It was not being repaired! This new design was so that even RFID tags cannot detect me! Anyway, tinfoil hats are so 1990's

That hat's great! When I get to London this summer, I'll still be able to recognize you even though my Samizdata-detecting RFID device will be rendered inoperable. Excellent!

Hate to break this to you, but a yellow lampshade defeats video surveillance only if you can ensure enough others are in circulation to confuse the watchers (as in The Thomas Crown Affair). You have to do a lot of forward planning to take a private walk in London.

Drat, I knew it was too good to be true. Back to the drawing board... still, it is a fairly good 'CCTV avoidance system'

Maybe he was drying his hair.

Perhaps it's not a failure but a business and political opportunity. You could sell yellow lampshades on the model of red, pink, etc ribbons, for people to wear to anonymously(?) declare their opposition to CCTV. As long as they don't all walk anywhere for a common purpose it should be perfectly legal...

Coming next: the car-lampshade for Congestion Charge objectors.

If yellow lampshades wont defeat the CCTV cameras you could always take to wearing a full burka.

Foil is sooo tacky. Here in the states we use wire mesh screens. Heat them up a little ( 200 degrees for 2 hours) and form them over a bowling ball and then a little snip with scissors and it will fit right inside your ball cap ( Yankees, of course). I guess you'll have to use a bowler there in foggystan.
Kerry akbar

What's a bowling ball? A ball cap? I don't think we have either of those things in foggystan. Unless they go under another name--as your quaint "bowler" for Coke hat.