Not content with being Britain's self-appointed "fourth emergency service" the AA has decided to have a go at social anthropology. The insurance arm of the company has commissioned what it calls a "unique" social study of its customers who live in 15 Acacia Avenues across England and Wales.
The survey sounds a good wheeze. Acacia Avenue has become synonymous with suburbia. So what riveting insights has it uncovered about Middle Britain? Well, on the face of it none - unless it's meant to confirm the stereotype of suburban banality. The AA's press release tells us that a fifth of those polled have a shed and one in 10 own a garden gnome. Their most popular meal is fish and chips and their favourite holiday destination is Spain. I don't think the makers of the Up documentary series need lose any sleep.
But browsing the Acacia Avenue website, which has rather scant profiles of the residents polled, does uncover a few gems. Alan and Jennifer Reynolds sunbathe naked in their garden in Acacia Avenue, Verwood. While Jane Nichol, who lives with her partner Malcolm on Acacia Avenue, Port Talbot, seems to reveal more than she realises with this comment: "I wouldn't say we socialise with the other four houses, but if they are having a barbeque they would pass stuff over the wall." Charming. Do they post their leftovers through the letterbox as well?
Other participants may come to regret some of their disclosures. Mrs Micklewright, 73, of Acacia Avenue, Eastcote, says she only started locking the door to her house in the late 1980s. Let's hope she isn't burgled anytime soon, as that comment may not help her insurance claim.
