Last Word: Unexpected caller sheds fresh light on Black Friday with quirky charity plan that sounds like a money-saving Christmas cracker

HOW many of you jumped into action as Black Friday dawned last week to snap up a bargain – or perhaps justify buying something you want but desperately struggle to justify?

For many, that would entail nothing more arduous than scrolling down social media feeds bursting with must-have offers, or tempting Facebook prompts all too aware, thanks to your search history and cookies, of your deepest desires.

I was tempted by a Black Isle Brewery offer bundling 24 tins of some of my favourite locally made brews with one of their natty organic cotton T-shirts which I have always had half an eye on.

Indeed I would gladly have forked out the £50 asking price – free delivery the clincher for our carless family – had my technological incompetence not let me down at the online checkout...

Cycling from A to B, I detected more cars on the streets on Friday. Was it my imagination or was there an almost tangible tension in the air as shoppers sick to the back teeth of Covid-19 opted for some now-justified retail therapy?

The extent of my own spending was a bar of wholenut chocolate, a crafty work-from-home indulgence bought along with the customary six-pinter of milk. My wife will find out. She always does...

She, it turned out, was responsible for an unexpected caller at the door later that same day who was to bring some light to my Black Friday.

Courtesy of a local online marketplace, my better half had placed a few wardrobe clear-out items for sale – amongst them a jumper she kindly bought me which I have never worn.

The lady at the door explained her mission and was all set to hand over a fiver after expressing delight at her find. Realising she only had a £20 note and I had no change, she offered to try to transfer the cash by phone. With my teenage daughter offering instructions from the sidelines to these two “boomers” struggling with technology, I learned from my visitor that her entire family had rejected a consumerist Christmas and agreed they would seek out second-hand cast-offs and charity shop bargains.

We had a lovely chat about charity shops, waste and the nonsense that is Black Friday at the door and, to be frank, I wasn’t that bothered whether or not the bank transfer went through or not (it did). I’ll support Small Business Saturday this weekend but will be chatting to the extended family about an alternative Christmas...

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