Mean testing Christmas

The spirit of Scrooge is alive and well and resident at the Office of the Solicitor of the Inland Revenue. News reached Tulkinghorn last week that the office’s Christmas party had been cancelled due to senior penny-pinchers holding back on flashing the cash.

According to a well-informed source, the traditional practice has been for senior managers to stump up £50 each to fund a bash for the more junior members of the office. Not this year. Apparently, a significant number of the £60,000-a-year penpushers balked at forking out a nifty, putting the 16 December Christmas do in doubt.

Further investigation by a scribe from The Lawyer discovered that it’s not quite as bleak as all that. Head solicitor Philip Ridd admitted that there was going to be a party, but that “the funding arrangements” would be slightly different this year. Humbug! So, in other words, if you want to party, you have to pay your way via an entry charge. Not tightwads at all, then.