Irritations, #237 in a series

Twice in twenty-four hours I have been thwarted by petty jobsworths.

Yesterday they wouldn't let me pick up my parcel from the sorting office. I had my passport (proof of ID), the parcel slip, and a credit card, but no proof of address -- which I have never been asked for before, & thought was only needed if you sent someone else to collect a parcel for you. I wouldn't mind, but it's an hour's round trip and I had other plans for my next available morning. Up early on Saturday, boo ...

Today, the Post Office refused my parcel because it's fastened with staples. "You'll have to cover those up," they said. Fair enough, though again I had never been asked to do so before. "Do you have some Sellotape?" I asked. "80p a roll," they said. No, they wouldn't give me a little bit. Yes, today is half-day closing. So parcel will be sent tomorrow instead. (I didn't actually have enough cash on me for a roll of Sellotape plus postage; and I have plenty of Sellotape, thank you very much.)

Would it really kill them to be helpful? Or is it against regulations?

Pullman interview you may have missed

In search of something completely different, I came across this interview with Philip Pullman, in which he talks about The Book of Dust and doesn't quite call George Bush the Antichrist ...

Indrapore: a challenge

Since all human knowledge is contained herein, who will undertake to tell me more about Indrapore (the place) than I already know? (This need not be very much at all.)