Q. A friend, well known for having a dusty wallet, brought a bottle of champagne to our house. We were pleasantly surprised but, though it looked exactly like a real bottle of Oudinot Epernay, it did not feel quite heavy enough. On closer inspection, we saw that our friend had somehow picked up an empty display bottle and, because the label had a barcode, had paid the full amount, £24. He showed us the receipt.
He said he would return it to the Marks & Spencer on the motorway near his home (rather than ours) and so we did not have a bottle of champagne after all, but we thought that at least he had shown willing.
Now I discover by pure chance that another mutual friend had exactly the same experience with him last weekend.
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