Noblesse Oblige
Years ago, when I was a junior reporter on the East London Advertiser (no I never met the Krays), a girlfriend gave me words and phrases to weave into my copy. It was a good laugh. Mostly it was easy and the Editor never noticed (sorry Bob); but once I really struggled. The phrase was Noblesse Oblige. Noblesse Oblige in Mile End? Well, I wasn’t going to give up and as luck would have it, a garage which had put diesel in their petrol tank – causing mayhem locally – gave me the chance. Provided people could produce a receipt the garage paid for the repairs without question. The story in the ELA that week ran ‘Noble Esso obliged customers …’ History does not recount if I was properly rewarded for my literary sleight of hand.
So what has taken Tesco so long? It must be 10 days before they’ve fessed-up to the contaminated fuel which has brought countless cars to an expensive halt. Tesco N0-blesse Oblige.