Yesterday we ventured to join the local library in our new town. The nice librarian person explained about borrowing, the facilities and such things, and finally showed us a table of fines for returning books late.

“It’s £0.70 per book per day. It may not seem like much, but it does build up, so…” She gave us a meaningful glare.

I imagined her give a completely different warning.

“It’s just one stroke of the cane, per book per day. It doesn’t seem like much, but when you have to report to the council offices for your strokes, even one will seem like too much.”

…What? I’m sure librarians would love to introduce corporal punishment for late returns.