Dear Mr
Ofosu-Amaah
Thank you for your
letter which was forwarded to me by the Letters Editor. I have waited until this
evening after deadline - when I had a clear desk and clearer head - to
reply to your email which I take very serioulsy and which has caused me
some distress.
A Plagiarism in
Plaid? It is a clever and catchy headline but I am very glad you added
the question mark. You are accusing me most unfairly.
Let me
explain.
My interest in the
plaid bags was sparked towards the end of last year when The
Daily Telegraph moved offices west (from Canary Wharf)
to Victoria in Central London. Every morning, every evening and several
times in the course of the day, I watch the new arrivals in and around the train
station and heading to or from the coach station. And I notice the bags they
carry - most notably the plaid tote which, previously, I have always associated
with visits to a laundrette with quilts/sofa covers etc and other
items too big for a domestic washing machine.
But my awareness of
the bags pre-dates that. Some Australian in-laws have a large collection -
I am not sure why. I have also travelled in Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe
and noted their popularity. I have seen them piled
high in Departures and Arrivals at Heathrow. Until I became an
observer of the comings and goings at Victoria, I was less interested in their
association with populations on the move than in their origins. I thought
about China and its booming economy and domination of export markets with
cheap but useful and versatile good such as these.
The trigger for MY article was the scene I (and,
incidentally, several colleagues witnessed) on Thursday May 30 (I concede
it WAS inaccurate to say 'yesterday' as I did in the column); the newly arrived
and obviously poor family - two little boys, their sister, the mother and the
grandmother plus their bulging bags. My colleagues on the Features
Desk and I talked about them and our mixed feelings about their
arrival. Another colleague, Lesley Thomas, who writes on Style and Beauty
for this paper, told me about the Louis Vuitton Street GM bag. Then I remembered
my visit to the Ellis lsand Museum and that pile of suitcases. THIS is what
got me thinking about immigrants and the significance of the plaid bag
being the modern equivalent and I suppose the germ of an idea was born.
It wasn't until Friday, however, when I read my
colleague Jeff Randall's article about immigration, that I decided it was a
subject I wanted to try and tackle with a piece of social commentary and
taking a less hardline view than his. On a visit to Munich some years ago, I
first heard the phrase 'Turkish suitcase' - which is how our researcher came to
your blog - one of several internet sites she looked in addition to
various cuttings and the manufacturer's website. Bags in general have been
big news in recent months in Britain - largely because of environmental
concerns and the launch of the Anya Hindmarch 'I'm not a plastic bag'
bag. It made me think a piece could work and I made my thinking clear in
the intro. - otherwise it would have been a random rant about a bag without any
context.
Forgive the detailed nature of this email but I feel it
is important to explain what motivated me, my thought processes and how I
came to write on the subject.
I am happy to organise a link to your blog IF you will
extend the same courtesy to my (unedited) defence against your accusation which
I refute. The 'colour, personal perspective and ORIGINAL' reporting that you
kindly acknowledge in my article is evidence of a piece written in good
faith.
I wish you all the very best with your series, Things
Fall Apart.
Thank you and Best Wishes
Yours sincerely
Liz Hunt