HOW long do you spend in queues? Over a year, the average Brit queues for more than 67 hours. That is almost three days.

This week I waited for my wife Stacy outside a shop in Haven Banks. To keep myself from going crazy, I counted the number of cars heading towards the Exe Bridges until she returned. But it was worth it. Just a few short hours later she appeared clutching a £6 top that had been reduced from £10!

BUCKING THE TREND: Fans queue to see Katie Price in Exeter

This time last week there were lines of Katie Price fans outside a bookstore in the Guildhall waiting to see the former model, pop singer and acclaimed author!

Some, according to one of the shop managers, had been there from 7.30am. Surprising, since it was recently revealed that the British love of queuing appears to be over. Research has found that 41 per cent of shoppers refuse to stand in line for longer than two minutes. Indeed, half of shoppers refuse to even enter a store if they see a queue.

Sunday we went to Bickleigh Mill. Upstairs they have a few Christmas decorations, including a NOEL sign. After spelling out LEON, LONE and OLE with the moveable letters in what must be the shortest game of 'Countdown', we headed over the road to the maze to play in their Games Garden. It was there, while playing ping pong, that I discovered Stacy had a mean spin on her serve…

One hundred per cent of divorces start with marriages! That's a statistic I found in a book I didn't have to queue for. Written by Barbara and Alan Pease, Why Men Don't Have A Clue and Women Always Need Shoes is a guide to the opposite sex. It seems we speak the same language, we just don't communicate. It's full of gems like "Moses wandered in the desert for 40 years. He wouldn't ask for directions either" and, she may say "Why don't you get your clothes off the floor! The dog is running wild through the house again! And do you have to spread your newspapers on the bathroom floor?". But he only hears "Why don't you … get your clothes off … get wild ... spread yourself on the bathroom floor!'. And, apparently, "Let's go shopping" could mean "How many cars are there on Alphington Street?" — Ciao.