Dealbreakers

Maybe there are certain traits that you so detest in other people that you simply cannot stand anyone in possession of them, even if that person is otherwise pretty much perfect. Maybe it's their political leaning. Maybe it's their starsign. Maybe it's their fondness for, say, Bryan Adams. (I love Bryan Adams. I'm sorry if that means it's the end for us.) Maybe it's someone who takes their unopened wine home again after a party.

At the weekend I discovered a new one for my own dossier of dealbreakers. Someone who haggles in a charity shop.

Here is the scene that played out across the glass-topped counter:

Softly spoken charity shop worker: That will be £15.97 please.

Angry joyless customer: So we'll call it £15 then, yeah?

SSCSW: No, it's £15.97.

AJC: Yeah, so we'll just round it down to £15, shall we?

SSCSW: No, it's £15.97. It's for charity.

AJC: [Now particularly angry and joyless] YOUR ATTITUDE STINKS.

I gave him the Jones Family Withering Look. It didn't really help.