Was watching this clip, when all of a sudden: “Ey-up, I used to sit next to that lad at college.”
Could it really be true? That I recognise him just like that? Apparently so. A quick search reveals him to be exactly the chap I remember. We both studied British Government and Politics at AS Level, and he would sit on my right.
Our politics were rather different. He was from a working class background, raised on a council estate. I was from the affluent suburbs, arriving at college from private school. But he was the aspiring Tory, while I was of a New Internationalist slant.
So in our tutorials, I would rail against Michael Howard, then Home Secretary, whose policies I considered extreme. He was more fun. In self-deprecating humour, he would speak of his admiration for Ann Widdecombe — and especially her ankles!
I remember him to be a smooth operator with a quick wit, well-liked, whereas I came across as a dour reactionary, mostly despised. But then I was barely articulate then, viewed as an oddball lacking ambition or aspiration. Which, it turns out, was true.
It seems neither of us changed our politics very much through the years, though like me he embraced a different faith. There must have been something in the air. Maybe I should invite him over for a cuppa one day. Though I imagine we’d see eye to eye about as much as we did back then.
Last modified: 17 January 2024
