”Buttock Face” not included
Friday 18th July, 2008 - £8,810.98 in debt…
In two days’ time, I will be thrown into the most horrendous moral conundrum I’ve faced since I started paying my debts off. See, the Mail on Sunday is giving away a free copy of the new McFly album. My soul is in torment.
I love McFly. My life is made immeasurably better by their mere existence. I love their cheeky grins, their youthful exuberance, their optimism, their dogged insistence on using hair straighteners even though they’re boys… And I love the fact that one of them has a face like a buttock and nobody seems to mind.
If I were to compile a list of my top ten favourite things in the universe, McFly would easily be in the top half of that list. And, if I had to list the top two things I hate intensely, the Mail on Sunday would make the top half of that one.
The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail represent everything McFly do not. Why they’ve formed such an unholy partnership this weekend is beyond me. The right-wing views are the least of it - it’s the misery that annoys me the most. The sheer, unrelenting, knee-jerk, disaster-mongering, panicked misery. They might as well call it the Harbinger of Doom on Sunday and tape free cyanide capsules to the front cover.
Normally, I’d rather stuff a copy of the Mail into my ear than buy it. But, if I ditched my principles and gag reflex for one day, I could get a copy of McFly’s brand new fourth (yes, fourth) studio album for only £1.50. At the moment, it’s on pre-order at Play.com for £8.95, so that’s a saving of £7.45. I’d be stupid not to.
But then.. can I bring myself to give my £1.50 to a corporation made up of what I consider the worst imaginable pondlife? I seriously hope not, but I guess I’ll find out on Sunday…
Fancy Coffee - Luxury or Lifeblood?
Instant coffee can be a minefield. Heap your teaspoon too high with granules and you’ll end up with coffee soup. Go too sparing with the measures and your morning pick-me-up takes on the flavour of an old dishcloth. Should ‘washing-up liquid aftertaste’ rock up to the party, the whole sorry affair collapses like a freeze dried house of cards.
That’s why I prefer to buy my coffee out. I’m a coffee snob, self styled. In my opinion, Coffee Republic wins the prize for best coffee, Café Nero take gold in the ‘most lethal’ category (it’s like rocket fuel), and Costa gets a lifetime achievement award for its cool grippy cups.
However, it seems the great British public’s enthusiasm for little luxuries such as fancy coffee are somewhat on the wane.
Starbucks are shelving expansion plans having seen its UK sales fall away at alarming rates. Having described current market conditions as the worst in its 37 year history, Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz is prepared to admit fancy coffee is a luxury that most people can no longer afford.
I recall reading an article in the Independent describing how Starbucks established themselves. Considered by rival coffee houses to be something of a suicidal move at the time, Starbucks acquired opposing properties on busy roads, and opened two facing outlets at a time.
Although it appeared Starbucks were on an insane mission to compete with themselves, the move was in fact a canny one. Think about your walk to work. Do you vary the side of the road you walk on? Not many people do, and Starbucks had the forethought to capitalise on this by snaring customers from both sides of the street.
Times have changed however, and Starbucks profits are down by a third this quarter. Somewhat ironically, most of those facing outlets will be included in a raft of planned refurbishments and possible closures. US and UK development plans have been parked, with Starbucks opting to concentrate their efforts on fast developing eastern territories instead.
As the credit crunch tightens its grip on our finances, it makes sense bourgeois treats will be the first to suffer the chop in any belt-tightening exercise. For my part, although the coffee stays, my thrice weekly trips to Marks and Sparks have been replaced with a once weekly trip to Marks and Sparks, and a twice weekly schlep around Asda (and it really is an almighty schlep).
Has anyone else changed their daily habits to save money? Maybe you’ve traded down from Harrods to Hennes, or swapped the Beemer for a bicycle?
Let me know your stories.
