It's a red herring.

I popped into Debenhams today because I had a gift card burning a hole in my wallet. After selecting the item I wanted, I was delighted to discover it was in the sale and priced £10 less than I thought.

Now I had £10 left on the gift card, still burning a whole in my wallet. So I browsed a while longer. I spied a pair of Red Herring jeans that looked nice, and were greatly reduced in the sale. They were only £10.50. Brilliant. Off to the fitting room to check they are OK and I'd have the whole card spent.

Excellent... except that I couldn't fit into the jeans. I could just about pull them up, but there wasnt a hope of closing the gaping distance between button and button-hole. Oh dear. I guessed I'd put on more weight than I thought. How demoralising. Out of the changing rooms to look for the next size up... a number so high that I have never ever bought it before... a landmark purchase.

I thought maybe they might be a bit loose, being an extra two inches and all that, but oh no! I couldnt fit into those either! Well I never! Once again I could pull them up, but there was still no way the button was going to fasten.

Can it be? Have I really got that big? But a quick check of the size of the jeans I wore into the store confirms I can still fit into my normal number. I dont often buy a lot from Debenhams, so I'm not familiar with their brands. Now I realise that it wasn't the jeans that were a Red Herring, it was the size label.

All the same, I think I'll have to bring the exercise bike into service again.