Here are some snippets from an article in THE SUNDAY TIMES of May 17, 2009 entitled “John Lewis’s wonderland”. One Daisy Waugh describes “The Welsh home of the ‘never knowingly undersold’ shopkeeper (John Lewis)” now up for sale in the heart of Sir Gaerfyrddin for “the same price as a boring terraced house in southwest London.”
“Poor old Wales. What’s actually wrong with it? Does anyone know? Apart from the unpronounceable road signs, which don’t really matter, and the rainfall, which can’t be much worse than, say, in Bristol, and the slightly irritating devotion to a language only kept alive by government edict and European subsidies – apart from all that, it’s just the same as anywhere else in Britain, isn’t it? Mostly green and pleasant. And a lot dozier than London.
There’s not much we’re allowed to snigger at in polite company any more. And yet somehow fat people and the whole of Wales slipped through the sensitivity net.
It must be one of the reasons why the remarkably lovely and extremely luxurious Upton Hall, seven miles from the county town of Carmarthen, is being offered for sale at such a laughably low price.
Anyway, all this could be yours, dear reader, including 22 acres of landscaped garden, for a mere £1.3m: the same price as a boring terraced house in southwest London.
John Lewis is long dead and buried, but clearly his legacy lives on. Nice house. Amazing price. (Never knowingly undersold.) Just a shame it’s in bloody Waaayells.“
The standard attitude of us servile, timid, respectful Welsh folk is to “take it on the chin”, “it’s only a joke”, “rise above it” etc. But just imagine the furore if I ended this piece by telling you that Ms Waugh lives in bloody Ing-gerrrr-land.
But don’t let’s rise above telling this daft little trollop what we feel about her comments about us, our language, and our snigger-worthiness.
I feel certain that Ms Waugh would be keen to hear the response of poor, benighted, ignorant, Welsh people. Her email address is:
daisy.waugh@sunday-times.co.uk
I am also sure that the editor of this most worthy of English organs would be interested to share our thoughts, so copy also:
letters@sunday-times.co.uk and online.editor@timesonline.co.uk
I’ve already sent a response. “Fat people and the Welsh” have slipped through the sensitivity gap eh?
What really surprised me was that this article appeared not in a ‘red top’ but in the TIMES!
The Scots have their own editions of all the London-based press but all we get are, to all intents and purposes, Home County (S.E.Ingerland) local papers. Unless of course you get the ‘Wasting Mule’ which, to be fair, is taking politics a bit more seriously lately at the expense of drivel about ‘Welsh’ celebrities, eg. CZJ, Our Tom and the appalling girl from Tiger Bay.
It’s the old story…..Wales is just another part of England……great place apart from the rain and the bloody people with their unpronouncable language…..and sooooo cheap: if you sell you end-of-terrace house you can buy a really coolpad there. Articles like this sponsored by estate agents are designed to encourage people to buy up Wales. Scandalous.
Along with a copy of the article I’ve sent this response to her and her Editor as well, no answer yet though. Do you think I will get one
No wonder we in Wales want Independence from you people. But there the whole world wants Independence from the lovely people in Engelaaand and most of them have. The strange thing is you will not let us go, maybe because we are the only country left to give your inferiority to the rest of us some credence. By the way you look a very sophisticated person, you look really Engaaalish.
Still nothing on the BBC website about that story in the Western Mail yesterday regarding Peter Hains expenses, the other MPS in Wales have been on there.