Mark is flat on his back recovering from an operation to fix a slipped disc (ouch!). In his new found spare time he put together this clip of a funny video we took when we were in Rome. Read on for some background info.

While in Rome we visited Vatican City to see St. Peter’s Basilica. It was most amusing how people tried to butt into the entrance line for the Basilica. The line up was about an hour long, and only the last bit was barricaded. We witnessed a few different tactics, so get out your pen and paper as this may be of interest.

1) Wander up innocently to the middle of the line, squinting into the distance as though you are searching for someone. Inch by inch “merge” yourself into the line, conveniently saving half an hour of your precious time.

2) Chat on your cell phone, appearing to be so distracted as to not realize you are butting in. The key here, as with the first tactic, is to appear too distracted to realize what you are doing.

3) Conveniently bump into some friends who are near the front of the line. Greet them loudly in a foreign language with lots of smiles and hugs. The key here is to not make any eye contact, or apologize to, the disgruntled people now behind you in the line.

I lost of track of how many I tapped on the shoulder to inform them of where the line up actually started (hard to miss really, a huge chain of hundreds of people, clearly stretching around the piazza). Of course they were taken completely by surprise, not realizing at all what they had done and were very apologetic (as if).

The source of amusement wore a bit thin by end though, and when a couple blatantly butted in front of us right at the front of the line, it was time to roll the cameras. Mark got out the camcorder and centred in on the guy, while I asked him a few questions. “Excuse me sir, do you realize that the line up starts way back there on the other side of the square?” “Okay.” “The line up is 45 minutes long, don’t you think you need to line up like everyone else?” “Okay.” “There is a confession booth inside the Basilica.” “Yes, okay.” (Not that it would have done him any good, but just as an FYI).

The guy really had guts to stay there though, having a video camera in his face and all. I suppose if I had a few more guts myself I would’ve liked to ask him (and the other cheats) a few more questions. “Excuse me ma’am, would you be more inclined to butt into line at church on a Sunday morning, or in line at a shopping mall?” “What would you say motivates you most to skip to the front? Would you say it’s primarily your belief that your time is worth more than the thousands of other people here?”

Thankfully the beauty of the inside the building made up for spending a few more minutes in line for the cheats. And also we have a most amusing home video :)