.
In 1979, in a Britain beset by strikes, with uncollected rubbish of weeks lying on the streets and thousands of mouldering corpses unburied because of strikes by workers, Prime Minister James Callaghan (** see my anecdote below) flew home from a holiday in the West Indies and on stepping on to the tarmac of Heathrow airport enquired of the media, “Crisis? What crisis”. Shortly after, he lost a general election to Margaret Thatcher. So, attitudes we find here are not exclusive.
A few years back a property developer I knew built a number of houses which he was not able to sell. So, after a year, what did he do? He put their prices up by more than 10%. Twelve, yes twelve years later several of the houses are still unsold. I am reminded of this strange local logic by the news last week that restaurant prices have gone UP by 7% in the past 12 months and by 1.7% in the last month, “because less customers means prices have to go up to cover costs”, the report said.
Creating special offers, or finding out what customers want, or devising ways of giving better value for money, don’t enter their minds. I grieve for them. As I raise my hats to those places that go on being full every night.
“Half a Glass of Wine a Day Helps you Live Longer”.
So runs another of this week’s “news” stories. Ye Gods! Imagine! You uncork a bottle of Chateau Margaux and pour yourself half a glass. You put the cork back and hope or pray that the wine won’t deteriorate before your time comes for another half glass. The next day, the half glass is, well, OK, but the wine is not improving. So you start to worry…. and you know what worry can do to you. And, of course, after a few days, what’s left is undrinkable.
** Note – A Tale of “Sunny” Jim Callaghan
In the 1980s I was asked to organise a top political speaker for a conference in Paris. After several abortive attempts for various ‘names’ on a VIP list, I came to ex-Prime Minister Callaghan, by then Lord Callaghan. I enquired of his office if he was available and interested. The great man phoned back personally. He was and his fee would be five thousand pounds. I said I would let him know. I didn’t get back to him on the same day, but the next morning my phone rang: “Lord Callaghan here”, it said, “I’ve been thinking…. This is an international conference and I have been a Prime Minister, so my fee should be higher…. Say ten thousand?” He might have been a Cypriot property developer.
