More reasons why Waterstone’s is the tool of the devil

This story’s been making the rounds of the ‘sphere (I picked it up from Mobylives) and I can’t help but shake my head at it:

An employee of book chain Waterstone’s has been fired for material he included in his blog.

Joe Gordon, who has been running his Woolamaloo Gazette satirical newsletter since 1992, was dismissed last week after working for the bookseller for 11 years, following a disciplinary hearing.

Gordon’s blog, which covers everything from the city of Edinburgh to UN scientists in Iraq, also mentions his work in one of the chain’s Edinburgh branches. As well as discussing visits from authors to the store and which cartoon characters his work colleagues would be, Gordon occasionally used his online diary to vent steam about his working life.

But unfortunately, referring to his employer in a light-hearted fashion as "Bastardstone’s" got him sacked:

"I was gobsmacked," Gordon said of his sacking. The ex-bookseller, who ran a book group for the shop and has appeared on TV and radio as a Waterstone’s employee, continued: "I’ve done so much promotion for this company, it’s not true."

If his manager had asked him to stop talking about his job at Waterstone’s in his blog, Gordon said he would have done so. "I could live with not talking about that… they’ve been so heavy-handed," he said.

Gordon is currently talking to his union about his dismissal and may take further action. Waterstone’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

At Gordon’s blog, there’s been an outpouring of support, with positive comments added by Neil Gaiman and Richard Morgan. It seems obvious to me that since the blog predated Gordon’s employment at Waterstone’s that it was meant to be entirely personal. And besides, it’s not like the chain’s management is meant to be all warm and fuzzies…