I have a big red sack - Ho HO Ho!

I went to London and back yesterday. I'm slightly unnerved by the fact that I scarcely remember the journey back. Is that a bad thing???? I was cross all the way down at the fact that I could have been at home rather than driving a 500 mile round trip for work when I have a hideous ten days of travelling ahead of me, and in fact have to go back to London on Tuesday afternoon. I grumbled to myself a lot.

The meeting was fine though in a freezing cold house filled with junk mail, repellent carpets and no coffee. It finished around 4.45 so I thought I would dash into Gap to see if I could get the 'must have' Mulberry bag that they are doing as a limited edition. For some reason I thought nobody in the world except me would know about this. Turns out it has been in Grazia, the Saturday Telegraph and probably the Martian Times and that the world had been queuing on Oxford Street since dawn in the hope of getting their little mits on one of these must have items.

I stood in the minute Gap I had chosen and looked crestfallen. I muttered about driving four hours each way to get one of these precious items and then a solitary tear trickled down my dewy cheek. The woman next to me said not to worry, nobody had got one of them and her mother had queued with a picnic and a tent all weekend and still failed. I sniffed inconsolably.

At this point I should point out that though the bag is a beautiful shade of red, and is under a £100 rather than the more usual £400 I wasn't that broken hearted. I hadn't really thought I would get one, I'd just thought it would be nice to be with the times for once, rather than so backwards I am only just buying the in things when they return to fashion for the second or third time. By this point though I was verging on earning an Oscar so I couldn't cheer up that rapidly.

The bored assistant dealing with me pointed out that they hadn't had the bags anyway - only Oxford Street had stocked them. I looked mulish and said that wasn't fair. She looked a bit more bored and pointed out that a limited edition meant 'not that many' so they couldn't be everywhere. I did see this but refused to look any happier at being thwarted in my consumerish urges.

At this point one of the Sales Girls said "Didn't somebody return one of them to us earlier today?" My little ears pricked up. "Really? you might have one? Can I get it?" Instantly, my hopes were dashed. "Sorry, it's gone". Second sales girl said there was a helpline I could ring and she would get me the number. I wondered whether there were psychiatrists lined up on the other end ot deal with disconsolate shoppers and stumped off after her as she went to fetch the number.

When I returned, number in hand, misery in my face, first sales girl came up to me and said. "What the hell. We have the returned back on hold for someone but they haven't come in and YOU CAN HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Unbelievable. I skipped down the stairs after her and watched her open a secret cupboard and reveal the lovely bag. I barged past an inept man trying to buy T shirts at the till nextdoor (turned out it was Harry Enfield - not that I noticed) and handed over my exhausted plastic. Two minutes later - the bag was mine!

Now I am the proud owner of a genuine 'it bag'. The question I have for you is this. Do I keep it or do I sell it on e bay where they are going for £160 upwards???

Aaargh decisions decisions.