Is it all a stitch-up?

I have recently plucked up courage to cycle in London. Although it seems suicidal on first sight, I quickly found my way through marvellous and very expensive residential areas of Kensington and Chelsea. Cycling through the innocent morning quietness of Hyde Park made me feel more energetic and in fact proofed to be the quickest way to work. I was almost eager to get to the office in the morning and taking a slightly new route every day I discovered some hidden treasures and found some of the most beautiful streets in London.

Stopping on a red light however, is not what pedestrians nor cyclists do in the capital. Hence one evening a random women approached me at a traffic light. She was a bit baffled by me stopping and used the opportunity to tell me about her youth and how she used to ride her bike in the streets of London some years ago. She then referred to a particular chapter, even more, a particular page number of a book and strongly advised me to read it. Well, I thought the situation was a bit odd and thankfully the green light served as a perfect excuse for me to ride on.

Bizarrely the incident followed me home. You don't get reading recommendations at a traffic light every day. I looked up the book - "The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World" by David Icke. Scientists have called it the conspiracy theorist's Rosetta Stone. It reveals how the world has been controlled by a global elite for thousands of years and how, and why, Princess Diana was murdered in Paris.

I haven't read the book as of yet, but admittedly, it is a very strange advice from a random lady who showed up in the dark at a traffic light, as if this was the right situation to be unobserved.
I am not a very big fan of conspiracy theories, but maybe the book will change my life... or be at least entertaining...

Kindliness pays off in the end

Kind people are rare to find these days. The world seems too busy and self-absorbed to leave room for old fashioned courtesy.
All the more I appreciate the rare small kindness you sometimes encounter - a friendly Good Morning from the security guard across the street, a compliment from the market vendor or a beaming smile from Tim, the extraordinarily obliging public transport officer who writes encouraging messages on the billboard...

Politeness and consideration has paid off for some French. In France a 86 year old lady left her fortune to 200 acquaintances who have treated her friendly some day. The personal charm of pharmacists, bus drivers, bakers and butchers, postmen and nurses helped her to make her ordinary life more enjoyable. As a sign of appreciation they now share her €280.000 fortune. Some of the surprised heirs have last seen the lady 24 years ago and were hardly familiar with her name. For those who could not remember her, she specifically mentions in the testament that she was the old lady with the white rain coat and the two white walking sticks.

A nice story that hopefully advocates kindness and values in our society - even without the prospects of inheritance. It would make life so much more pleasant!

A man sees red

Chris de Burgh might not be right down my alley when it comes to music, but I have to admit, he writes brilliant letters: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0911/1224254268225.html

Yes, it is iconic!

I have never really gotten into the whole twitter movement and I still don't understand why people need to announce their latest grocery shopping or state of mood to the entire online world. Or who would be interested in it...

However, I have recently discovered some interesting statements that potentially make it worth having a look from now and then. Such as Chanel supremo Karl Lagerfeld, one of the last kings of the fashion world.

His notation might be my new mantra: "Guilty feelings about clothes are totally unnecessary. A lot of people earn their living by making clothes, so you should never feel bad."

If he is saying...

Female obsessions

I might have to come back to the practices described in my previous post. My current problem is almost compulsive and it actually worsend over the last two weeks. And there is nothing that can really resolve the issue. Except for an immediate 50% pay rise - which is, let's face it, not very realistic.
I am obsessed! It all started with a quite relaxed day at work and time to browse through various fashion outlets during lunch break. There it goes - the bag which has caught my eye for a log time had a 30% discount.

Previously banished from my reasonable mind due to a very unreasonable price tag, the consideration of owning the bag became more tangible. It was still half of a monthly salary but at least 1/3 more within my grasp!
What I was able to avoid earlier, I couldn't any more: During the last 2 weeks I went to 2 upscale department stores to have a closer look and to review the colours of the new collection.

Outcome: The bag is magnificent and most desirable but also unaffordable. I have to put it out of my head or immediately start to go by bus, steal toilet paper, turn off electricity and central heating and live on bread and tab water.

I am just wondering how these marketing people can make a 3x overpriced bag so desirable?! (And why my boss does not understand my need for a pay rise. She has an Yves Saint Lauren bag herself!)

Il faut souffrir pour être belle

Or in other words - one must suffer in order to be beautiful.
In times of the current credit crunch money is short and people incredibly resourceful when it comes to saving cash. For instance bargaining over the potato price at Tesco in order to splurge £700 on a new Chloé bag. Sounds extremely moronic? Yes, but you better believe it! Fashionorexica is what they call this new, quite hideous phenomenon.
London has always been a hot spot for rare fashion and extravagant trends, but now fashionistas would rather themselves than to aim lower then Yves Saint Laurent. New research showed that 1/3 of women would buy cheaper groceries to keep themselfes in designer labels.

Hollywood has rose the bar ever since: Remember the slick but penniless Audrey Hepburn, captivated by Tiffany diamonds; or our beloved Carry Bradshaw who was fed more by a Vogue than food. A mindset that has now been adopted by real life people. Violet, a 22 year old assistant to a fashion writer, is on a prison diet of 49p bagels three times a day and water to keep herself in Jimmy Choos. She rather cuts down on central heating and pockets the chill of the upcoming winter than giving up on her exclusive shopping habits. Commonly known fashion jobs don't pay a good living but neither apparently do managing professions. Charlotte (24) manages a lifestyle company and admits that certain changes have to take place. She resigned from SpecialK and Tampax in favour of own brand and uses only restaurant bathrooms to save on loo rolls and hot water.
Among other genius tips are:

• Walking 1.25 hours to work (each way)
• Several visits to the Harrods make-up counters - provide enough samples to cover 2 weeks
• Weekly freebie lunches on samples in Selfridges food-hall - can save 1/3 of your weekly food ration (but your face will soon be known)

Let's do the maths: If you take the bus instead of the tube you can afford the latest Marc Jacobs Cecilia Embossed Snakeskin Satchel in - eh - roughly 1 year and 1o months (considering two daily bus trips).

I wonder how long it will take with toilet paper...

Live is uncertain. Eat dessert first!

Wise words from Erneste Ulmer!