Arguing With An Irish Mammy Is Cents-less

My daughter and I are out shopping. A lady in front of me at the trolley bay is struggling with something, and since I know a few tricks with them, I speak up.

Me: “Are you okay?” 

Lady: “I don’t have the right change for the trolleys.”

Most supermarket trolleys in Ireland have a coin slot to unlock them, and they usually take a €1 coin, but sometimes if it’s an older lock you can fudge it with a smaller 20c coin.

Me: *Already sorting my change* “Here, sometimes this works.”

I put a 20c coin into the nearest trolley, which works fine. I pull it out and pass it back to her.

Lady: “Oh, thank you! How much did you put in there?”

Me: “Don’t worry about it; it’s just 20c. Happy Christmas!” 

She then pushes the €5 note she’d been carrying into my confused daughter’s hand. Cue the usual Irish Mammy’s argument about taking money, which we eventually ceded.

My daughter spent it on a charity fundraiser teddy, so we still got to spread some seasonal goodness.