I mentioned a while back that I was seeking to rinse cash on nice things which would boost the economy. After I wrote that post I thought that, once I had found nice things to rinse cash on, I would write up all my “investments”. Readers will appreciate the lengths I go to to keep them entertained…
So, on Saturday I wandered up to Oxford Street. I have been on the lookout for a new suit to replace my wonderful but now ageing Primark number. Not many people make suits whose trousers can go in the washing machine. I don’t know why. Do most people get their trousers dry cleaned every week? They are madmen if they do. Machine washable is essential for a man about town like myself. So down Oxford Street I marched, heading West from Oxford Circus. It wasn’t until I got to M&S at Marble Arch that I found what I was looking for. I am now the proud owner of what is (IMHO) a very nice piece of material and am quite a few pounds less wealthy.
Last week my shower broke down (again) just a few weeks past its twelve month guarantee had expired. Apparently the morons who made it supplied it with a transformer which requires a forty-five minute rest after being used for fifteen minutes. This would be practical only in a household of one, what the rest of the population are supposed to do is a mystery to me. I was sold this ludicrously expensive piece of kit on the basis that it was top-of-the-range. I was sold a pup. So I have been buying British plumbing services to determine the problem, buying a new transformer and now will pay for some more British services to have it fitted. Some of you will be fully versed in my plumbing saga. The words “chronic recurring nightmare” sum it up nicely.
To summarise: one nice thing and one boring essential. And now I am skint. I hope my own personal version of QE has done the trick.
Great photo, endless competition material.
Assign the colours to the ministers
Phil Woolas – Mr Yellow
Peter Mandelson – Mr Pink
Gordon – Mr Brown
Alistair Darling – Mr Grey
Ed Miliband – Mr Green
Alan Johnson – Mr Beige
A Primark suit! I’m moderately disgusted. I bought a Dikie Dirts suit once. The Pinstripes were fabric printed on and wore off over a few weeks.
The much maligned Suits You have some good quality workwear with a fashionable cut, but M+S are always good for long lasting suits at decent prices. Their Italian range.
First question, what is a suit? Second, why is everything so complicated these days?
Surely it’s only your own version of QE if you printed the money you just spent. Sounds a bit more like fiscal easing to me.
Look forward to seeing the suit at out lunch in three weeks time. Which reminds me, I need to book a table….
M&S sell good suits. It might be worth having two pairs of trousers. Does the cloth have a stripe? The wider the stripe, the more important you are. ‘Just out of uni’ have a barely visible stripe. It then gets wider and wider until you reach Chairman or House of Lords. Where are you on the spectrum? A man in a suit is a fine sight.
We all have a “chronic recurring nightmare.” We all get sold a pup. I was sold one literally a few months ago. Wish I knew the answer. At least you can fix the shower.
BQ – it was good! I would have bought another one from Primark except oddly they seem to have lost the ability to produce clothes in my size.
Demetrius – indeed. Perhaps the Mao suit has advantages…
RE – you are right, I didn’t magic the money from thin air. I suppose it is deficit spending!
Measured – I am surprised how good the suit is, especially considering that it is machine washable. I wouldn’t have guessed it from the material – it’s mostly wool. It is dark blue with no stripes. I couldn’t carry off a pin stripe!
I used to get my suits dry cleaned all the time when I lived in London and got drunk in them. Now that I drive to and from work it’s more like every 6 months. Although ever since I started trying to save money by buying cheap microwave meals for lunch I’ve had to spend a small fortune on having my ties done.
If I were you I’d just stick to buying everything from Tesco, once Tesco finally take over the world I have a feeling everything will be alright.
Love the photo and you looked jolly fine to me, Blue. Sorry about the plumbing saga. It does so annoy me when they engineer products like that – completely unfit for purpose but very suitable for further sales. I wish more folk would blog about such things, with manufacturers details so we can vote with our purchasing choice.