Vernon's Drill Co; (was Dursley's bribed?, charmed? or afraid?)

[Steve <bboy_mn@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50842

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Andrea <ra_1013 at y...> wrote:
> --- Tanya wrote:
> > Dagnabbits! I just might have to respectfully agree with you here, 
> > because I've just come across this passage (PoA/2) that reads:
> > 
> > "...Uncle Vernon bored them all with a long talk about Grunnings, 
> > his drill-making company..."
> > 
> > *respectful grumbling* I concede.
> > -end this part-

> Andrea replies
> 
> Wait a minute, Tanya, there's no need to go throwing in the towel 
> just yet!  
> 
> I ... submit, ... owning a company does not mean one is
>  automatically disgustingly wealthy with a huge house.  ...edited..
>  So I don't think it's necessarily a given that Vernon either IS
> or ISN'T the owner of Grunnings.  ...  He's definitely upper 
> management at the least, though.
> 
> 
> 
> Andrea

bboy_mn:
Given what Ali said about the use of the term 'Director' in the UK,
and looking at Dudley's birthday gifts, which I estimate at between
us$800 and us$1,000, I'm inclined to give Vernon a promotion. He is
not longer management but an executive; probably the equivalent of a
vice president.

One thing that throws off my preception is real estate. In the US most
house are built out of wood; wood exteriors. In Europe, houses are
build out of stone, mortar (stucco,...), and brick. Europeans build
there houses with the intent that they last 500 years. In the US,
houses are typically built with the expectation of them lasting 100
years. Since it's relatively cheap to build a house in the US compared
to UK, you can get a lot more house for your money.

So the description of the Dursley house doesn't strike me as an
executive's house, BUT I readily admit that my view is very distorted
having never been in the UK. Just for reference, here is a link to the
new house Rupert Grint's family bought, and a picture of their old house.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003001703,00.html

Again, this is just a reference point to use to judge the Dursley's
lifestyle. Their (Grint's) old house sold for £200,000 ($327,000), to
my USA eyes that doesn't look like a +$300,000 house. Their new house
was £600,000 ($982,000); that house is a tougher call. It's on a
private island with 6 other houses, five bedrooms, two car garage,
nice plot of land, and generally pretty nice, but nearly a million
dollars seem to be pushing it. As a side note: frequently modest
looking houses can be very expensive, do to a lot of luxury
contruction and fixtures inside. ("Don't judge a book (or house) by
it's cover.")

So, with my limited knowledge of the UK, tempered by my general
knowledge that real estate is very expensive in England, the Dursley's
house is probably appropriate for a person on a significant executive
salary. Also, as I think about it, they might give a company car to an
executive, but less likely to a manager.

I still don't see Vernon as the owner to the company, but as Andrea
pointed out, there is no way I can prove that. But, in light of this
discussion, I have to say my position is weakening.

bboy_mn