Saturday, June 13, 2009

THE RISE AND RISE OF MS PIGGY

In the year 2000, a gentleman friend - and erstwhile Big Shot in the World of Advertising - advised Janet on the return of the fuller figure for women. At the time, she forgot this piece of advice almost immediately, but has since often recollected it.

So it was only the other day, that whilst perusing the political shelves in a local bookshop, she came across two volumes which recalled her former gentleman friend's words. One book, whose name she also forgot immediately, was an extended diatribe by Julie Birchill and someone with a double-barrelled surname (unclear whether male or female).

In this volume, Ms Birchill and her friend hold forth on range of subjects - political with both a large and small "p" - including women of "the fuller figure", of which Ms B is a Big One. She also has a rather shrill voice, which amongst larger ladies also seems to have made a comeback.

As it happens, Janet chanced upon a couple of these Modern Harpies fighting for a car-parking space - one in gold 4x4 Merc and the other in similar Chavrolet* - as she took her bike towards the train station on a very hot day. "How Very Uncool !", she thought.

The other volume was a biography of Boris Johnson, whose title Janet has also forgotten, but which bore a quotation on the front cover from Ken Livingstone : "the scariest book I've read since The Silence of the Lambs". Boris himself incidentally describes the book as "Rubbish...but well-written rubbish !". Lot of "That" about !

However, this book does indeed contain something quite extra-ordinary : photographs of the young Boris which bear more than a passing resemblance to the character of Vicky Pollard in Little Britain !

* Ms Birchill is a defender of "Chav", being Upper Chav herself, and perhaps a Chavrolet driver.

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