I used to visit the United Kingdom frequently, and spent a lot of time and money in Forbidden Planet, the SF/fantasy bookstore in London, picking up items from British TV and books from British publishers. I hadn’t been for a couple of years. It has since moved to bigger and nicer premises, but at the time, decades ago now, the area around it was getting a little run down. It was nearly dark when I arrived, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable. The ground floor had been rearranged to feature horror film items and anime instead of books and licensed toys. And at the till was a goth, a man with stark white skin, long black hair, black lipstick and eye makeup, piercings, a ripped sleeveless T-shirt, and resting bitch face. Definitely not the way the store clerks had looked when I was last there. Was a nerdy person like me no longer welcome?

Then, the man turned to me, smiled, and in a very posh voice asked, “May I help you, madam?”

I laughed. Shame on me for going by surface appearance.