Grandson Number One is nineteen. It doesn’t seem two minutes since he was an angry seven-year-old (angry about various changes, all out of his control, going on his life) who used to take off at a run when things displeased him. Goodness! On a surprisingly large number of occasions I had to dump whatever bag I was carrying, instruct his older sister to look after it, and set off at a run myself to catch him! He’s grown up surprisingly well, all things considered.
However, some time ago he took up gambling. I’m not quite sure how it happened but I suspect that he was lured in by all the online adverts at the point in his life where he had his first job and was actually earning his own money. I also suspect that the some of the friends with whom he played online computer games were also gambling: another activity, another kind of game in common, another thing to bond over and to discuss. We warned him of the dangers. He assured us he had it all under control, setting limits for himself, putting most of his wages into a savings account and setting aside money for his new “hobby”. He would tell me proudly how much he had won.
When I saw that owners of the company Bet365 were in the list of the 350 richest people in the country I was determined to point this out to him the next time I saw him: his hobby was contributing to their immense wealth! Yesterday he came to dinner and proudly told me he had stopped gambling. He said he wasn’t going to tell me how much money he had lost. And I wasn’t even to tell his mother that he had lost a significant amount: she would be furious! We discussed the Bet365 owners’ wealth and he agreed that, yes, some of their wealth, a small amount for them perhaps but quite a lot for him, should have been in his bank account. A salutary lesson!
Mind you, he’s only been “clean” for a week. But when you’ve been placing bets every day, then a week without a bet is progress. He’s had to ask a work colleague to stop talking about her gambling successes with him. It’s harder to go cold turkey if those around you are still revelling in the habit! But the first step is realising that you have been duped.
Which brings me to the word “dupe”. Apparently it has a new modern meaning: “a short form of duplicate that is used to refer to a product mode to look exactly like a more expensive or high quality product:
eg: The fashion blogger shares her favourite designer dupes,
I found a Gucci dupe belt online.”
When I read this I was reminded of the “vu compra” men I saw in Venice, mostly young men from one of the African countries, selling fake Gucci and other designer handbags from blankets on the ground, blankets they would pick up by the corners and run off at speed if the authorities turned up. But the “dupe” business is now a bigger thing and shops like Aldi sell fake designer goods:
“For gen Z, say experts, dupe discourse is less about curating authentic designer goods and more about consuming authentic social content to achieve the same look for less.
But since dupe products are often created by unknown brands, creator recommendations are more important than ever to determine the difference between an affordable substitute and a cheap gimmick.
This is why, said a consumer communications lead at TikTok, a good dupe recommendation can make a TikToker an overnight sensation.
“If a creator or influencer finds a cheaper product that everyone else wants to buy, they can become stratospheric overnight,” they said.
But wherever the dupe comes from, experts say companies should see it as an opportunity to strengthen their brand and freshen up their cultural relevance.”
And now companies like Lululemon are making use of this by offering people who bought “dupe” Lululemon goods the chance to swop them in their stores for the genuine article, thus attracting new customers who decide the real thing is better than the “dupe”.
Once again, I am struck by how odd the modern world is.
Some time ago I read about the benefits of “forest bathing” - walking in woods, preferably barefoot so that you experience the forest floor as well as getting the benefits of being surrounded by trees. Now here’s a link to an article about how living near green spaces makes you less likely to have mental health problems. Even if you just have some trees in your street, it helps. Better is having you own garden that you can tend (not one you pave over to make a car-parking space) or a nearby park you can walk and sometimes sit in. “There’s also evidence that when people have access to high quality nature they tend to exercise and socialise more in nature, which leads to the release of endorphins and other mood-boosting hormones, which are good for mental health. And there is evidence that nature can help reduce stress levels.”
And yet, according to this article, urban parks are regularly fenced off to prevent access in the summertime, all so that music festivals and other such events can take place. People living nearby in high-rise blocks are then deprived of open green spaces. And now I feel guilty about the musical events I’ve been to in Hyde Park over the last few years! Oh dear!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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