Philosophy Lessons, or The Teacher's Tale

[abu nuwas]

.

Reminds me of that bit in Stephen Fry's autobiography where he 'goes up'
to Cambridge and contrasts those who are there through privilege to those 'poor' people who were not quite the right sort, and felt guilty for thinking so.

My father who was at Cambridge around 1906/08 would speak of people being derided as 'big-boot boys' by those who were the right type, that is, fee-payers. The Scholarship boys would be kitted out with solid, if unfashionable, clothing, meant to last, and some decent boots; exactly the reverse of the foppish 'necessaries' like waistcoats, and plenty of them, and fancy shoes, which the children of the gentry purchased from the local retailers. Thus the peculiar situation arose, where the brightest of the bright were looked down upon by the, er, thickos. Only later did it occur to me that my father probably had heard the phrase directed to-wards himself.

As it happened, it produced one of those golden generations to which all contributed. And now we seem to be returning to those days.

Glad you got something from it.