p26 Sports Arkwright 7/17/08 12:32 PM Page 26
VOICE - Sports Retail
SGB
Sports and Outdoor www.sgb-sports.com
Arkwright
The Independent
Voice
. . . "You’ll have to
drive 15 miles to
T
here comes a time when enough is
find any one of the
She snooped around with a clipboard The impulsive defiance felt great as I
enough and I reached that point
first three and I
sighing at any petty misdemeanour she sipped my first cold glass of Chardonnay
very suddenly earlier this month. felt I should have drawn to my attention that evening!
Passing another birthday milestone,
don’t know why
and needed to address, in other words
then hearing of a good friend finding being about as useful as a traffic warden. After a week of croissant, coffee and three-
himself with a serious health problem, Once she’d filled enough of her tick boxes hour lunches I told the family I thought it
flagged up once again that life is short and
you bother to go
she was gone. And then… in he came: was time we went home. They were
I needed to live a bit. An escape for a week TAMI man, not alone but with TAMI wife extremely disappointed because they’d
of wine, good food and sun was needed.
out your front door
and TAMI children. My ultimate bete begun to think I’d taken on a rather jolly
With holiday plans starting to take shape noire! A whole TAMI family who “just form of mental ill health and preferred me
in my mind I was able to draw on the
if the Internet is
wanted to have a nose” and then that way to the “sane” person they saw on
calmness that I imagined would engulf me proceeded to give a running commentary a day-to-day basis back in Blighty.
once I was packing my bags, naturally
so
******
on their thoughts on the shop and stock; Reluctantly we headed for the French
having first made suitable arrangements none of them capable of completing a coast where we found our ferry being
for others to mind the shop in my
marvellous. Leave
sentence without including the words circled by part of the French fishing fleet.
absence. But then the best laid plans of Tesco, Argos, Matalan, Internet. That was We all agreed that the craft being unable to
mice and men often get pushed off course
my shop this
what really did it, without warning to dock was an omen and perhaps we weren’t
and that’s what unexpectedly happened to myself or those around me I barked,“I’m meant to return. Sadly my irrationally
mine. I could have coped with any one of sick of hearing about the TAMI world but calm behaviour of the last week seemed to
the following in isolation but they
minute, go on, out,
if that’s what impresses you off you go, be fading. I stamped around the port
followed on so closely one from the other you’ll have to drive 15 miles to find any shouting,“I never wanted to be part of the
that I was pushed over the precipice.
go, no more nosing
one of the first three and I don’t know EU but as we are I demand the right to
why you bother to go out your front door move freely between member states,
First annoyance was a group of Far
Eastern tourists who, mauling through the
for you – TAMI
if the Internet is so ****** marvellous. where’s Sarkozy when you need him? Too
Leave my shop this minute, go on, out, go, busy telling the Irish what they should
sale rail, kept demanding “What best
price? You do discount? You make good
off!”
no more nosing for you – TAMI off!” I think, do and vote instead of sorting out
locked the door behind them, emptied his own fishermen!”With that La Sécurité
price?” Perhaps their guidebooks hadn’t the till, stuck a scribbled notice on the arrived, avec le grand chien and
explained that English shops are not run door and headed home. Within two hours threatened me with deportation, clearly
on the same lines as street bazaars or, if the I had the family (admittedly all were overlooking the fact that the French
books did, they had chosen not to take any Jobsworth to spot-check my Health & somewhat dazed) in the car and we were equivalent of Captain Birdseye wasn’t
notice.“That’s the price. Take it, leave it or Safety arrangements. I’m inclined to agree heading for a ferry to France, any thought going to be letting anyone go anywhere.
clear off” hovered on my lips but went it was wrong to send small children up of my responsibility to provide a service The holiday was well and truly over and
unsaid; instead I appeared grateful when chimneys (I haven’t done that for ages) to the community (and an income for being abused back in the sports shop
they spent a fiver! Next up was Miss but hasn’t it all gone too far these days? myself) completely erased from my brain. began to look appealing!
26 JULY 2008
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