Raw

Caroline just took off Basil's collar to brush him, called it jewellery, I called it bling. She'd not heard the word. A quick image search put that right, along with a visit to Wikipedia which offers the following treasure:

As the term "bling bling" became more popular, especially among those ignorant of hip hop culture, the need for a more inclusive and dynamic definition arose. Thus today "bling bling" can be described as the external manifestation of one's interior state of character normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli.

Later in the entry it says: " For comparison, see chav ". Caro hadn't heard that one either, so off we went. The "Elements of the Stereotype" is pretty good, and it's rather charming to find that sad mezzo-journo Julie Burchill associating herself with something naff. (If anyone is in need of a Croydon facelift it's her). But the nearest this entry gets to the depth of the bling piece is the following:

Chavs often smell

Culture, innit. I did learn something though, I never realised Vicky Pollard was from Bristol. "She has had at least 13 children... (one was exchanged for a Westlife CD...)"