There is a strange and mystical force in the world that is out to get each and every one of us. It appears quite innocent and even helpful, but it is a temptation few can withstand. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the attack of the bargain…
Today I was killing time in London Victoria train station when I happened across this alluring phenomenon in WHSmith. SALE cried the giant red signs and like a magpie to silver I was drawn to its promise.
As I browsed a sticker caught my attention, “only 50p!” “Only 50p! What a bargain, what is it?” I thought. And there beneath the sticker was a DVD of the film Bandits with Cate Blanchette, Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis, and beneath that was No Doubt’s “The Singles” also only 50p!
“How can I resist?” I thought. “It’s such a good price.” So predictably I bought them both with a rather smug smile that told the shoppers around me that I had achieved a genuine bargain. Twenty minutes later, on the train and away from the buzz of shops in January, I despair at my shallowness; yes, they are cheap but if I had truly wanted either I would have bought them both a long time ago. Oh well, never mind.