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FT columnist mocked for ‘wealth is not a talisman’ article

A Financial Times columnist has been mocked for a lockdown diary which is wildly out of step with the average experience.

Writing as a reminder that “privilege does not exist in a bubble”, Shruti Advani logged her experiences in South Kensington as Brits were asked to isolate.

With the world’s smallest violin in tow she described how she was forced to give up one spare room so the nanny could move in and prepare the other for a friend who needed to move to be isolated from her husband, a surgeon.

She also had to “treble the usual order” from Freddie’s Flowers delivery service so staff, house guests and her children’s online teachers had the backdrop of a tidy room with fresh flowers.

Deprived of the food halls at Harrods, Advani had to find sustenance at the Chelsea gym, which delivered little extras such as protein shakes, artisanal coffees and snacks delivered to their doorstep.

Fortunately once the lockdown eased a little, “the many bijou boulangeries and épiceries” that dot their neighbourhood reopened and “life began to look a bit more normal”.

I’m sure we will all breathe a collective sigh at relief that Advani’s adventure is over.

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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