What has happened to The Gazette, the John Lewis Partnership's weekly staff magazine? It is usually packed full of information no doubt useful to its readers, but it's not exactly a racy read. However, the latest issue manages to cover not only the May Day demonstration in Oxford Street (the John Lewis store was attacked), but it also has an article headlined Middle aged mother of two causes riots at Waitrose' alongside a picture of the singer Madonna. Yes, the gentry's favourite grocer attracted a whole new clientèle when tickets for the star's London concerts went on sale through its Ticketmaster system. Queues formed outside the stores at Bromley and South Harrow before dawn, while fans in sleeping bags were reported at the car park at Finchley at 5am. Riots didn't actually occur although there was some aggressive behaviour from touts and fans who were disappointed when the tickets ran out. As one branch manager commented: "They were not our normal Waitrose customers." {{COUNTERPOINT }}

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