The saying ”Keeping up with the Joneses” could not have been more apt on Friday as hundreds of Joneses from around the globe headed to Cardiff to set a new world record.
Joneses from as far afield as the United States and Australia have travelled to the Welsh capital to beat the current world record for a gathering of people with the same family name.
The Welsh attempt hopes to attract up to 2 000 Joneses to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff where everyone will be entertained by singers and dancers — all called Jones of course, including Grace Jones who is set to headline the show.
The current record for a gathering of people with the same name is 583 Norbergs in Sweden.
”We are hoping to consign the Norbergs to world dustbin record history,” said Dylan Hughes, the organiser of the Jones extravaganza
”I think Grace Jones is around somewhere but we haven’t seen her yet, because she is quite an elusive Jones to pin down … she will be headlining tonight,” Hughes told BBC television.
He said Joneses from around the world had been prompted to fly in after international media picked up on the event.
Jones as a surname is common in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The name is generally considered to be derived from the term ”Son of John”.
It is the most common surname in Wales and in previous generations was so ubiquitous in the small valley communities that locals had to be distinguished by their their trade or profession such as ”Jones the baker” or ”Jones the butcher”.
The name has become so prevalent in the English-speaking world that the phrase ”keeping up with the Joneses” — which refers to someone trying to maintain the same social status as their neighbours or contemporaries — is widely understood. – Reuters