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Sticks and stones do hurt

My 17 year-old son returned from a rock festival this week wearing a wristband proudly declaring him 0ver 18. He explained how easy it had been to use someone else's ID to get the identification and said it was ironic that he had not needed to show the over 18 band when buying alcohol.

Today, Scottish retailer Abdul Qadar is complaining that public authorities are asking people to lie about their age when making test purchases.

What trading standards officers may be forgetting is that the fact that retailers invest in a business premises and trade consistently from it make their job much, much easier. The alternative, a world of markets and itinerant traders, will be far harder to police.

Mr Qadar's sense of injustice is fair. Those retailers, like Mr Qadar, who value their investment will seek to trade legally and will not sell alcohol to people under the age of 18. Asking children to lie about their age to local traders is a slander on all retailers.
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  1. The Village Postmaster1 September 2009 at 13:39

    One of our weekend team members was at the same rock festival. He is 17 and guess what, he has one of these wrist bands. He got his by showing his photo driving licence and his date of birth is shown on it, but the person handing out the bands didn't look closely.


    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown1 September 2009 at 18:13

    I have just read your blog and am blushing a little. How can I be old enough to have a 17 year old son! I like your follow-up.

    ReplyDelete

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