Follow-up

further to the letter about an upstart being ‘had’ by an item presented for stock-taking (peterborough), my engineering colleagues and i, in the local technical college, were a bit miffed to be told that our stock-taking would no longer be done by ourselves, but a senior member of a different department (catering, general studies, hairdressing, for instance). when the stock-taker arrived, he was warmly welcomed and accompanied by an engineering technician, in order to answer any questions he might have. gradually, he was guided to a large cardboard box sitting on a shelf among various other things. the technician, pointing out that it was on the stock list under important miscellaneous items, advised caution because, on the lid, in large, red letters, it said: ‘open with extreme care, contents liable to be lost if spilled.’ the stock-taker, determined to do his job thoroughly, decided to examine the box more closely and found, to his dismay, that the contents were listed as ‘12 half-inch holes’, with a footnote to say ‘one slightly bent’. funnily enough, the next year, stock-taking was abolished, so i always wondered what the other departments did!

bernard wood, ramsgate, kent.