Down The Toilet

I read somewhere recently that the first real crisis to hit the Venezuelan Government  under its new leader - Nicholas Maduro - has been a desperate shortage of toilet rolls.

So much so that the President Maduro has arranged for the emergency import of 36 million  toilet rolls from abroad - with no expense spared - to prevent his new government from going down the toilet pan.

Government Ministers hope their arrival will quell the understandable social unrest that has been building up of late - the consequence of not having sufficient numbers of loo rolls to go round and do the job, so to speak.

Which only goes to prove that very wise old saying - 'that it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good' - because somebody, somewhere is going to do very well out the predicament facing  people in Venezuela.

After all it's not everyday that a big order for an extra 36,000,000 toilet rolls comes along - and it must be worth a pretty penny or two, I'm sure.

As well as a lot of repeat business in the years ahead, I would say, unless the Venezuelan economy suddenly becomes self-sufficient - in the production of toilet and tissue paper for which there is an obvious, everyday need.

I wrote an article about this very subject years ago, but can't find the thing now for some reason - yet it was a truly fascinating subject.

Because it involved an enterprising and family-run Scottish company - which had been making toilet and tissue paper for many years and the piece I wrote appeared in the business pages of The Scotsman newspaper, if I remember correctly.

So, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to commerce and loo rolls - unlikely as that sounds.

I only hope that this fine Scottish company is still in business and that it might even play a part in coming to the aid of the good people of Venezuela - because there's not many things worse in life than having no toilet roll when you need some.

I do wonder though if President Maduro thought this policy up all by himself - or did former President Hugo Chavez appear to him as a little blue bird - and tell him to get his finger out?