rockfreak wrote:Freaky strikes again. Another letter in the Grauniad today (Saturday 19). Well not directly about politics but titled "Pop culture is a rich kids' playground". All those well-funded arts and music facilities are seeing the public school mob invading the territory originally occupied by people from the state system. Will this trend mean that the vitality given to pop culture in the post war years by youngsters who had one foot in the street and the other in art school gradually be drained away? No Braine, Sillitoe or Delaney? No Bailey or Terry O'Neill? No Stamp, Caine or Finney? No Beatles or punk? In the end I guess this issue is political.
What bunkum again, freaky. Yes, you, I and other participants in this forum may be ex public school but we all started off common as muck. Just like the beatles a fair number of us have done reasonably well and above our original childhood norm. Given that this country is for everyone who resides here - Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Moslem, yellow, black, white (and in-between) and everyone not thus included why should we, brought up in the back streets of some godforsaken smoky town be excluded°°°. The only difference is that at least my generation learned discipline, hard work and some patience which is lacking in state schools.
In history it was the rich who fostered the arts - now state school output are invading what was a public school sector but do we complain about them? No way, José. We seem to pay for them, and personally, I reckon we get a raw deal (I am a failed watercolour artist who CH didn't help)
Yes, CH HAS supplied OBs renowned in the classical music scene, in pop music, in painting, pottery, writing and so forth but, given our origins, are we truly
INVADING the scene of those we were originally brought up with? Are we any different to them? We did not get silver spoons at birth - just a smack on the arse like any and every other baby.
°°° Did I get that wrong? Were there trees within three miles of where you were brought up - then perhaps you were lucky and didn't have two shoeless feet on the cobbles