THE DAILY ARSE 13th April 2006

A, B, C2.

Griff Gribbin here at No. 4 drives a new silver BMW. Whereas No.2 Costly Place drives a shiny Toyota Vol-au-Vent 1.6 i saloon with touring caravan in the drive. No 3, by way of contrast, drives a white short wheelbase Transit van....
Judging by the sheer quantity of outdoor gear in Griffs garage; skis, boots, sticks, sails, boards, power kiting harnesses, etc, one can speculate that although undoubtedly weatherbeaten, Griff is probably a pen pusher or mouse clicker or combination of the two. This will be the reason, despite middle age, why he is so evidently driven to "get it on" with the elements at the weekends. At No 2 they both wear fleeces and potter about, on the basis of skin ageing alone they must be retired. Lawncare seems to be the main occupation, that and extended caravan holidays, but not recently on the continent, (no GB sticker). It looks like No. 2's almost certainly a retired exponent of the noble art of Biromanship.
The evidence in No. 3's garage is all short ends of upvc pipe and other accoutrements of the plumbing trade. Costly Place may be unrepresentative, but this sociological anomaly may serve to illustrate the erosion of pay differentials of which the Professional class is much given to complain. ie "The hacksaw is mightier than the ballpoint."