"Chilled, but Still Dangerous"
On the Subjects M&S...& S&M

They say that success is all about the right personal (and professional) branding right now, so I was delighted by a fashion "find" yesterday. Walking through the lingerie department of Marks and Spencer (M&S), I spotted a pair of trousers on the sale rack that looked just the job for me. I should point out that I'm always on the lookout for a robust pair of trousers, as cycling almost everywhere these days brings considerable pressure in the pants (as distinct from lingerie) department. A quick glance at the trousers in question, therefore, brought considerable satisfaction as they were constructed of strong black denim, quite up to wear, in fact, on a building site, with the added advantage of a high elasticated waist, so no bottom cleavage problem. There are few things worse, in my experience, than a cold wind up your backside, speaking metaphorically as well as physically, of course. Like Simon Cowell (whose appearance on "Desert Island Discs" revealed him to be a man of exceptionally good musical taste), I also quite like a "high waist" for sartorial, as well as practical, reasons.

However, my M&S trousers - of which I am now the proud owner - have other advantages : price, as they are for teenagers; and, branding. For a pedestian and cyclist like myself, who is regulary "hustled" by motorists, these trousers have a brand which is truly talismanic : "Back Off" (with a skull and cross bones symbol for added punch). Moreover, they carry a red logo containing the words "Chilled, but Still Dangerous", which I would like to think still holds in it something of my attitude to life, even in middle age. In fact, I now feel truly empowered by my new pants, especially as I put them to the test this morning, tackling a spot of professional bother in what I felt was a very cool fashion indeed.

Now all this brings me to another subject, not concerning M&S but S&M, or "Domination Services" to be precise. An advertisement in my local free paper invited applications from people interested in providing these (something I understand can be very lucrative), and, I must confess, it did cross my mind to apply : but this is a subject more suited to "The Edge of Town"blog.