Comment: Where do they find these “nobs”?
It’s all kicked off today, thanks to a careless comment by Lib Dem Councillor Ric Morgan. According to the Echo, Cllr Morgan referred to the new Mayor, fellow Liberal Democrat Councillor Brian Smith, as a “nob”.
In the letter published in the Echo last month, Cllr Morgan said that he had been working at the Festival of the Air whilst the “nobs” ate lunch at the Cliffs Pavillion on the Bank Holiday Monday.
By “nobs”, Cllr Morgan meant Mayor Smith, and two other people, who were attending a council lunch event.
Since then, Cllr Morgan has refused to apologise for the comment, saying that it was not meant in the way it has been taken to.
The Tories are having a field day with this nob-wielding. Naturally, they are taking it to mean “penis” rather than a posh person, and laying on the criticism.
Apparently, flinging “nobs” around brings the office of Mayor into disrepute.
Poor West Shoebury Conservative Councillor Derek Jarvis is upset by the whole thing. He was at a similar lunch event on the Sunday of the festival, and said he felt hurt to have been included in the nob-group.
He told the Echo:
“Never in my years as a local councillor have I heard of a councillor calling a current serving mayor a nob publicly, especially as they belong to the same party.”
Presumably, this means that councillors may quite often call the mayor a nob in private, or in public if that mayor is no longer serving.
“The mayoralty is a fine office and a tradition that should be respected by all councillors and not brought into disrepute in this way.”
So, of course, it’s dictionaries at the ready. Cllr Morgan appears to be one of those old-school type chaps who will use a word according to its less-known or less-used definition, even if most people would take it to mean “willy”, and even if it makes you look like a fool in the local paper. Then, of course, people know that you are knowledgeable about things like old definitions of words, and, presumably, trust you more as a local representative.
“Councillor Jarvis should check his dictionary,” said Cllr Morgan tartly to the Echo, “the term ‘nob’ is an old fashioned term for a socially exalted person.”
Well, that’s alright then.
Still, it’s not too bad, because the nob in question, Mayor Brian Smith, said he knew all along what Morgan was driving at, and was flattered by the comments.
He said that being a nob was “quite an achievement”, as it means you are a “well-respected member of the establishment.”
I am loving your work !!! and yes it was amusing even if it was childish!
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