Cutthroat prices

A cutthroat business

I hate shaving. It takes too long. You can't read while you're doing it (not with a wet shave, anyway). The results are increasingly disappointing. Not great immediately and stubbly by midday. I've taken to using a battery shaver. The upside is I can shave and drive, getting somewhere while getting rid of the growth. The downside is even poorer results than with wet shaving.

The all-singing, buzzing, multiple bladed hi-tech razor has now run out of replacement blades, and they're painfully expensive (they have security tags in supermarkets with shoplifting problems), and there's a bewildering array to chose from. So I thought I might try a new challenge. Gillette, according to Gillette, is the best a man can get. A bit more research revealed that, actually, a cutthroat razor gives the best, closest, shave. After a little practise, and, I imagine, no little loss of blood. Next stop, Amazon.

A few mouse clicks later, and the nice surprise is that you can get a cutthroat razor for about a tenner. They come with a hundred replacement blades, the box of blades alone is just under a fiver. On a per-shave basis, that's great value. Worth a go, even if it takes a long time to shave and is a weekend only luxury.

Then the waters became muddy. How can a shaving implement you can get for a tenner cost upwards of £150? Gold plated? Made of some rare metal that hones to a supersharp edge? So finely balanced and light that a barber can shave a regiment without fatigue?

Nope.

Brand name badging up an identical bit of kit and a presentation box?

That'll be the difference.

The additional £140 gets you a box. A pot of shaving soap. A shaving brush (real badger hair, because badger hair is best). A little bag to keep the razor in, either waterproof (risking rust to the razor) or not (which will rot). There's the proper executive version, too, and for closer to £200 you get a shaving mug (whatever purpose that serves – a Gazidis as items with no obvious purpose are called) and a little stand to stand the razor in when it's not in use.

I think the £10 version looks perfectly adequate and fit for purpose.

Chinatown

My (already erratic) sleep patterns are being further disrupted by the time difference and the test match starting at 03:45 (our time, they're not experimenting with cruel and unusual kick off times in India) necessitating waking up to listen to Test Match Special from four in the morning. So I woke after falling asleep early, before the cricket, and watched the first half of Chinatown. I've been meaning to get around to watching this for ages, and so far it's been a brilliant film. Looking forward to the second half.

Who ate all the pies?

Big heh at Fatty Prescott failing to be elected as the two Jags police commissioner for Humberside. He spouted evil filth during the Fire Brigade strike and now wants to ruin a police force. Bye.