Well after reading all your comments after my OP, I still maintain my view that PN plates are pretty high up there on my pointless things in the universe list.
Saddened that no-one has even challenged the wooly hoover cover for pointless supremacy item though. Anyone?
I wish there was a like button I could press on some of these comments, many of you in both camps have made me smile, and I thank you for brightening my day, especially unimaginativedad on X5s
I suppose my post reflects the nagging unease I feel when I see PN plates everywhere where I live. It is a very affluent, status orientated, competitive part of the world, and for me they have come to symbolise in one sense consumerism ad absurdum. That people pay thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of pounds for 2 bits of plastic to stick on their car, for no other reason I can think of in most cases than to indicate to others that they have enough disposable income to do so, seems quite odd. I am not trying to attack individuals who have them, but to question and feel a bit depressed about the powers that be in society which create a market for them, a society where people come to believe that they are desirable, and give them kudos. At least with a Hermes handbag or other status symbols I can think of, Range Rover, designer dress etc they arguably generally have a purpose other than simply publicly indicating wealth.
A few people on here have spoken of working really hard for them, or knowing people who do....well I remain, despite your posts a little baffled as to why people spend very hard earned cash on 2 "symbolic" bits of plastic rahter than something else....and yes of course everyone is entitled to spend their money on whatever they like, but personal entitlement to do something doesn't mean it is therefore not something relevant for consideration, or doesn't matter, as some seem to suggest, does it?