Wednesday 8 March 2017

Popcorn time and popcorn timing

I really liked the expression 'popcorn time' when I heard it for the first time a few years ago. It is a spectator sport alert, a neat and clever way of telling people to get ready because an amusing show is about to start.

I have seen it used a lot recently, and this has reminded me of a popcorn-related incident from the past.

It all started when I took some young children to a shopping centre to see the Christmas attractions. There was a popcorn-making machine there that fascinated my young friends. The popcorn danced on a jet of air; they watched this for a long time.

It was obvious that they wanted me to buy them some popcorn, but a small paper cup cost a small fortune and the popcorn didn't even look very good. As a matter of principle, I won't pay exorbitant prices for low-quality products.

The youngest girl cried and I felt guilty. I remembered getting some really good popcorn from Marks & Spencer a while back, so I promised them that I would bring some with me the next time I came to see them. 

I went to one branch of M & S but couldn't find the popcorn I wanted, which was one big bag with eight small individual bags of Butterkist inside, delicious and ideal for distributing to children. I went to another branch and looked everywhere. I remembered to check the sweet stands near the tills, but the popcorn I wanted wasn't there.

I decided that M & S must have played their usual game of bringing out something edible that people like very much then discontinuing the product. 


I hated breaking my word, but time was running out so I decided to buy something different for the children. I stood in line at the till with my items, then a man, an M & S employee, suddenly appeared. He was pushing a trolley full of sweets; he parked it right next to me. I saw the popcorn I wanted: it had distinctive red, white and blue packaging featuring the Stars & Stripes. I just had to reach out my hand slightly to get it.

This incident gave me a big fix of positive paranoia. The universe had arranged for me to get something I wanted - but only after I had done everything that I could. The popcorn appeared just after I had let go of the idea of getting it.

Very small stuff, but expressing gratitude and appreciation is a good way to get more and bigger and better gifts.