HEARD ON THE BBC
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:40 pm
I have always thought the staff of "Woman's Hour" (or is it Women's Hour?) to be completely lacking in a sense of humour, which was confirmed yet again as I listened to it in my car this morning.
The woman being interviewed, obviously elderly, was the daughter of very rich parents. When her mother was young in the 1930s, her husband refused to allow her to get a job, or educate herself or whatever, for which she compensated by becoming a shopaholic, mainly of jewels, dresses, underwear, perfumes, shoes, etc. You name it - if it was feminine, she bought it. Anyway, when war broke out this lady suddenly developed a morbid fear that her vast collection would be looted by the Germans, so she had her servants take it all down to the cellars, where it was stored according to a plan of her own devising. At the very far end was the jewellery, which was, it seems, very valuable, then her clothing, in boxes which stretched from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling, then her shoes, and so on.
The "bright young interviewer" was obviously impressed by this plan:
Interviewer: "I see. So the German's would have had to fight their way through your mother's clothing before they could get at the family jewels?"
Long pause.
Interviewee (drily): "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that myself."
The woman being interviewed, obviously elderly, was the daughter of very rich parents. When her mother was young in the 1930s, her husband refused to allow her to get a job, or educate herself or whatever, for which she compensated by becoming a shopaholic, mainly of jewels, dresses, underwear, perfumes, shoes, etc. You name it - if it was feminine, she bought it. Anyway, when war broke out this lady suddenly developed a morbid fear that her vast collection would be looted by the Germans, so she had her servants take it all down to the cellars, where it was stored according to a plan of her own devising. At the very far end was the jewellery, which was, it seems, very valuable, then her clothing, in boxes which stretched from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling, then her shoes, and so on.
The "bright young interviewer" was obviously impressed by this plan:
Interviewer: "I see. So the German's would have had to fight their way through your mother's clothing before they could get at the family jewels?"
Long pause.
Interviewee (drily): "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that myself."