When the weather gets rough
and it’s whiskey in the shade
it’s best to wrap your saviour
up in cellophane
He flows like the big muddy
but that’s okay
Pour him over ice cream
for a nice parfait

Chocolate Jesus, Tom Waits

There’s something that’s ultimately ridiculous about a secular world gorging themselves on chocolate pagan symbols  in celebration of a Christian festival.  Nonetheless, as with all these festivals, there’s something to be said for buying thoughtful gifts for people you care about and spending time with family and friends.

I spent Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday working at Thorntons in Hanley and, contrary to what the cynicism in the first paragraph would suggest, I had a great time.  Working with people who don’t want to kill themselves and/or others is a strange sensation, as is serving customers who want to buy the products you are selling.  It’s more than possible that I’ve witnessed such phenomena before but I’ve never seen both of them present at the same time.

For the three days I was employed on my week long contract I moved boxes of Easter eggs to and from the storeroom, replenished the shop with goodies and helped to serve customers.  All that visited our store, with a few notable exceptions, were polite, well dressed and sober.  The notable exceptions being a group of chavs separated from the pack that circled the displays nervously complaining that it wasn’t Cadbury’s and a rather drunk lady trying to buy eggs for her five children who told us a delightful tale of how her mother had bled to death.

On a more a positive note, the eggs flew off the shelves at a rapid pace and the staff were great to work with, especially our boss Neil who always seemed to be making everyone tea.  Being employed was fun while it lasted.  I picked up a selection of truffles for Gingell (even though her and Baines had already had their Easter eggs), the white chocolate champagne truffles that Clara loves and (pictured) Thorntons’ Lovely Egg for Totem Films (it’s the big daddy of our egg selection and comes with an assortment of 27 chocolates).  Someday, I might even visit their office and give it to them.

[If you were expecting your Christian festival to have a more Christian flavour, and it's not an unreasonable request, I would recommend Baines' post on Good Friday.]