THERE was a time when I was regarded as something of a ‘stickler’ for dress codes.
In the days when I sat in the editor’s chair, it was a case of woe betide any male trainee reporter who turned up for work without a jacket and tie.
Female journalists were excused the jacket and tie regime, but they had to be smartly dressed.
And some of my old trainees are still dining out on the tale of how I once sent a photographer home after he turned up (in the middle of a heatwave, it must be said) in a pair of khaki shorts.
Today, of course, I take a more relaxed approach to dress codes. Whisper it, but even my Rotary Club in Llanelli, no longer requires collar and tie for dinner.
The ‘less stuffy’ approach is being adopted (gradually) by politicians and civic leaders, many of our male leaders choosing (on appropriate occasions) to ditch the tie.
The ladies, of course, have more scope when selecting their fashion statements, so it was interesting to see the fallout this week from Neath and Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris’s appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Mrs Harris has always had an unconventional approach to fashion and I’ve lost count of the different colours she’s used on her hairstyle since becoming an MP back in 2015.
For PMQs, Mrs Harris sported purple hair and a black T-shirt and leather jacket.
Perhaps predictably, some took to social media to criticise Mrs Harris for her choice of attire.
Equally predictably, a couple of ‘political commentators’ waded into the debate by criticising Mrs Harris on something called GB News (a colleague tells me this is a TV channel nobody watches).
A chap called Lee Harris launched into a scathing tirade against the Welsh Labour deputy leader – calling for her ejection from the Commons over her “disrespectful” attire.
“The House of Commons really has gone downhill over the years,” Lee Harris said. “This Labour MP could at least show some respect and wear something smart. It’s very clear she showed a shocking lack of respect for the House.
“She shouldn’t have been called to speak, but Lindsay Hoyle (The Speaker) called her anyway. She really should have been ejected from the chamber.”
Conservative author and academic Adrian Hilton said: “What would the Commons Speaker say if a male MP turned up looking like a Dick Emery biker in a leather jacket over a pink/black T-shirt?”
In my view, Messrs Harris and Hilton need to take a few chill pills and go for a blood pressure check.
Getting noticed is the name of the game when it comes to PMQs and catching The Speaker’s eye in a packed chamber of more than 600 MPs is what counts when it comes to the weekly lottery of posing a question to the Prime Minister.
The important bit is not the dress sense of the MP, but the message they want to convey to the House
And, with that objective in mind, it was ‘job done’ by Mrs Harris on Wednesday.
She managed to highlight the fine work she is helping coordinate on the Everyone Deserves a Christmas campaign – and the Christmas single she has released with Mal Pope.
Mrs Harris even joked that she was No3 in the list of MPs called to table a question in the Commons, but she hoped to be No1 in the charts by Christmas!
On that subject, you can vote for the Mal Pope and Carolyn Harris single on the Heritage Charts website at https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/522BLGP
Meanwhile, for those of you who are keen followers of hair styles, the latest news is that I’m off to see my friendly local barber, David.
Or, as we like to call him in these parts, ‘Dye The Barber’.
PS: If you want to see Carolyn Harris’s appearance at PMQs, then go to Mal Pope’s Twitter page at https://x.com/malpope
AND here we go again . . . the annual “Kill the Poinsettia Plant” event is under starter’s orders in the Lloyd Household.
Regular readers of this column will know that, each year, I plead guilty to ‘Poinsettiacide’.
In previous years, some of my poinsettia purchases have only just managed to make to Christmas. Some have survived into the new year. In 2022, the poinsettia established a new record by staying alive into January.
Last year, following advice from a reader, the poinsettia lasted until springtime.
My learned colleague Marc (Chalky) White, the man responsible for designing most of this paper, suggested an elegant solution a couple of years back – “The poinsettia secret is buy a plastic one! Had ours for years and looks as fresh as yesterday. Looks real, too!”
Last year, Pauline O’Brien, from Bonymaen in Swansea, provided me with some sound advice –
“I have one every November 20 as a present from my family. I have always loved a poinsettia, but, like you say, they are hard to keep.
“However, I have kept one from November to August – and every year I have it until July.
“My ‘recipe’ is to find a draught-proof spot; it seems to like the sun. I put it every year in the same spot. I water it once a week (every Sunday) and it likes tepid water. I put a small milk jug full and I truly believe it is the answer to
how I can keep it so long.
“I know I shouldn’t advertise, but it has always come from Marks and Spencer!”
Other stores (and garden centres) are, of course, available should you wish to start your own bid to assassinate a poinsettia plant.
The betting in the Lloyd household is that, given favourable conditions and loving attention, the latest poinsettia will make it through to Easter. I’ll keep you posted . . .
