This could be very costly

We're still in the early days of the volcanic dust crisis but the fallout from this could be far higher than we ever imagined. Being a British manufacturer we are not reliant upon bringing our boilers in from overseas but if we run out of the tiniest imported component production will dry up. And it is the tiniest components that are most likely to be shipped by air. At the moment things are OK but we buy our taps from the USA and some of our electronic components originate from the far east. As we have had an exceptionally busy period lately we could see a shortage. So come on all you politicians. This is an ideal opportunity for you to sort things out by putting emergency procedures into play and boost your election ratings. The election could swing on how this one is handled.



One advantage of life here in my solitary office is that I was able to complete the management accounts for April without any distraction. This meant that I finished them in half the time that it usually takes and, what's more, they balanced to the penny. That's a huge relief as I am one of those accountants who can't live with discrepancies even of a few pence. When I started out as a cashier in Barclays in the early seventies I was always proud of balancing my till to the penny. This tended to get up the noses of some of my colleagues who, after months of accuracy, contrived to pinch 5p from my till and then fell about laughing when I spent over half an hour trying to find my mistake.



Liverpool entertain West Ham United at Anfield tonight although whether or not they will entertain the crowd is another matter. I was impressed by the Hammers' performance at Everton the other week and with Torres out for the rest of the season I wonder who is going to score for us. I have given my seats on the Kop up for a customer tonight. He is taking a relative to celebrate his 30th birthday so I do hope that they both have a good time. Now that's what you call good customer relations.



It's a big day today for Mark and Nita from Workhouse Marketing's young son Tom. Tom is opening The Whalley Wine Shop today. In case you don't know it, Whalley is a pleasant and thriving Lancashire village with an ancient abbey on the banks of the river Ribble. Tom used to manage the premises for a major off licence chain but they closed last year and Tom has made the bold decision to take the shop on as an independent. Good luck Tom. We all wish you massive success and will be coming to you for your advice and some of the excellent wine that your mum and dad have told us about.

We missed the new Britain's Got Talent this weekend. I read that the star of the show was a dancing dog. So let's see what we missed.