Sometimes when I read the newspapers, I think that going to a restaurant and leaving without paying has become something of an epidemic. My research into lying has taught me that the psychology behind acts of deception is often deeply complex.
Let me start with a confession. I was guilty of dine and dash a very long time ago before it had a catchy name. I was in a group that hung about a chip shop at the turn-of-the-road in north Belfast, a poor and troubled area. I had a friend who wanted to go to the Wimpey bar in town, I told him that I hadn’t any money. I can remember his words “what do you need money for?” He passed me the menu. “We’re having doubles,” he said, and for the next half an hour he was a big shot.
