The most annoying thing about starting a new year is how long it takes for everyone to crank themselves back into action.
I knew I wasn’t getting the real picture when I rang the taxman to say I would like to pay in instalments, and the chap on the other end of the line yawned and said: ‘Well, if you want to.’
‘I’m not sure I want to,’ I said. ‘But I’m fairly sure I will have to. I mean, if I can’t pay it all in one lump sum before the deadline, I had better set up some kind of direct debit quickly, hadn’t I?’
He sighed heavily. ‘Mmm. You could do.’
There was a long silence so I said: ‘Shall we do that now?’
‘To be honest,’ he said, ‘I should just give it a while and see how you go.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, see how you go.
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