Nicky Haslam’s end-of-year tea towel, emblazoned with a list of things he finds common, is now an annual tradition. The latest features Grayson Perry, bucket lists and ordering lobster. But money-saving expert Martin Lewis has taken issue with some of Haslam’s choices.
“Forgive me, but what a twat!” Lewis wrote on Twitter/X in a fit of pique before quickly editing “twat” to “prat”. He was annoyed by the inclusion of “grieving” and the Northern Lights. “I only wish grief counselling had been ‘common’ when I needed it,” he wrote.
Is Haslam repentant? “Well I just think I’m right,” he told us. “Grief is something one does oneself. You certainly don’t need somebody else to tell you you’re grieving rightly or wrongly,” he said. Haslam says he mulls over the list all year and takes ideas from friends. Jeremy Clarkson, who is “very keen”, suggested “needing house keys” this year. “I know what he means,” said Haslam.
“It seems odd to put the Northern Lights in that concept because they’re so wildly different,” he added. “He’s not complaining about that, which is rather bad!”
Haslam's lists are varied but always unashamedly snobbish. For example, last year's list included: porn, hydrangeas, online gambling, cushions on beds, "see it, say it, sort it", Ed Sheeran, nostalgia, pigs in blankets and and tote bags.
His list of 2021 included art, side plates, instagrams of David Bowie and "saying uz instead of us".
The tea towels evolved out of a column Haslam once wrote for the Evening Standard, "How Common", about poor taste things that irritated him.
