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Oh
Lord - it's no honour for Sumit
Inside
Out, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE London, Monday 30 June, 7.30pm
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
London Inside Out presenter, and commoner of Alexandra Palace, Sumit
Bose, was a bit miffed to be left out of the Queen's Birthday Honours
List this month.
Feeling
that he'd been unfairly overlooked, Mr Bose went in search of a
title.
Wendy
Hogday is Lady of the Manor of Ruislip. She bought the title for
her husband at a cost of Β£30,000.
Kings
College Cambridge had owned the title since 1485 and wanted to realise
some assets.
Wendy
says: "I thought what a lovely idea and I bought it for my
husband as his Christmas present. It probably does seem an extravagance,
but then so do a lot of things in life.
"It
doesn't really mean a great deal. It's just a bit of fun. They think
it's a huge joke in the post office and call me Lady Ruislip when
I walk in now."
Wendy
doesn't have a peerage - her's is a simple manorial title, but the
two often get confused.
Last
year, auctioneers Strutton Parker sold over 150 titles.
Jonathan
Chaplin of Strutton's says: "If you buy an historic title it's
not to be confused with a peerage. It's an historic title that used
to go with land until the 1922 Law of Property Act which now means
it can be sold separately."
But
these titles confer few rights and can be costly. London is where
some of the most expensive titles are to be found. At just Β£17,500,
the Manor of Kentish Town is a snip; it costs Β£50,000 for
Bermondsey and Β£171,000 for the Lord of the Manor of Wimbledon.
You
don't have to be a millionaire to afford a title. There are plenty
of bargain titles to be found on the internet.
Many
promise a life of privilege, improved business opportunities, upgraded
flights and access to elusive theatre tickets.
Inside
Out found a website that promised to make Sumit Lord Bose for a
cost of only Β£200. All that was required was the filling out
of an application form and posting it off with a cheque.
Sumit
now has impressive looking documents that declare he is Lord Bose.
But is his title genuine? The College of Arms says that all he has
done is to change his name by deed poll – a device available
to anyone through their high street solicitor and at a much smaller
price.
Nonetheless,
being called Lord Bose will surely confer entry to many prestigious
areas of society? But, alas, it seems that Londoners just aren't
as class conscious as they used to be.
Being
a Lord cut no ice in Sumit's attempts to book a table at the Ivy,
buy a seat on one of the last Concorde flights or get him FA Cup
final tickets.
And
the only Palace Lord Bose will be seeing this year is called Ally.
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