they were underneath it! So we are familiar with our underwear. And that you suspected your underwear had been moved about a bit - well, it doesn't bode well.

This is a difficult one given he's in the middle of a job. Is it likely to take long? I suppose option 1 would be not to leave the house, which may be inconvenient, or may make you uncomfortable?

Option 2 would be to fabricate a reason for him not to return - not something I would normally suggest but this is a bit out of the ordinary. You would then have to go through the process of finding someone else, and I would tell them that for "personal reasons" the decorator doing the job couldn't return. That doesn't implicate him (as it could be his or your own personal reasons) and is believable. Not many tradespeople are keen on stepping into the middle of a job but will if there's a credible reason.

Someone else may come up with a better option!

I couldn’t imagine my knickers or bras ending up under the washer/ dryer. Size of them 😂

Sago

I’m a bit confused, looking through past posts it seems you have a husband and a wife.
Could one of them have moved your underwear?

I have heard of this happening with younger workmen, according to a joiner I use to date.
He said some fellows would be prancing around with the persons knickers on their heads 😩
Since then I make sure my washing is done before we have work done, which thankfully isn’t often.
Failing that, you could always set up a hidden camera.

Sago

I’m a bit confused, looking through past posts it seems you have a husband and a wife.
Could one of them have moved your underwear?

Oh!
You posted just as I replied.
Even more weird.
Hmmm….

Where did you find him? Was it through a recognised site/trader. Have you read reviews on him? It depends how uncomfortable you feel. Could a friend come over whilst he finishes the job. Part of me would feel I'd go out each day he's there and let him get on with it or as ferry said try and get someone else..which could be a pain. Go with your gut feeling.

Weird. Would have a good old search for the missing knickers first though, could they have accidentally been put in another drawer or fallen somewhere.
But if you can’t find them and have a gut feeling that your underwear was tampered with would do as the other poster suggested and cancel the decorator, just say you are unwell and would rather not continue, pay for the job he completed and then hire someone else.
Better than feeling anxious and uncomfortable.

I’m a bit confused, looking through past posts it seems you have a husband and a wife.
Could one of them have moved your underwear?