Twist on twist

Twist 1 Just before my daughter's birthday last week I discovered that my son and I had both bought her the same CD. I told him that I'd take my copy back to HMV.

Twist 2 Yesterday I was digging around for the receipt ready to take it back this morning and couldn't find it. Bugger. Must have been in the batch of old receipts I chucked onto the fire on Sunday. Never mind - since the CD has HMV's price label they might do a swap without a receipt.

Twist 3 On the news last night: HMV is following Jessops into administration. So, no exchange. Ah well. Should have acted sooner.

This morning's BBC Today programme had a piece on how these collapses are good since the recession can't end until the 'dead wood' in the economy is removed. Dead wood... Shops that have been there all my life?

On my way to the dentist I chose to cycle through Oxford's dying forest past both Jessops branches (note 'both' - clue to their problems?). With administrators' notices taped to the glass they are dark and full of crates. I pictured the staff, on their last afternoon, creating the much larger window notice that thanks their loyal customers for support over the years.

After the dentist I went to get a feel for HMV, still open for now, and bumped into a friend working there. The staff first heard at the same time as the rest of us, on last night's news. They have come in today, shocked and worried about their own futures, having to learn and implement a whole lot of new rules: no honouring of gift vouchers, no refunds, no exchanges. In the first 2½ hours of trading today they'd had to call the police twice to deal with incandescent customers.

Twist 4 This afternoon I told my daughter the tale. She gave me her 'mum has probably got this wrong' look and asked to see the superfluous CD. 'No,' she said, 'this is CD2 - I wanted both. Um, could I have it?

A much happier ending for us than for those with Christmas-present vouchers. Or for Jessops' 1,370 and HMV's 4,350 pieces of dead wood. Oops sorry. Those were employees, weren't they.