Sexy Steve and the Slightly Pale Hallows

What a bloody palaver. One of the Wet Ones took today off as leave to read That Book. He went over to Xville to get his copy at midnight or one minute past. The police officer girlfriend of someone else had her copy delivered to her home at a similar time - the boyfriend has been warned to stay away until she's finished it.

The world seems to be divided into those who are immune to the infection and those who have totally succumbed. To my slight surprise the Bolshevik Bookworm hasn't stepped between the pages. I was slightly less surprised to discover that Yoda has no idea what the books are all about. Then again I'd me rather more surprised to discover that she had actually read a book. We have two copies and I've got about a quarter of the way through.

They were delivered into the store yesterday afternoon, minus the display stand we were supposed to be using and which was supposed to have been brought to us by Parcelforce earlier in the day. Also the promotional material announcing that the book IS on sale - to replace the promotional material announcing the imminent arrival of That Book - couldn't be found and I strongly suspect that one of the Wet Ones has taken it home and put it up on its bedroom wall.

So there I was locked away in my little office with five boxes of the most sought after piece of execrable 'literature' to come into existence since the last HP novel was released. All evening. I could have read the thing then, and no-one would have been the wiser since the BB had opened on of the boxes to confirm the contents and opened one of the inner linings so that she could torment the Wet Ones with a glimpse of the cover waved from the office door.

Sexy Steve had confirmed that the book was on its way to us earlier in the day, I think. It isn't always easy to tell with Steve. The only thing normal about him, as far as I am concerned, is that he fancies men. I mean, I do, why shouldn't he. I don't fancy women. Why should he. The problem straight men have with men finding them attractive baffles me. Don't they wish to be found attractive? Don't they find themselves attractive? Do they consider their wives/girlfriends sick for finding them attractive? On that last point I think the answer probably actually is, yes. But then most men don't think much of woman which is why it is alright for them sleep with men rather than women and do the things men expect of them. Now that I've tangled myself up in a knot I shall move on.

Steve sent an email out yesterday which mentioned a couple of Queens and a girl called Dorothy and we tentatively concluded that the HP book might be on its way to us. A short while later we took a call from a very slightly contrite and less deranged sounding Sexy Steve that sort of confirmed what we'd sort of deduced. Our suspicion is that Steve had had a rocket fired up his arse for distributing utter gibberish on the company intranet which would be a breach of any IT non-misuse policy we might happen to have. Personally I think that any such reprimand would have been harsh no matter how much Steve might have enjoyed it - everyone else has been using the intranet for the distribution of nonsense; why should Steve be singled out for censure?

So we got the book out after closing time yesterday and printed out some in-house promo. stuff. As I said we've got two copies in the house now. I dragged the offspring out of bed and up the road at Sparrow's Fart to buy them.

The little Tesco over the road, into which we popped for a couple of bits I'd forgotton is flogging the book at 1p more than us or £4.99 less than us - if you spend £50 or more. This gesture would be more gallant if there were £40.00 or more worth of other goods in our micro Tesco worth purchasing.

More anon concerning Mighty T and also an update on the Anal Fistula situation.