A jolly good egg.....

Another encounter with the scanner has shown me that the gift of giving can permeate the mind of even the meanest spirited electronic brain. It was as though I had encountered the reanimated, fully epiphanised Scrooge, in mechanical form, cheerily waiting at the checkout with the sole purpose of bringing joy to every Tiny Tim that passed a bar code over his platen. I was in the guise of a Wiser man, bearing a box of six eggs, as is my wont. I stood before the altar of he whom I supposed was still the steely eyed Moolah, Lord of the Dosh and Keeper of the fabled Wonga. I was not expecting love, I was ready for conflict and confusion. Having performed the initial rites I was prepared, this time, for the six passes of the egg box. The first pass was met with the curt bleep of approval and I proceeded to the second pass for the second egg. Rejection can be hard, but the Scanner’s rejection was, miraculously, kindness itself. His electronic screen of a face beamed with the simple Christmas message – 28ctms, pay up now. A box of six jolly good eggs for 28ctms the lot. Like a stick of Brighton rock with the bar code running through it. My toast had fallen butter side up. I have a feeling that this conversion may not be as permanent as the one that we assume affected Scrooge.

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