the shoppers are in a frenzy & a ghost Walter Mitty from the past

Yes its that time again, the shop (Matlock sainsbugs) is awash with bug eyed shoppers who seem to have forgotten or are in such a Christmas shopping panic that they don't know where anything is. 

There's a constant stream of people asking for the normal xmas stuff but also the everyday bits and bobs they buy every week!  I put it down to the Christmassy songs that are played in the store it seems to plunge them into the "frenzy"

From a "Bakery Colleague" point of view we seem to be lost in a sea of Christmas puddings and mince pies!  We have/had a procedure that takes the storing of hundreds of mince pies and Christmas pudding a little easier.  In late November either side of the cake isle gets a lid on it and the Christmas puddings are tastefully arranged along one side of the top.  we then stack up around 40 cases of mice pies on the other "lid" of the isle. 

This year the mince pie lid never appeared and the Christmas pudding one was taken down a week or so after it was erected.  So the warehouse resembles a tip and we are in danger of having to walk across the top of all the merchandise just to get from one end to the other. 

On a completely different theme - - - - Having had a rather colourful and exiting military career it only takes the odd "detail" to be mentioned before people realise you were involved with a rather "special" unit. In various conversations with some people over the years who claim to have been "a member" it only takes a few pointed questions to expose them as a "Walter Mitty" and ignore them. 

It was interesting then to talk to our "Security man" at the shop, "lets call him Ian", who claimed that his next door neighbour had said "oh yes i went over the balcony".  This was meant to be a reference to being part of the team that ended the siege of the Iranian Embassy at 16 Princess Gate in London on the 5th of may 1980. 

Having the full name of this alleged "team member" it only took an e mail to a friend in Hereford and a forwarded e mail to another in Spain to check the full roll call of the assault teams to confirm that this person could not have been part of "the team"

Its ironic though that so many people claim to have been there that if they were "actually there",  there would have been so many black overalled gas masked characters in the building they would have been shoulder to shoulder and stacked "22" high.  

Finally then --- Malcolm (Mel) Roy Edwards, you are a fake and a Walter Mitty.  I will pass to you, a copy of the e mail from one of the assault group commanders when/if I ever meet you.

Enjoy the day