I’m sure we’re all aware of some old piece of wisdom that decrees what the title states here? We were all instructed by our parents too, not to tell lies, weren’t we? Not even little white ones.

The fact is that unfortunate though it may be, and much as we abhor it, a little lie here and there makes the world go round. ‘What do I look like in this dress?’ anyone? Unfortunate also is that a small lie tends to grow legs and has to be supported by further lies, harmless though they might be.

I was shopping briefly in a large Boots pharmacy recently and being tired and a little short of patience in the midst of searching for a new washing machine with my partner, wanted to engage in a very simple transaction for some stomach medicine, the type that comes straight off the shelf but that only Boots the Chemist appears to feel the need to put the customer through the rigour of a full third-degree interview in order to buy. I approached the counter…

‘Oh yes, have you taken them before? I was...