writes.casaFishing for success
My great grandfather’s pub in Grimsby had been in the family for generations. One of his sons broke the mould by becoming a pharmacist and moved south to the wealthier snobbier ‘home counties’. After fighting in a war to end all wars business was good. So good he sent his sons to a boarding school because the English mark of success is having to see your kids as little as possible. Their reward was having to fight in a *second* war to end all wars.
Only one of them, my dad, made it through that one. His snobbery emerged more unscathed than he. But the business he went on to found did not, and knowing the difference between U and non-U was no help at all. Luckily, council housing saved our fall. And we showed our gratitude by voting for the woman who sold it all off.
I began to see that this smelled fishy, but a decade later there were dazzling new schools of digital fish to trawl in the internet. Sadly, the virtual was physical too, and the ‘progress’ had been but a red herring.
Only one of them, my dad, made it through that one. His snobbery emerged more unscathed than he. But the business he went on to found did not, and knowing the difference between U and non-U was no help at all. Luckily, council housing saved our fall. And we showed our gratitude by voting for the woman who sold it all off.
I began to see that this smelled fishy, but a decade later there were dazzling new schools of digital fish to trawl in the internet. Sadly, the virtual was physical too, and the ‘progress’ had been but a red herring.
— urlyman