by Alan Townendmoney but at the same time there is a little voice at the back of
peoples' minds that is suggesting to them that there will also be
bargains if they wait until the last minute. Habit is a significant factor
in all this. You did this last year while you were taking down the
Christmas decorations and therefore without realizing it, you will be
doing exactly the same this year. You sit back in your favourite
armchair and say: «In six months' time I shall be sitting on a sunny
beach somewhere and I shall be reading my favourite book.»
The Marvells did not believe in leaving things to chance. They
believed in planning. On a winter evening around mid-January in the
Marvell household the following would be a typical conversation:
«Are you thinking, what I'm thinking Daisy?» — «I'll tell you what
I'm thinking: I'm dreaming of my summer holiday at the moment in
a lovely warm place, And.» She was being very romantic when she
called him «And». «And, And (this was Daisy's sense of humour)
where will you be taking your holiday this summer?» — «I was
thinking perhaps we might try Majorca, it's said to be very pretty.»
At this stage of the conversation there would be the sound of
screams of laughter and the following day Andrew usually booked the
holiday. The next-door neighbours, the long-suffering Nortons, heard
the laughter too, turned to each other and said: «They're obviously
making arrangements to go to Majorca again.»
When Andrew finished work that Monday and was walking down the
high street to the station to get his train home, he decided to call in
at the travel agents to make his booking. When he reached the door,
it didn't seem to open in the usual manner. In fact to his surprise it
opened outwards instead of inwards. He ought to know, he thought,
he'd been pushing and not pulling it several times a year over the
last twenty-five and he usually went to young Jack (now old Jack)
who'd been working there over the same period of time. The layout
was different, too. Something strange was happening and poor
Andrew couldn't make it out. There was the smell of damp and hot
hair. «Can I help you, sir?» asked a young woman in a white overall.
— «I've been coming here for the last twenty ...» Andrew's jaw
dropped. For a moment he thought he was standing in the wrong
shop, dashed outside and then came back in again. Maybe he was
dreaming but then it dawned on him, the travel agents had gone and
been replaced by a hairdressers. The woman explained: «We opened
last week and are opening another new premises by the park next
month. The travel agents have been experiencing a difficult time this
year. They weren't getting their regular customers.» Andrew just
couldn't handle it. If Daisy were here, she would be feeling the same.
He tried to picture how he would be explaining it to her. What would
she be doing right now at home? She would probably be preparing
the supper and expecting to see the receipt for the booking as he
came through the door. What could he do? He was in a hairdressing
salon and it was a uni-sex one as well! He didn't know what to do,
where to look.
When Andrew eventually reached home about two hours later, Daisy
was speaking on the phone. She had been going frantic trying to find
out what had happened to Andrew. As she was watching him come