My dad passed away a couple of weeks ago. He worked for Woolworths for 45 years. He even ran the UK company twice, doubling its profits and giving it the most successful year it ever had. It seems very strange that the firm would fall apart so soon after he died. At his funeral I met stacks of old retailers who had put decades of hard graft into keeping that business going. I hope for those still at the company there is some sort of future and that it's not all about cuts and redundancies and selling things off.

Ta, Chaps - or 'Thanks, Guys' if you're American - for the kind words. Thought I'd just explain why I hadn't been around much lately. x