Yesterday's passing of the torch at 10 Downing Street from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown reminded me of a purchase I still regret passing up. It was the summer of 2000 and I was in London doing some research. On one of my breaks I wandered over to Politico's, a great political bookstore about a stone's throw from Westminster. After finding a book on the history of the Scottish National Party, I found the garden gnome of all garden gnomes - a Tony Blair garden gnome! Instantly I had grand plans of where to put Mr Garden Blair. Surely he should not be placed outside at the mercy of the elements. Instead I thought I would buy a square of fake grass and place him in a prominent place in my living room. All my plans were dashed when I picked up Mr. Garden Blair to check his price. He cost 50 pounds (a whopping 75 US dollars). That was far more cash than I could splash about on a lovely garden gnome, so I left to go back to work without Mr. Garden Blair.
