Ratilal Sharma had signed up for a Londis allocation scheme from his store at Small Dole, near Brighton, East Sussex. But he couldn’t shift what turned out to be £145-worth of what he called “football gear, hats, balloons, flags and so on”. The footie stuff probably looked like a good marketing idea to all concerned at its launch, but it wasn’t on sale-or-return and Small Dole, as its name suggests, is not big. Its name barely registers on Wikipedia.

Anyway it is sorted now.

A Londis spokesperson commented: “We have discussed this with the Sharmas and the matter has now been resolved. While it is regretful that England’s stay in the World Cup was short-lived, allocations form part of our agreements with some Londis retailers, enabling them to be first to market with exciting new NPD or providing them with additional sales opportunities on key convenience lines.”

Like I’ve said more times than I’ve had hot dinners: read and understand exactly what you are signing up for.