I've read somewhere the Co-op is to bring back divi.' My mum's number was 18028. Funny how it's stuck in my mind.

Once I did a short spell at Thomas Bolton's. Their shops were very much akin to the Co-op and I think there were about 30 of them at the time.

Our manager was a bit of a case. He reckoned to make his week's groceries, staff lunches, and snacks out of the halfpennies and pennies he overcharged his customers.

He always said never shortchange the bosses, but the customers are a different matter.' He knew that Mrs Whatever never looked at, or checked her change, so he considered her fair game.

So you remember, it pays to check your change and to look at the bill. It's a lesson I learned.

It's better to be thought a bit tight than to be known a fool.