Ms Baroque - 'Sloanes, Liberty, no fraternité'

The entrancing Ms Baroque - do visit her literary site - is provoked into a reminiscence by my item on Olivia Stewart-Liberty, Peter York's "co-writer" on the Sloane Ranger sequel book. And below I have added a couple of links one of which takes you to a report about Richard Stewart-Liberty (or should that be "Mr Richard"?) and his unfair dismissal case against his old family company ...

I wonder how Olivia is related to Richard Stewart-Liberty? Untold aeons ago I worked for a year, as a young gel, in the china section in the basement there. Richard S-L was the vice-something or other in charge of something or other, and used to go walkabouts to see how we were all doing. Once in the summer, when it was about 90 degrees out and therefore stifling in the un-air-conditioned basement, he came down and saw me - in a fit of feeling faint - collapsed momentarily on a chair. With all the benignity of a kindly esquire, he leant over and suggested that my colleague, busy dusting, was working very hard...

Anyway, it still had the feel of a family firm then, and there was a desire expressed to be a little (within the confines of our uniforms, etc) less formal... To this end, we were told it we should adress him as "Mr Richard." Almost egalitarian! The dress code, in the name of this informality, deliberately omitted any caps to doff.

USDAW, the shopwkorkers' union, tried and failed to unionise Liberty during this time, and one morning when they leafleted outside the staff entrance, there inside the staff entrance we saw - on one side, Mr Richard, with a bin bag for throwing your leaflets into; on the other side, the scary-haired head fashion buyer with another bin bag; and behind her another lackey, taking names of people who didn't throw their leaflets. I didn't throw my leaflet.

Shortly thereafter, I was called into a meeting and given my "final written warning" - when I reasonably pointed out that I had been given no previous warning either oral of written, I was told not to be ridiculous, I had been told off so many times for my "attitude" I should have seen it coming.

Ah, those were the days! I'm SO glad Sloane Rangers are making a comeback.

Ms Baroque

Some olde Liberty history ...

Richard S-L wins his unfair dismissal case against Liberty

Liberty rejects call to sack chairman

Peter York - gimme information

Don't just sit there responding, be proactive and tell me something about Peter York. Give me goss. I never much liked Ann "we're completely chocka" Barr, in fact the whole Yorkie-Barr act irritated me, but I can be talked out of prejudices if approached correctly. Willie Landels was the best editor of Harpers & Queen, he presided over the whole Sloane rubbish as York "observed" and Barr wrote, then the magazine began its sad road to homogeniety under the grinning Nicholas Coleridge - and now it's just another boring woman's fashion mag in Harper's Bazzar. So I can see York's worth - but who does he go to bed with and which brand of mouthwash does he use? Someone out there must know.