Satirical journalist Toby Young, who once claimed that he was "consumed with envy and self-loathing about the fact that I can't afford to live in Notting Hill Gate. However, I've always been able to congratulate myself that at least I don't live in Chiswick" recently left funny man Al Murray in the lurch.

Mr Young, who has apparently performed a complete u-turn on his views of Chiswick, made an offer for the comedian's £1.25 million Chiswick home only to pull out because he allegedly couldn’t find enough money.

Strange behaviour indeed from the Shepherd's Bush resident who wrote "It's like that famous black-and-white sketch about the difference between the upper classes, the middle classes and the working classes: Notting Hillbillies may look down on us and we may look up to them, but at least we aren't at the bottom of this tripartite hierarchy. That position is occupied by the wretched suburbanites who live in Chiswick.”

Perhaps these are his new tactics in how to lose friends and alienate people? Or maybe Mr Young was less than confident of reviews he would receive for his forthcoming book?  We'll probably never know.

September 20, 2006