GOOD grief. I was stunned. Tall people have all the advantages. They can get served in crowded bars and are taken more seriously than shorter folk, even if they are complete buffoons.
Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book says: “Research shows that tall people are consistently more successful in the workplace – not only do they earn more but they’re more likely to be in leadership positions.”
And now, I read, they are to have their own date in the calendar glorifying their tallness, for tomorrow is the start of National Beanpole Week which is the height of bad taste to us shorter folk.
Don’t get me wrong. I have tall friends. My chum Willie is so tall his passport photograph is folded three times but he is a witty and caring chap.
Clarky is a gem. Rag an artist. Hobby would brighten anyone’s evening.
My wife Maria is a Wadlow (on her maternal grandfather’s side) and a Wadlow was once the tallest man in the world and I have always admired Kate Moss. So I have no prejudice.
But having a week in celebration simply because you happen to be able to look down on everyone else?
Whoops.
I’ve just checked it out and I’ve got hold of the wrong end of the beanpole. National Beanpole Week actually celebrates: “Britain’s coppiced woodlands, the animals and plants that live in them, the coppice workers who look after them and the beanpoles and other coppice wood products they produce.”
Mind you, if you can’t get hold of a real beanpole I know plenty of chaps who might be willing to stand in your back garden. If the price is right.
