Since my recent posting on the subject, I keep coming across stories about people wearing pyjamas (or pajamas as they say out here) in public. The latest item was on NPR this morning, warning visitors to the Shanghai Expo not to gad about in their nightwear unless they fancy being arrested by the Pajama Police.
An Op-Ed in The New York Times expands upon the subject:
"Catchy red signs reading “Pajamas don’t go out of the door; be a civilized resident for the Expo” are posted throughout the city. Volunteer “pajama policemen” patrol the neighborhoods, telling pajama wearers to go home and change. Celebrities and socialites appear on TV to promote the idea that sleepwear in public is “backward” and “uncivilized.”
The article continues:
"Mr. and Mrs. Wang, who lived on the street where I grew up in Shanghai, used to stroll after dinner in their pajamas — nice matching costumes for a loving couple, now that I think about it. Then Mr. Wang would go out to buy cigarettes. In the mornings, Mrs. Wang, still in her pajamas, would dash to a street stall to pick up sheng jian (fried buns) for breakfast."
The similarities with the BBC item made me smile - Mr. Wang is the Chinese equivalent of the Welsh woman 'popping out for a pack of fags'.Shanghai. The Cardiff of China.
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