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Six decades on, a confiscated toy car is returned

A pupil and self-confessed “time waster” whose toy car was confiscated after he was caught playing with it in class has had it returned by his teacher – over six decades later.

Back in 1956, Alicia Payas, then Miss Risso, took the toy car from Mr Labrador after she caught him playing with it in class.

According to Mr Labrador he was “…always a time waster at school and playing with a toy car was a good way of wasting time.”

“Removing the car from me was indeed the right thing to do and it taught me a lesson,” he agrees.

However, he was still expecting to get his car back at the end of the school day and was surprised when this did not happen.

As any child would do, he told his parents what had happened. They were very supportive, he said, before clarifying: “Of the teacher, as always.”

“I did not play with a toy in class ever again,” he added.

Decades passed and Mr Labrador never forgot that car and, it turns out, neither had Mrs Payas. Or, to be more accurate, Mr Labrador never let Mrs Payas forget it.

According to Mrs Payas, every time the two would meet he would tease and recall when she took his car from him.

Having only served two terms as a teacher before giving it up, Mrs Payas said she does not recall the incident.

However, as someone who is “quite a good one at jokes,” she decided to buy him the mini and give it to him in a bid to end the teasing banter between the two.

Mr Labrador is involved with St John Ambulance, an organisation that both Mrs Payas and her husband George are very committed.

“Last Friday I went to the St John premises and George told me he had ‘an item’ for me, he did not say what it was,” said Mr Labrador.

“He gave me a little box wrapped up in present paper. I suspected what it could have been but did not quite believe it. I opened the present and there it was.”

“What a lovely sense of humour on the part of both Alicia and George,” he added.

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