shirts

The car park by the supermarket was busy. Most people seemed to be carrying flowers and a high proportion of prominent red packaging for chocolates and heart shaped gifts.

The guy from the onsite franchised laundry was standing outside his shop and smoking a cigarette. He was already chatting when I came along to drop off some items. They were both looking at a mini car divided down the middle with one half mud-crusted and the other half glossy white. I said Hi and he walked back with me and around the corner to the shop entrance.

That's when I saw the disarray. Boxes, clothing rails, toolkits, signage.

“What’s happened?” I asked.

“We’re moving,” he replied.

“Again?”

“90 degrees...The shop is the wrong way around. Its being turned.”

“Huh?”

“They set the unit down the wrong way around. The door is supposed to face directly towards the car park. Its always been wrong. They’re fixing it on Tuesday.”

A pause.

“It means your shirts will be late... but they’ll be ready on Friday.”

wash-up or spin cycle?

The usually hidden turbo button on the Parliamentary system has been revealed. It looks as if the remaining bills under consideration are all to be processed within the next 2-3 days before Parliament is dissolved.

Harriet Harman can preside over this last minute spin cycle as part of the so-called wash-up process. The bills make an interesting laundry list, with the bribery bill, financial services bill, developing countries debt relief bill and the equality bill for starters.

There's plenty of others too, and it raises all sorts of questions about the time these normally take, the number of ostensibly significant bills that have not been processed and what happens when they all get bundled through in a couple of days.

The one drawing a lot of internet attention has been the digital economy bill, which has had almost a whole day to itself and is being rushed through despite extensive lobbying requesting delays for various reviews.

I can't help wondering whether this bundling of bills will really engage MPs, because of the imminent dissolution and electioneering.

Quite a laundering operation.