You're tooling down the A3 near Guildford in search of refreshments when the Wisley South service station appears on the horizon. If you're a member of her majesty's armed forces, think twice.
An attendant at the station, owned by British Petroleum, recently refused to sell beer to a soldier who had fought in Afghanistan because the soldier was in uniform.
Witnesses said the attendant - pointedly described by newspapers as "Asian" - was acting out his anti-war views.
A BP spokesman countered that the attendant had believed licensing laws forbade him to sell alcohol to anyone in uniform, and that "this was not in any way a racist incident."
Ah, but nobody said it was. The soldier complained of being publicly humiliated, but not because of his race, which is unknown.
What does the BP spokesman's slip of the tongue suggest? Possibly that he was hurried, tired or distracted when making the statement.
But it may also suggest that some British employers are so busy watching out for racial prejudice that they are blind to prejudice in its myriad other forms.