One of the things that mildly annoy me are people who are consciously or unconsciously rude to shop assistants. This can involve being high-handed or simply continuing to talk on a mobile phone while they are serving them.

I hadn't realised that the shop assistants have begin to strike back, not with a punch in the face, but with novels, often written up from notes scribbled on the back of rolls of receipts. Next time you are by the tills in Sainsburys or Tescos, spare a thought for the person who amidst the electronic beeps is watching you bad-temperedly trying to catch the cat food and mineral water flying past.