July 20, 2006

silhouette3.JPG From the desk of Jane Galt:

The aristocracy of the common man

I don't know why this sentence struck me so funny, but it did:

Lord Harris of Peckham, the chairman and chief executive of Carpetright, who has over 40 years' experience in the retail sector, says: "I've been through about six or seven of these things. I think we've been in it since late last summer, and these normally last 18 months to two years."

The story it comes from is not funny at all: it's about British consumer spending, which is down considerably since the housing bubble stopped inflating. This is probably a good indicator of what will happen to us as our housing bubble cools . . . that is, if it isn't even worse.

Posted by Jane Galt at July 20, 2006 8:41 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links
Comments
Posted by: spongeworthy on July 20, 2006 8:57 AM

Is the funny part that Lord Harris of Peckham is a carpet dealer? That he doesn't spend his time at the Explorers Club or cleaning his twin Purdey's?

Posted by: Jon Barnard on July 20, 2006 9:20 AM

Or that he's Lord of Peckham, a notoriously run-down part of south London?

Posted by: dearieme on July 20, 2006 9:41 AM

No, the funny bit is the thought that he can make a living by recommending the right car for your pet. Or pet for your car, as the case may be.

Posted by: DF on July 20, 2006 10:38 AM

Jane, have you figured out yet what struck you as funny about this? The rest of us appear to be all out of ideas.

Posted by: Jane Galt on July 20, 2006 10:46 AM

Yes, it was the aristocratizing of the chairman of carpetright as Lord of Peckham. It somehow seems to illustrate the ridiculousness of aristocratic titles.

Posted by: AT on July 20, 2006 10:50 AM

I thought he was a fish worshipper and francophobe trying to update the monarch's motto.

Posted by: spongeworthy on July 20, 2006 10:55 AM

Lordship doesn't look quite like the cushy gig it has historically been. The good news is Lord Peckham is offering a special this week on non-slip floor padding! So there's simply no excuse for unruly Persians wandering around the manor house, now is there?

Posted by: AT on July 20, 2006 11:04 AM

Wow, not only do they have the Baroness Wilcox, aka Judy from food services, and the Baroness Noakes, aka Sheila from accounting, on the board, but Carpet Madness has been extended, giving you a chance to save 60% on hundreds of carpets and carpet a 4m by 4m room for as little as 96 quid!

Posted by: anony-mouse on July 21, 2006 1:52 AM

Carpe Tright: Sieze the small and irrelevant.

Spelt out in the Queen's English, evidently.

Comments are Closed.