to think Libby Purves is a ponce

[Coddywhump]

in teh FABBO BACK times2 they have " a letter i wish id written" and hers is to " my oxford tutor"

rollseyes

[Coddywhump]

Ok. Am ready to withdraw ponce accusation. Maybe it was the sub editor. Utterly agree re death if family member.
Still think Oxbridge types have to let you know though.

[Chil1234]

I'd much rather read Libby Purves' thoughts for an Oxford tutor than that awful woman in the Mail on Sunday magazine (name escapes me) who seems to have spent years whining on about her divorce ... BO..RING...

[clam]

I read her series of "How not to be..." and, contrary to what Bumperlicious and jillhastwoponies say, I thought she always suggested plenty of ideas for people raising children in a whole range of circumstances without being judgey. Unlike on here sometimes.
Strewth.

[bodycolder]

Have met her a couple of times at do's she seemed nice and I like her writing.oxbridge is a bit of a club so people often refer to it like that.

[WhereToStartYetAgain]

I can never be really sure but years ago when I got married and had to do a Catholic pre-marriage course, I'm pretty sure Libby was the person giving the talk on two occasions. Her views on domestic violence ("imagined" and "exaggerated") and homosexuals/civil partnership ("wrong" and "chipping away at the institution of marriage") stuck in my craw. I was told off by the pre-marriage course leader afterward for my hefty subtle rebuttals

So, I have no idea if she is a ponce, but she is (or perhaps 'was' if her views have since changed) a thoroughly judgmental and ill-informed woman.

[bodycolder]

She does harp on about mens emotional rights which is cringey

[clam]

WhereToStartYetAgain, are you sure that was her? It surprises me, if so.

[ragged]

Wow, you guys are terrific sources of goss on Radio presenters ( to be interested).

LP comes across as quite pro-gay rights in this article.
I don't care about what she says about Oxbridge tutors, but her MidWeek programme grates on my nerves badly. I also read an excerpt from one of her parenting books which put me off (can't remember what, but it was annoying).

[clam]

The thing I liked about her parenting books was that, unlike some I could mention she never imposed any one method. It was more a case of chucking in a whole load of tips she'd heard over the years from friends and colleagues and the reader could take their pick from any that appealed.

[libelulle]

Aware of being in danger of inadvertently proving your point - but as what you so pleasantly refer to as an 'Oxbridge type', I
I would never dream of mentioning my university background in casual conversation, and likewise I have no idea what university most of my 'mummy' acquaintances went to. I've been asked directly before, and thought at someone being status-obsessed enough to think that what university I went to as an undergraduate is in any way relevant to my life 15 years down the line as a SAHM in my mid-30s.

During temping jobs as an undergraduate, I used to actively lie to avoid the kind of inverted snobbery that you demonstrate - people were that rude about it.

As someone mentioned earlier, it is absurd to believe that Libby Purves would think that her most significant achievement is going to Oxbridge, rather than an illustrious and acclaimed broadcasting career spanning decades. Says more about you than about her, it really does.

[EvilAntsAndMiasmas]

I hate it when people ask me what university I went to, and get all foot-shuffley and cringey. Have never lied (thought tempted) because I imagine if/when they find out I would just look like even more a twat.

[clam]

YABU unless it's someone who casually mentions they went to Oxford, but it turns out that they actually went to Oxford Poly (or Brookes, as it's now known).

[GabbyLoggon]

well , Libby writes mainly for a middle class audience. She does not do tabloids.

She is thrusting middle class. I call her
"mrs sensible"