Question Of The Week (4)
In this blog we are not afraid of asking those really big questions, like; just how much do you value your friendship with your best friend? Or to put it the other way round; how much money would you take to ditch your bosom pal?
In a survey of 2,000 men and women, commissioned by that esteemed sponsor of all matters sociological, Foxy Bingo, 40% of the respondents revealed that if the money was right, they would turn their back on their most cherished friendship. And, it seems, the tipping point is £106,000 for women and £180,000 for men.
Scousers put the lowest valuation of a friendship, £62,000, whereas Glaswegians, who are reputed to know the value of money, would not be parted from their bessie for anything under £200,000.
I’m not sure what to make of all of this. It smacks of one of those on-line surveys that you fill in when you are bored and/or have had a tincture or two. But perhaps the old adage of in vino veritas applies.
It reminds me of that old joke, a version of which was attributed to Winston Churchill, in which a man asks a woman if she would sleep with him for a million dollars. “Sure”, she says. “And for ten dollars?” he enquires. “What do you think I am?, she retorts. “We’ve already established what you are. All we’re doing is haggling about price.” If you are prepared to put a financial value on a friendship, it is not a friendship.
But, hey, that’s life.
