Middle class tribe - ever get on your nerves - light hearted rant 😄

[ginorwine]

I live in a middle class area which is dominated by lecturers , gp s , social workers etc -my Dh fits into that catagory and I am an x that catagory .
It's a really pretty area and the kids roam between houses etc
Recently - I seem to be a little irritated by its predictability and 'niceness '- tho am aware it's a good area I really am .
I'm
Grumpy menopausal creature at present !
The paint work is mainly Farrell and ball, same kitchen appliances , similar dress code .etc . Whilst I too have Farrell n ball in one room and may therefore fit into the cliche myself (!) I'm becoming quite amused by it all in a way but don't know why .Part of me loves it part of me wants to say rude words and act up and be a Harridan !
Why do we follow these 'tribal 'things ? .the estate agent once reffered to the area as all lentil s and lintels . 😃

Daisygarden:
Yes that's all well and good BUT why ruin your point by having to add that you are "personally familiar with these things"?!

Hilarious!

Check this. No link available. Sorry.

What does YOUR home say about your social class? Etiquette expert reveals the 12 items you should never own - including coasters, wall-to-wall carpets and a hot tub

By William Hanson For Mailonline
10:25 18 Apr 2016, updated 11:10 19 Apr 2016

Big television

The size of a house's main television is pretty much the acid test in social class. The bigger the television the more downmarket the establishment. Big is NOT beautiful.

Although the aristocracy is now prone to plonking a plasma, unashamedly, in the middle of a room, it should never be larger than 38 inches and definitely not the latest technology available +16
Although the aristocracy is now prone to plonking a plasma, unashamedly, in the middle of a room, it should never be larger than 38 inches and definitely not the latest technology available
Although the aristocracy is now prone to plonking a plasma, unashamedly, in the middle of a room where the walls are bedecked with Titians and Tintorettos, it is never any larger than 38 or so inches and definitely not the latest technology available.

Mirrored furniture

Mirrored furniture is not only redolent of the lower echelons of the premier league but stunningly impractical.

The upkeep and effort it requires is too much to even think about. Who wants to spend every moment polishing and buffing glass?

Oak or mahogany furniture, slightly chipped or worn in places, is far smarter and carries more cachet.

Yay, I've got coasters and fitted carpets in the master bedroom and two main reception rooms . The coasters protect the coffee tables.

What's that about the big television ailith ?

Not quite sure that you got your message across properly. 42 inches is it?

Wall-to-wall carpets

Although carpets are being adopted a little more by the upper crust, they generally still prefer a wood floor, covered with a threadbare rug or two.

If you have carpets, please let them not have too thick a pile.

We bought 250yr old grade 2 listed building and the first thing we did was to rip out the hot tub!!

Oops! That will teach me to proofread!

My son goes to a school where a lot of MC parents try to be UC and they ha a become very unpleasant people. Fuck off with your cupboard full of Teapigs of every flavour. Give me a cup of builders and stop sneering at everyone.

I bought the Elle decor magazine £10 holiday homes sorry homes in the country. Lovrely pics but it just shows how we are all sheep following a trend dreamt up to make us spend our money on the latest bollox style.
I have lived abroad and think that that makes me less impressed anyone can have 'flair' if they have enough money to blow on it- fewer have originality.

The upper classes as described above are thin on the ground now , round here, they might appear once a year for a spot of shooting and maybe xmas ( think cold mansion in the middle of nowhere). Otherwise are in London, Paris Hongkong wherever their family's stash is invested.

Money does not equal class. Living in a smart McMansion with a white Range Rover Evoque on the drive is terribly Footballers' Wives, rather than terribly middle class.

I know the difference because I grew up in a Seventies McMansion (we had an en suite, double garage and wall to wall shag-pile carpets)...

Whereas, my best friend is genuinely (probably) upper middle class. Grew up in a huge period manor house (that was always freezing) with a slightly overgrown croquet lawn and stables that were falling down.

This class stuff is so completely British. It's hilarious!

Bye the by...I also heartily recommend HRT, I've been on it for 3 months now and it's like taking the Elixir of Youth

No more aches and pains in the morning, hair soft and glossy, skin silky smooth and glowing (well, kinda).

Fabulous stuff

old television set, faded carpets and upholstered furnishings, inherited good quality furniture, Barbour jackets, old wellies, very old Landrovers which will be muddy and shabby, lots of dogs, dressing for dinner, education truly valued, masses of decent books, jumpers and pearls, tweed... In a word - style.

Those ghastly identikit modern extensions and the wall to wall inability to prove any sort of independent thinking or choices or style - that is not classy. Being properly classy is about not trying too hard and being inclusive. Being properly classy is having excellent manners and being friendly or eccentric.
But ailith You're just comparing one uniform look to another!

That puff looks really yum. The cakes in Greggs always seem rank to me. Is that fresh cream?

I went to school with a girl who was from a very middle class background. Land owners, an extensive portfolio of properties in very expensive areas etc. They came across as piss poor though. I remember being invited to her house after school and her mum announced "as a treat we will have hot buttered toast for dinner". Their car was a 30 year old imported from the Gulf States (where they spent time living) which couldn't go up hills because the engine was seizing. I have never seen a house with so much mismatched furniture. There were at least 10 coffee tables in the average sized living room that were filled with magazines and books. The mum constantly was aghast at the price of everything. My friend thought they were really poor and used to say I was from a privileged background because we went out for dinner once I became good friends with her (although her parents strongly disapproved because I was from a "broken home" ) and I could write a book on the mother's eccentricity; i have never seen anything like it!

Overheard in Waitrose or Organic Quinoa people
Love it!

These terms pretty much describes my neighbourhood so I'm gonna adopt them. Fantastic.

Things the Organic Quinoas spend money on:

• Their kids bikes
• Campaigns, political engagement and crowdfunding (for things like bike paths and green spaces...)
• 'Experiences'
• Art
• Organic or 'artisanal' food
• Renovations
• Cloth nappies, merino clothing, artisan spanish sandals
• Second-hand Landrovers, Audis and Skodas

Things the Organic Quinoas don't spend their money on:

• New children's clothing
• Gaming devices
• Sugary cereals
• Large televisions
• Sporting events
• Brand new houses

It's funny to observe it happening. I don't think being sneery helps. Look to what these people are doing, find a way to deliver it to the masses, make a buck. The masses will adopt, the trend-setters will move on to the next thing. It's the way of the world.

BTW oak furniture is nice but to be truly Organic Quinoa you need to have a restored MidCentury Modern piece or two.

I've witnessed children fighting over a raw fish based snacks like they were chocolate buttons . Parents very proud indeed.

My kids' school has sushi as the only bought lunch option, with seaweed salad as the snack option. In compostable packaging, of course. In my day you used to be able to buy a pie and a doughnut....

I live in Spain so don't have much experience of this kind of thing but I have seen enough on my return visits to London to recognise what you're all describing.

paxillin I find that hilarious! In Spain, most children eat exactly what adults eat and no one finds that weird or worth mentioning. I think it's always been the case. English friends, on the other hand, are tripping over themselves to stealth-boast about how little Theo keeps asking for olives and Olivia refuses Dairylea triangles because her favourite food is organic goat's cheese. In Spain, they would get a "so what?" or "that must be expensive" in return at best.

LockedOutOfMN I bet most UK children really eat what their parents eat, too, which is why they prefer chips to quinoa . I believe chips outsell quinoa even in mc areas.

green18:

Erm...no I'm not. I am pointing out that upper class people do not try too hard yet pull the superiority thing off whereas some members of the middle class compete like crazy to be superior and yet are doomed to failure.