Thursday, January 25, 2007
Mentioned In Dispatches Mr Jack Arthur
"Reported" in the local "newspaper" we have a former Lord Mayor of York Mr Jack Arthur, who has been shopping at my local Morrisons store.
Now it has been the policy of that store for some time now to ask any person buying alcohol to confirm they are over 18. Yes any person, as in the case of Mr Arthur who is in fact 87.
It has always struck me as ridiculous and I've wanted to take a hundred pounds or so, load a trolley with alcohol and on being asked if I'm over 18, either replying "No" or refusing to say. Would they sell to me regardless? Or refuse and put all the alcohol back?
As usual, of course the government is involved: "A spokeswoman for Morrison's - whose executive chairman, Ken Morrison is 75 - said they implemented the tough "TASK 21 Scheme" at any of their stores which have been reprimanded for selling booze to under-18s." I can envisage that alcohol may have been sold to an under 18, it's not a major issue really, no doubt the trading standards gave Morrisons a choice either implement this scheme and take a warning or be prosecuted. Of course they've implemented the scheme, "There's no one got the guts to tell the government where to get off".
Quite how the scheme is meant to help anyway is a mystery, I mean under 18s have been buying alcohol for a long time, and when asked, they're not going to say "I'm sixteen", they'll say: "Yes I'm over eighteen".
Anyway rather than prattle on, I'll simply thank Mr Arthur for taking this matter up, it may only seem a small thing, but it's an unnecessary apparatchik interference in the lives of everyone who shops in that Morrisons. In other words an infringement of our freedom.
Now it has been the policy of that store for some time now to ask any person buying alcohol to confirm they are over 18. Yes any person, as in the case of Mr Arthur who is in fact 87.
It has always struck me as ridiculous and I've wanted to take a hundred pounds or so, load a trolley with alcohol and on being asked if I'm over 18, either replying "No" or refusing to say. Would they sell to me regardless? Or refuse and put all the alcohol back?
As usual, of course the government is involved: "A spokeswoman for Morrison's - whose executive chairman, Ken Morrison is 75 - said they implemented the tough "TASK 21 Scheme" at any of their stores which have been reprimanded for selling booze to under-18s." I can envisage that alcohol may have been sold to an under 18, it's not a major issue really, no doubt the trading standards gave Morrisons a choice either implement this scheme and take a warning or be prosecuted. Of course they've implemented the scheme, "There's no one got the guts to tell the government where to get off".
Quite how the scheme is meant to help anyway is a mystery, I mean under 18s have been buying alcohol for a long time, and when asked, they're not going to say "I'm sixteen", they'll say: "Yes I'm over eighteen".
Anyway rather than prattle on, I'll simply thank Mr Arthur for taking this matter up, it may only seem a small thing, but it's an unnecessary apparatchik interference in the lives of everyone who shops in that Morrisons. In other words an infringement of our freedom.
Tags: Mentioned In Dispatches, Mr Jack Arthur, freedom
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Labels: Mentioned In Dispatches
