PRONE to losing things, car keys, cheque book or perhaps your wallet? Then the best place to be is in the frozen but deeply honest north of Europe. Definitely steer clear of affluent Switzerland, particularly the prosperous city of Lausanne.
The offices of the Reader's Digest in Brussels conducted a random European honesty survey, the results released ahead of publication in the magazine next week. The procedure involved planting 200 wallets containing the local equivalent of £30 in 20 places around Europe. 116 wallets were returned intact, with an encouraging honesty quotient in northern Europe.
Switzerland and Italy were black spots. In Lousanne only two made it back to the owners and in Italy less than half the wallets were returned. No mention of the Irish, who apparently did not figure in the survey.
With the ostrich scam now discredited, Lausanne could be fertile ground for gnome farming entrepreneurs promising small returns, of course.
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