As the old hymn has itMatthew Parris right to have a pop at social mobility - a terrible idea in which improvement is all about the individual not the community.— Giles Fraser (@giles_fraser) January 20, 2018
The rich man in his castle
The chavs on the estate
Giles Fraser is the parson
To keep them in that state.
Want a good laugh? Want to laugh at the church? Want to be secretly suspicious that the author has been sitting in your church committee meetings taking notes? Then Writes of the Church: Gripes and grumbles of people in the pews is probably the book for you.From Amazon, Sarum Bookshop, The Bible Readers Fellowship and other good Christian bookshops. An excellent book for your churchgoing friends, relatives or vicar. By the creator of the Beaker Folk. |
Social mobility as a concept is perhaps an construct of those who suffer envy at how much others have and their desire to have their cut of that particular pie.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that I have achieved social mobility as I remain rooted firmly in the past, where cloth caps and children left outside the pub, while their parents drank inside is still my reality - I never go into pubs.
And the thought of repairing holes in shoes with a bit of cardboard remains fresh in my mind, having done so recently, when a hole appeared suddenly on a rainy morning.
However I suspect that my pretensions of no social mobility are betrayed by my mobile coffee cup carried in my battered old car (12 years old and counting) to avoid those silly plastic/cardboard things that can't be recycled.
And of course, I adopted contactless payment as it creates the illusion that I don't have any cash to spend.
Apparently that (approximately) verse of the well-known hymn has been banished from the books these days? At least, it was greeted with disconcerted distaste when I quoted it recently at a young fellow-parishioner. Personally I incline to the sentiments expressed by a character in Old Harry's Game: "I loathe the tune and the words make me want to vomit!"
ReplyDelete