The Christmas Spirit.

in large

*Rebecca Webb, manager at Hair Heroes in Inverness (founded by Caroline Sanderson)*

What on earth happens to shoppers during the Christmas period?

Perhaps I'm too accustomed to the isolation of the Black Isle but it seems that around this time of year everyone's walking-in-a-crowd techniques just disappear. Earlier today I almost accidentally shared a moment of intimacy in the household section in Debenhams with a man who came to a sudden halt in front of me.

Later, in the book shop, some dullard was blocking the view of the entire Classics section, slowly making his way from the top shelf to the bottom with his finger, meaning that I had to stand directly behind him like an idiot trying to peek around his body as he leaned hither and tither like some weird, reversed Bollywood dance in slow motion.

I just had to leave empty handed.

But as I rounded the corner I was met by a congregation of bright-eyed primary school kids singing Christmas carols towards the sallow faces of the families hauling bulging bags, weighed down like donkeys. It was like a high-pitched horribly optimistic soundtrack to the third-level of Dante's Hell, and a sudden urge came over me just flick the Vs at their unbound naivety.

But I thought I best not.