Gareth John's Blog

Leader Of The `Pack’!

Nothing lasts forever, as the saying goes. But some things DO get to hang around a bit…

If you haven’t heard, today the Scandanavian fanatics of flat-pack, IKEA, celebrate 21 years here in the UK. Yup, it seems like it’s going be quite a while before the sun sets on our love affair with Swedish self-assembly.

Here’s a great IKEA stat for you……it’s now estimated that 1 in 10 Europeans have been conceived on an IKEA bed. Now I know the queues can get a bit crazy down at Wembley especially in the sales, but come on there’s no need for that sort of thing, get a room!! In any case, I’m guessing if it’s true that 1 in 10 Europeans began their journey towards birth on an IKEA bed, the other 9 out of 10 are still busy trying to ASSEMBLE theirs!

I love IKEA, but I do always seem to get a bit confused when I’m in store. I tend to mess things up with those arrows on the floor-tiles. I find myself going against the flow, and then end up faced with a constant stream of families with five year old boys who pretend they’re fighter pilots weaving in and out of the trolleys with their arms stretched out wide. Then, in a bid to not feel like I’ve entirely wasted my time, I’ll end up buying a bag of tea-lights. Makes me feel like braving the journey (not to mention the kamikaze 5 year-olds) has all been worth it.

Gotta hand it to them, though. Brilliant designs. And loads of choice too.

So as our favourite Swedes (after Abba and the chef out of the Muppets) mark their 21st anniversary, I say in their honour “vorsprung Swede technik!”

Might even brighten up the lounge in celebration tonight with one of their tea-lights….after all I’ve got plenty going spare!

Big love

Gxx

Posted by Gareth John on April 16, 2008 at 09:47AM

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