Tuesday 15th August

We live here in Eymet, France amongst a largely retired population.  Many have sold their houses in England for huge sums and have bought cheap out here.  They are on generous pensions, both state and workplace, which incidentally will never be so generous for future generations.  And yet many of them are mean.  Their talk is dominated by where the cheapest supermarkets are.  They tell you that you can buy a 10 litre box of some cheap red wine for 11 euro’s, only to be interrupted by someone else piping up that it is only 10.50 at Lidl or somewhere else.  And they will drive far afield to save that 50 cents.  The wine here is good and pretty cheap too.  You can buy really nice wine which has won medals for four or five euros.  Why be so stingy?  And who are you hurting by this meanness – only yourselves.  But many seem to wear this meanness like a badge of honour.  They scour the supermarkets for special offers, and fill their freezers with cheap cuts, their cupboards groan with ‘buy one get another half price’ offers of tins they may never open.

There is nothing wrong with being careful with your money.  When I was growing up we were working class and lived in a council house and thrift was a way of life.  But most of the people out here would be considered wealthy by any standards – and yet some of them are still so mean.  They choose the cheapest thing on the menu, they scoff at bars charging two euros fifty for a glass of wine, they go without what they really want for no good reason – except to be mean.  Maybe they lay awake at night cheering themselves up with how many cents they have saved.

But meanness of pocket means meanness of spirit too.  Be generous for goodness sake, enjoy yourself.  If you have money, spend it.  That is what we are here for.

Our only role now in Society is to be consumers – keeping the wheels of industry turning….hahaha.  But I am afraid that meanness is here to stay, another of the Modern Deadly Sins I am afraid.