To think that Laura Ashley homeware is overpriced and the assistants are snooty?

[NathanBarley]

I can't imagine why they thought it would be a good idea to open a store in an out of town retail park in this fairly down at heel northern town that I live in.

I have wandered in a few times to drool over the lovely things (oooh lovely things!) but the assistants look at me like some sort of hobo and the stuff is well expensive - £180 for a pair of curtains ffs?

may I introduce you to the joys of Pedlars? They have elevated the money for old rope game to an art from

hahaha! You flamin' what?

£215?!!!

Five grand

Rrrring rrring...hello is that pedlar's? I don't suppose you have any furniture that is both ugly and oversized. Oh and ideally would fatally wound anyone innocently stubbing a toe on it. Oh no it has to be ditchwater grey. Well I've only got the 5k allowance left this month. Oh you do have something? what's that you sa? It's so heavy that I'll have to comission a crane to lift it into my house? Great! Here's my credit card number...

Morphed into molesworth for a bit there..chiz chiz etc

Moondog that table thing is truely vile. Am curious to know how many they've sold though.

at Nathan

The Harry Enfield shop was "I saw you coming". I think Pedlars is similar.

I think it will be the next casualty of the recession . Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't already gone under. They used to have two branches in the West End, one opposite Selfridges and one on Regent Street. Now both gone, and LA seems to have relocated to out of town retail parks (next to Lakeland and Cotton Traders at Bicester, so marginally more classy.

ps CrackFox what is...peacocks?

What the fckity fck? And there's people starving in the world.....

Ha good spot stresshead, that is truly shite. Why buy a week's shopping when you can have a teeeeeny piece of crap for your wall?

I like Laura Ashley and since they have now taken to texting me let me know when they are having one of their not infrequent sales I hardley ever have to pay full price for anything

I used to like Laura Ashley but can't find anything I like in there these days.

I think we've worked out their business model - overprice everything so the moneyed types will buy at full whack and then have frequent seemingly generous sales where you shift everything else at a more normalised price, presumably still with big margins. same model as mike's carpets!

LOL LeQueen if I had to pick one MN character for a Jilly Cooper novel it would be you