Showing posts with label Alexander McQueen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexander McQueen. Show all posts

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.

1 May 2011

What a week!  Two people made an important commitment, there was much signing of names, officialdom everywhere and a future for the happy couple in new accommodation.  The royal wedding?  No, just Him indoors and me buying our new home in France.
It all started early last Tuesday.  What to wear?  It was hot, but I didn't want to be too casual. (And French women are so chic). I decided against wearing Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen, so instead plumped for a simple black T-shirt, black trousers and a green jacket from that so chic Evans branch of Birmingham UK.
The notaire's office was crowded. The 2 vendor brothers, 2 notaires (one bilingual), estate agent and us. We shook hands all round in true gallic fashion. 4 hours later, arms stiff from signing G-d knows what, we'd bought our new house.  Hurray.  The French estate agent even pointed us in the direction of that free vendor website leboncoin.fr, our current house being too far away for him to deal with. Now that's good service. We then zoomed away in the ubiquitous Citroen - deciding against the open-topped landau with liveried postillions.
Wills and Kate? We beat them to it 44 years ago, and at least our initials aren't WC!