For those of you who are not inclined to read the article, I shall summarise: A previously wealthy lady who was able to shop in Harrods for her Christmas gifts has hit hard times, and can no longer afford the luxury of spending "...£45 on a pot of gold-lidded lusciously scented body cream...", which has resulted in her fretting about meeting her children's expectations this Christmas.
I think it must be a tactic of the Mail, to employ writers and journalists who have the ability to infuriate members of the public, in a ploy to gain publicity. I can see no other reason why a mainstream newspaper would publish such an insensitive, ill-thought out piece so close to Christmas. Or perhaps it is hoping that the type of people it would offend simply cannot afford such luxuries as newspapers in today's current financial climate. I know I certainly think twice these days.
My frustrations about this article do not really lie with the writer: Although I question why she felt this piece appropriate. I feel the MailOnline really should have a better grip on reality than they have displayed. This is a terrible item to be published, which is confounded by the time of year they deem it appropriate to display. Thousands of families this year are struggling to make ends meet, and are having to resort to using credit cards for day to day bills: let alone having empty ones sitting around which may have to be dusted off this year (as the writer in the piece has). I feel this is a particularly insensitive comment, and really should have been removed from the piece if the editors were insistent that it be published.
Charlotte Metcalf whines that she has 2 daughters, six God-children and a dozen other children to buy for this Christmas. Lucky her I say: on two counts. The first that she has enough in her bank account to be able to even consider buying presents for that many children, and secondly; that she has that many children in her life that she is close to. As we edge ever closer to Christmas, in these times of austerity, surely we should be thankful and thoughtful of the things we do have in our lives, shouldn't we? Or am I expecting a little too much Disney style happy ever after magic?
This year we will not be having a Christmas tree. We will be having a set of lights around either the window or the mantle piece as they cost me £1 in B&Q. We will have some stockings that I will make out of clothes that were to be put in the recycling bin as they are too small. But that is it. We cannot afford to splash out (even if they are only £10 in some places) on a tree. So this year my little girl will not experience the magic of the tree in the corner, the randomness of over 100 multicoloured bulbs winking away, the fun of Santa's head singing "ho,ho,ho" as you walk past. But I am grateful. She is a happy healthy little girl, she has lots of toys (most of which donated by friends or family with older children), and has a lot of love!
Don't misunderstand me, I don't begrudge Charlotte her fortunes, and I understand when she says "When I first wrote about becoming one of the Nouveau Pauvre — the newly poor — in the summer, many readers reacted angrily, feeling that because there were times when I’d been more fortunate, to complain about losing luxuries was repugnantly selfish.
That’s as maybe — it doesn’t alter the fact that my life has changed radically through having far less money. And I’m certainly not the only one struggling to provide a happy Christmas for one and all".
Charlotte did well to get where she was, earning £1200 a week, and it is unfortunate that she is no longer able to earn this money. It is also unfortunate that she has a decreased income affecting her ability to provide a Christmas she wants to. What I disagree with, vehemently, is that her article is all about the material things that people seem to need to make a Christmas complete. Should she have approached her article from the angle that she may have lost her income, but do you know what, who cares, she is blessed with a family whom she loves and has friends around her that her Christmas would not be the same without, I would have a lot more respect for it. I would congratulate the MailOnline for a good, hearty Christmas story. But unfortunately it wasn't. And instead, this trite is thrust upon us.
Seems to me that for some people, the more money they have, the further removed they become from the things that really matter. Or at least, the further removed they become from being able to collate articles about the things that we really want to read about.
