Much as I deplore it, I know image and materialism are driving forces in the Western world, but when the Black Friday sales opened across the US this weekend, it seems bargain hunters took consumer greed to a whole new level - the level of shootings, fights and a pepper spray attack. In California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and New York, bargain hunters weren\'t satisfied with the usual elbows for jostling their way to the front. They were getting those cut-price goodies whatever it took, and some of them came armed for the purpose.

I have to admit that either I\'m quite frighteningly unworldly, or I\'m missing a bit in genetic inheritance.  I don\'t understand how acquiring a piece of jewellery or the latest in bells-and-whistles TV can be so important that you\'re prepared to go to those lengths to get it. It seems to me that values and priorities these days are dictated by Hollywood in all its manifestations, which means glamour among the beautiful people or murder, rape, burning and pillage, with no middle ground. Either way, what underlies it is a sense of entitlement that leaves me feeling decidedly ill.

And so much for the Christmas spirit...