Posted by John Wilson on November 21, 2002 at 10:13:03 from 202.154.130.161 user hugo.
In Reply to: Re: George Owdon's 'class' posted by Peter H on November 18, 2002 at 21:52:17:
I presumed that the Swallows and Ds were going to boarding schools from the references at the beginning of several books to them coming from “their schools” plural, ie they went to different schools.
And as someone said, one book (SD?) refers to the Amazons not seeing the GA if she only came in term-time in future, as they are away at school in term-time. Hence, like the others in WH, they would have had to send in certificates to the school too.
But Roger, at 7 in SA seems rather young to be going to boarding school. I gather some 7 & 8 year-old boys went to prep-schools, but I though that was only horrible upper-class people like Winston Churchill’s parents who could not be bothered looking after their offspring (even with the help of nannies!)
John says in WH that the month’s quarantine could reduce his chances of getting into the First Fifteen, ie he is at a rugby-football playing school. And he must be among the seniors to be in line for the First Fifteen; so he is not yet at a Grammar School where a 12 or 13 year old would not be in the top team with 17 or 18 year old seniors?
Captain (?) Walker, Professor Callum, Dr Dudgeon and Mr Farland are all busy working, even if they all have respectable middle-class jobs. Jim Turner and Molly Blackett are the only parents (in loco ..... for Captain Flint of course) who are part of the idle rich, or at least the idle gentry. I suppose that the family owned some of the local farms.