Cruel in tent

The Man writes...Albaniana has just returned exhausted from a meeting to form a committee for her "fair trade town" campaign. Happily she seems to have a quorum of keen helpers.

Earlier today we met up for lunch and then visited a cool outdoor equipment shop. The staff there are persistently attentive. As we stood regarding a small backpackers' tent, wishing we were cool outdoor people, an assistant appeared at our shoulders. "That's a great little tent," she said. "You two could almost stand up in it!"

Making fun of vertically challenged customers? That's the kind of sales technique you usually only see on "The Apprentice".

Here is another photo from last week's show of work, where the Boy's classroom had been transformed - "Changing Rooms" style - into the African desert. The meerkat (top left) and the safari jeep are his work, and the waterfall was his idea - apparently he was quite insistent.