A gran was left in hysterics after presenting a 'perfect' personalised charity shop mug to her KFC-loving son-in-law - only to discover he'd donated it days earlier. Lisa Gregory was out shopping when she spotted a KFC mug with 'Shane' printed on it in a Dogs Trust charity shop.
Delighted that she'd found something suited for her son-in-law Shane Price while in Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, the retired customer service worker snapped up the 50p cup and took it home to surprise him. But when the 32-year-old was proudly presented with the mug that evening, his face dropped and he was forced to confess he'd donated to the shop days earlier.
The pair were left in fits of laughter, with 53-year-old Lisa vowing that she would keep the cup on standby for whenever Shane is in need of a brew. Before it found its way into Lisa's hands, the mug was a leaving gift from Shane's previous teaching colleagues, though it spent most of its life at the back of his kitchen cupboard.
Lisa, from Swansea, said "I spotted the mug and thought 'oh, you don't see many things with Shane on'. He's quite partial to Kentucky fried chicken. It's a known thing in the family that KFC is his go-to takeaway.
"What were the chances of finding something like this? So I decided to buy it for him because he's a good son-in-law. When he came round later in the day, I was very excited. I told him 'I have something for you'.
"I led him to the kitchen and pulled out the mug, that's when I saw his face drop. At first, I thought 'oh, you ungrateful so-and-so'. I said 'you don't like it?' and he went 'no, it's not that'.
"He asked if I'd gotten it from a charity shop, then he said he'd dropped it off there a few days before. We laughed about it, I just thought it was hilarious. It was only 50p at the end of the day - it was worth it for a laugh."
Shane admits that he'd been preparing to express gratitude for the gift before he got to see what his in-law had been 'hyping up'. Shane, from Cardiff, said: "Lisa had hyped up the mug before giving it to me. She's my in-law so I was totally prepared to show some gratitude.
"But once she presented it to me, she could instantly see there was something wrong with my face. That's when I had to reveal that I'd given it to the charity shop.
"The mug was a leaving present from a previous job, it was known in the office that I liked KFC. I definitely get a KFC once a fortnight - I'm on a first-name basis with the manager at my local.
"It was one of those that was sitting at the back of the cupboard. It's like one of those naff ones that you would get with an Easter Egg in it that never gets used. I was chucking out junk from the house and heading to the tip.
"En route to the tip, I stopped at the charity shop to drop off a few other bits, they said they'd accept the mug and I left it there. I thought it'd have a niche market. I know KFC is popular but the name Shane isn't particularly."
Once the humorous mix-up came to light, it was decided that the mug would stay with Lisa. Lisa said: "Since I found out where the mug came from, it's been sitting on my kitchen window sill. I'm going to keep it, I'm not going to get rid of it.
"It's going to be one of those funny stories. It'll be his mug whenever he pops over and he has a brew." KFC has been contacted for comment.
