Bogof - no, I'm not being rude. It just an acronym used in the retail sector and stands for 'Buy one, get one free'.

But have you noticed that, in most cases, this offer is not used to sell healthy food but rubbishy, unhealthy, fat-laden stodge?

You can now buy what appears to be a hundredwight sack of crisps and get another absolutely free! Wow, now you can put another stone in weight on your carcass without it costing you a penny.

Is it any wonder that we are now catching up with the Americans with the number of obese people waddling down the road? The retailers all fanfare price cuts, but this is achieved mainly by raising prices of other goods to compensate.

A good example of this is when shopping at Didcot Tesco.

I grabbed a small plastic comb off the display and chucked it in the basket with a few other things.

Back home, I discovered that I had been charged £2.50 for a lump of plastic that probably came out of China for less than 5p.

After complaining to head office, I was assured that the price was correct.

That, to my mind, is a rip-off.

If you see a sign saying 'Buy one get one free', the first one is twice the price it should be - or you're standing outside a shoe shop.

TONY ANCHORS Didcot