A couple of weeks ago I noticed my local HMV was selling a chunky West Wing box set – the whole shebang apparently – for £50, reduced from £200. Now I'm not much of a suckler at the glass teat and I've never seen The West Wing but that still looked like a bargain – if it weren't for a nagging what's-the-catch.

Today, though, an HMV advert in The Times alerts me to the fact that the West Wing The Complete Series "was £200, now £48.94." Even if it's a poop sandwich, I've got nothing to lose at that price. God bless you, Gordon Brown, you VAT-juggling genius.