A Cheshire woman has described how cocaine use is 'almost de rigueur' among the county's middle-class and middle-aged residents, with users making no effort to hide their habit in upmarket bars and restaurants.
Kate Godfrey, who lives on the north-eastern edges of the county, said she witnessed a group of women, including a radio presenter, taking cocaine from a key behind a bus shelter before entering an Oasis concert at Manchester's Heaton Park. She said such behaviour is commonplace in affluent areas like Alderley Edge, Prestbury, Knutsford and Wilmslow.
Godfrey claimed that women frequently disappear to the toilets in pairs to use cocaine, returning 're-energised'. She also recounted a bar owner who insisted on 'extra strong' air conditioning in the toilets 'to blow away any powder residue'. Her daughter, a junior accountant, said she 'lost count' of colleagues offering her cocaine at company events.
The article also describes a charity fashion show at a prestigious Cheshire hotel, where models – wives of famous sportsmen – were seen sharing lines of cocaine from dressing tables between catwalk stints, with children present backstage. Godfrey said cocaine use is rampant among that circle due to its appetite-suppressing effects.
Godfrey expressed shock at the normalisation of the drug, noting that users include a barrister who nonchalantly offered to share cocaine while waiting for a taxi. She said she does not understand the appeal, adding that the drug damages skin and hair despite expensive treatments.
