Much ado about matches – doing, the feats of a lion.

Posted on March 22, 2022 by tatejoris — Leave a comment

Like millions of other folks in southern Africa I’m sure, I’ve been using Lion matches for all of my adult life! Accordingly, I’ve become somewhat irritated in the past year or so by the degradation of your matches, boxes and their flint/strike pads! And please don’t blame a virus with Chinese origins!

Firstly, the range of thickness and quality of the matches have diversified considerably; boxes with some matches so thin or broken they’re unusable. It would appear that the match heads themselves have also become suspiciously harder to strike *and* extinguish; and this is not the onset of early dementia speaking!

Secondly, as clearly seen in the attached photo, the flint/strike pad has also deteriorated to such an extent that they become useless before half the matches have been used.

Thirdly, you’ve apparently stopped printing the cool ideas, fun facts and cautionary notes on the backs of your match boxes! In so doing you have managed to spoil the reading culture and fire-safety conscience of millions of young boys and girls to come! And thus, only Chappies bubblegum wrappers shall remain to defend this important “before Google” skill, at the sugary expense of teeth and pancreas.

Fourthly, and perhaps the most aggravating development in these deteriorating times, is the increasing incidence of odd matches packed upside down – there’s nothing worse than trying to light a gas stove in the dark with the wrong end of a matchstick!

Lastly, the cardboard material of the box has thinned considerably; so much so that I can no longer gauge the timing gap of my trusty old Lister engine’s rocker arm valve stroke with the edge of the matchbox’s flint backing board (circled in the photo)! I now also have to keep a specialised feeler gauge in my toolbox.

I suspect that your company has felt the same economic pinch so many of us have experienced in the past few years. However, I do think your quality control measures have been neglected (sabotaged?) by your senior staff for some time now. May I suggest that you encourage your shareholders to avoid the pitfalls of monopolistic safety match leanings – there are plenty of redheads willing to make a strike worth it, if you catch my drift.

For your convenience I include the barcode of the packaging used for my latest (last?) set of Lion matches.

Sincerely

Joris Komen
https://tatejoris.wordpress.com