The Telegraph reports - without once raising its literary eyebrows or even saying; "you what?" - on the triumph of the English women's bridge team* which is, it seems, down to lavender oil:
Mrs Smith, the daughter of Nico Gardener, the celebrated bridge author, devised the lavender tactic three years ago.
She insists on using only the lavender oil she buys from the medieval hilltop village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, near Nice, in the south of France.
“It has to be high-altitude lavender, grown in the mountains – the stuff lower down is cheaper, but not as good. I am a great believer in alternative medicines, and our lavender oil definitely helps the concentration."
Now it's fine that this woman believes this and I suppose it's harmless. But why does no-one look Mrs Smith in the eye and tell her that it's utter nonsense? And why does the Telegraph publish this twaddle without pointing out that is isn't true?
*As an aside, why is there a woman's bridge team and a men's bridge team? I can see nothing in the game that suggests one or other gender has an advantage qua gender.
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