16 September 2006

Big Ears And His Bentley

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Prince Charles (often referred to, lovingly or not, as "Big Ears" by some of his subjects, like Vera from Coronation Street). Maybe it's because we were born around the same time, perennially feel put upon and misunderstood, are frequently the objects of ridicule, and more often than not are the authors of our own troubles. Yep, apart from the couple billion pounds he finds himself lumbered with, Charlie and I are almost peas in a pod.

Well, maybe not. I'm so ridiculously devoted to public transport that most of the time I won't even take taxis (well, that might also be because I'm cheap), whereas the Prince, Hardcastle's column in the Daily Mail informs us, can't bear to be separated from his 10 mpg Bentley (this, let it be remembered, is the "environmentalist" prince). So much so that when his own Bentley was out of commission, he had his staff ring up the Bentley company and ask that a loaner Bentley be delivered to him (any of you Toyota/Chevy/Nissan/Ford drivers ever tried this?).

The only suitably royal Bentley available was at the other end of the country, but somebody drove all night to get it to the palace on time. Charles came down to inspect it, took one look, and sniffed, "It's black. I hate black. We'll take the Vauxhall."

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