Eejits in Belfast

Having worked in retail I know that today should have been the second busiest day in retailers' year. Only next Saturday the last before Christmas will see higher footfall and turnover.

However, with tensions already heightened and many people avoiding Belfast City Centre, with the ongoing uncertainty about protests about the flag, we now have a bob alert phoned into Castle Court. The biggest retail mall in the City Centre on one of the busiest retail streets. Surronding businesses already affected last Saturday by the flags protest keeping people out of the city centre are seeing more people driven out of from a police cordon around Castle Court.

Northern Ireland people being what they are, will suspect there may be another device somewhere in the City Centre to others may be deserting other retailers even though there is no immediate threat.

So for the second Saturday in a row Belfast retailers will be seeing takings down. Saturdays in December are often what allow shops to keep going in tough financial times. But losing out on two of these in Belfast there may be more empty shops in the city centre early next year because this ongoing stupidity. This bomb threat has not been linked to the flags protests, but with tensions already high it certainly isn't helping the local economy.

Update with nothing suspicious found the people who called in this warning are even bigger eejits.

Fake Rolex and D&G Found in Bathgate

The news that fake Rolex Watches and Dolce & Gabbana dresses worth upto £1m have been found in a house in Bathgate takes me back to my days working in H. Samuel the jeweller.

I was once handed a watch and told could I fix the battery in it. Within 5 seconds I said no. the customer looked at be bizarrely and asked why. My response.

• The second hand stutters and does not sweep.
• The bezels are the wrong type.
• Switzerland is not spelt Swizterland.
• It is too light.
• The back case has a simple lift off mechanism, rather than Rolex's screw fitting.
• The 12 hour marker is a chipped cubic zirconia and not a diamond.
• You've brought it into H. Samuel rather than a Rolex dealer.

As the group did include Ernest Jones who were a Rolex stockists I should really have taken the watch in one hand and a hammer in the other and smashed it to pieces. But I just didn't have the heart and just sent the guy on his way.

However, be wary of what you are buying this Christmas. If you are looking for a named brand make sure it is up to the quality that you would expect it to be. The best way to do this is go to a recognised dealer of that brand. Fakes are not only illegal and poorly made imitations but in some cases can be dangerous and are often made using cheap labour.