The term chav certainly seems to be scattered like cowshit on a field...

When I worked down the pit, I bought a new house on an estate that was mainly reps, managers and others with company cars. My battered old Marina didn't quite cut the mustard. We all have aspirations and one way for me to tell myself I had done what I set out to do was to own a new Jaguar car.

May sound a little self centred, and it doesn't quite have the same panache as setting out to achieve world peace or Sheffield Wednesday to go all the way to the Champions League Final, but it was part of my "get off your arse and get there" strategy.

I love my car. If this is materialism, then it ain't such a bad thing. Mind you, small minds think alike. A friend who is also a folk singing ex miner bought one at the same time. Didn't know till he turned up to give me a lift to the match in it. Jaguar sold 200,000 cars that year. That's a lot of ex pit moggies with one finger in their ear.

Anyway, I turned up at a party in mine. Another mate took one look and said "It's a bit chavvish isn't it?"

Best not mention the Oakley sunglasses then.......