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Apr. 17th, 2008 06:31 pmA few years back, I had posted about the loss of my latest hat (now happily replaced); in the comments to that entry, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
redbird commented: “You are me, and I claim my five pounds.”
What? Was I now legally obligated to start handing out British currency to my readership? I had, honestly, no idea what she was talking about; after a vigorous bout of Googling failed to turn up an explanation, I shrugged it off as one of the many in-jokes of the universe’s that I’m not, in fact, in on, and proceeded on my way.
...until, that is, while looking up an unrelated matter, I came across this post from Backburner (scroll down; it’s the second post on the page). I quote:
Apparently, one of the trends amongst British newspapers in the sixties and seventies was to plant people at pre-announced seaside resorts and print their pictures in the paper. And, in the manner of a low-rent local radio station trying desparately to prove to themselves that someone was listening, you were encouraged to go up to these individuals, armed with the relevant newspaper, and cry, "You are [name of plant], I'm holding today's Daily Fibber, and I claim my five pounds!" Trawling round the net, various names are mentioned - "Lobby Lud" and the News Chronicle, and most ubiquitously "Chalky White" and the Daily Mirror, which really made the phrase popular, apparently.
Whoever you are, if you’re reading this- five pounds, please.
(Also, in honor of National Poetry month, an old favorite- the poetry of Donald Rumsfeld.)
redbird commented: “You are me, and I claim my five pounds.”What? Was I now legally obligated to start handing out British currency to my readership? I had, honestly, no idea what she was talking about; after a vigorous bout of Googling failed to turn up an explanation, I shrugged it off as one of the many in-jokes of the universe’s that I’m not, in fact, in on, and proceeded on my way.
...until, that is, while looking up an unrelated matter, I came across this post from Backburner (scroll down; it’s the second post on the page). I quote:
Apparently, one of the trends amongst British newspapers in the sixties and seventies was to plant people at pre-announced seaside resorts and print their pictures in the paper. And, in the manner of a low-rent local radio station trying desparately to prove to themselves that someone was listening, you were encouraged to go up to these individuals, armed with the relevant newspaper, and cry, "You are [name of plant], I'm holding today's Daily Fibber, and I claim my five pounds!" Trawling round the net, various names are mentioned - "Lobby Lud" and the News Chronicle, and most ubiquitously "Chalky White" and the Daily Mirror, which really made the phrase popular, apparently.
Whoever you are, if you’re reading this- five pounds, please.
(Also, in honor of National Poetry month, an old favorite- the poetry of Donald Rumsfeld.)
