23rd December 2012

Hurray!  We're all still here.  Unless you're all part of my virtual world?  Hard to tell from some strange things happening lately. Some joker tried to sell the English port town of Dover to the French!  I know that the English once owned Calais, but this is ridiculous.  Even Dame Vera Lynn (she who sang of the White Cliffs during WW2) is up in arms.  But it does look as if something is moving very subtly. Not just us but a host of British brands have fallen for that Gallic charm – or at least cash – the latest being Hamleys, which runs the world's biggest toy shop in Regent Street, London. Groupe Ludendo has just spent £60m buying the 250-year-old company. And there's more:  Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, maker of the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress are also at least half owned by the French.
But the Scots are up in arms. A Paris-based luxury goods group, LVMH, spent £300m chasing off competition from local rival, Pernod Ricard, to secure control of Glenmorangie, one of the best-known single malt scotch whisky producers. Him indoors doesn't care where it comes from, though. He says they serve it in a tumbler to stop you falling down. He's scotched all rumours and wishes you all very slurry grestive feetings.