02/08/15: Philomena (Norwood)

Norwood, Golder's Green. The sign said "All single DVDs £1". There was a stack of still-shrinkwrapped Philomena DVDs. I fancied seeing this thought-provoking Dench-meets-Coogan drama, so I took one of them to the till. The lady there was speaking on the phone, distracted. She said "Two pounds." I pointed out the sign and she replied "No, these came in yesterday", as if that proved something. This irked me, so I left sans disc.

30/12/14: Las Vegas mugs (JAMI)

JAMI, Golders Green, next door to Sue Ryder. The mugs in JAMI were not priced. I asked the man at the till how much they cost. After some distraction, delay and dithering, a second member of staff advised that they would be 50p each. How could I resist? I like these Las Vegas designs because their excitingly bright, gaudy colours accurately evoke the flavour of that Nevada city. Plus, I needed mugs.

30/12/14: Her Lover (Sue Ryder)

Sue Ryder, Golders Green. The sign stated that all paperbacks were £1, but a sticker on the actual book said £2. A confusing state of affairs. I asked the lady at the till, who confirmed the £1 rule and removed the misleading sticker. The purchase proceeded without further incident. Her Lover by Albert Cohen is 974 pages long and as such will take me a while to read. It was published in 1968, but is set in 1930s Geneva and details the lives of social climbers connected to the League of Nations. This is an English translation from the original French version (published as Belle du Seigneur).