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For those with everything, how about a lordship for Christmas?
AFP/Yahoo ^ | Sat Dec 11, 5:36 PM ET

Posted on 12/12/2004 9:48:48 AM PST by martin_fierro

For those with everything, how about a lordship for Christmas?

Sat Dec 11, 5:36 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - For that friend who has everything but aristocratic stock, how about offering the title of lord or lady for Christmas?

A British web site has put up for sale square-foot sections of the northeast Scottish estate of Glencairn, which come with the title of Lord or Lady of Glencairn.

Precise followers of pedigree will scorn the offer, since the title does not actually confer peerage, but is a rather fancy way of advertising one's ownership of the handkerchief-sized land parcel.

"The title of laird means 'land owner' and is the commonly accepted equivalent of lord or lady," http://www.Buyagift.com explains on its web site.

But just think, it argues, for just 29 pounds (56 dollars, 42 euros) this is "the ideal gift for anyone who aspires to greatness, a real lord or lady title to use before their name!"

Another website, lastminute.com, also offers the property sale and, in addition to charging a pound more, reminds over-eager shoppers that the land deed does not actually allow you to build on it.

An earl who has set up his own web site to sniff out title fakeries has laughed off the notion of the Scottish laird, and cast aspersions on any deal that pretends to sell a British peerage.

"All you have to do is to buy a square foot of land in Scotland, and you will be considered a laird; what a ridiculous concept. By that token most of the population of Scotland are lairds," says Richard, seventh Earl of Bradford.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Cheese, Moose, Sister; Chit/Chat; Humor; Miscellaneous; Society; Test Topic, Ignore It; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: laird

1 posted on 12/12/2004 9:48:48 AM PST by martin_fierro
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To: Happygal; MadIvan; Charles Henrickson; EggsAckley; Xenalyte; Constitution Day; mikrofon

Ping to m'luds and m'ladies.

(I'd ante up, but don't want to pay the concomitant property taxe$)


2 posted on 12/12/2004 9:50:33 AM PST by martin_fierro (That's LORD Marty to you)
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To: martin_fierro

I'd rather spend the money on foodstuffs and needed gear for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.


3 posted on 12/12/2004 9:51:53 AM PST by 7.62 x 51mm (• veni • vidi • vino • visa • "I came, I saw, I drank wine, I shopped")
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To: martin_fierro
IIRC in Scotland if your house doesn't have a roof you don't have to pay taxes on it.

But as this does not put you in the Peerage why bother?

4 posted on 12/12/2004 9:53:20 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum europe vincendarum (Happy Hanukkah!))
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

But I was gonna put a hotel on my plot.

5 posted on 12/12/2004 10:02:14 AM PST by martin_fierro (Holder of an M.A. degree in The Obvious)
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To: martin_fierro

Too bad peerages don't come with it. We could use more Tory peers in the Lords.

Regards, Ivan


6 posted on 12/12/2004 10:03:12 AM PST by MadIvan (Gothic. Freaky. Conservative. - http://www.rightgoths.com/)
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To: martin_fierro
Oh how I love that game.

I always am the slum lord. Buy cheap and charge outrageous rents.

7 posted on 12/12/2004 10:26:01 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum europe vincendarum (Happy Hanukkah!))
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To: MadIvan
Do the Peers actually have any power any more?

I was under the impression that they didn't have much say.

8 posted on 12/12/2004 10:27:20 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum europe vincendarum (Happy Hanukkah!))
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
Do the Peers actually have any power any more?

They can slow down legislation, generally speaking. This can be a good thing as the difficulty in passing the fox hunting ban showed.

Regards, Ivan

9 posted on 12/12/2004 10:30:04 AM PST by MadIvan (Gothic. Freaky. Conservative. - http://www.rightgoths.com/)
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To: martin_fierro
Reminds me of a funny story.
My friend's wife's name is spelled Lora. Someone keyed her name wrong on a mailing list. It came out as Lord Smith.
They started getting catalogs in the mail in which the lowest priced items were in the $30,000 range. Hood ornaments for Bentleys, rare wines and 4kt diamonds and such. He thought that was pretty funny considering he was making less than $40k a year.
10 posted on 12/12/2004 11:03:29 AM PST by Read2Know (War: It doesn't prove who is right. It proves who is left)
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To: martin_fierro
"reminds over-eager shoppers that the land deed does not actually allow you to build on it."

crap...and to think...Barbie was going to be sittin pretty!
11 posted on 12/15/2004 11:26:17 AM PST by melbell (groovy)
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