The Midlife Manual by John O'Connell

Author:John O'Connell [John O'connell and Jessica Cargill Thompson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781907595301
Publisher: Short Books
Published: 2010-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

SUBURBIA

In your disaffected youth, the suburbs signified everything you wanted to rebel against, particularly if you lived in them. Conformity and uniformity reigned over the houses, the streets, the people; the jobs they did and the views they held. At the time, you were with Paul Weller (or XTC, or Blur) and Julian Barnes (or Hanif Kureishi, or Richard Ford) – raging against the tedium of it all, desperate to escape from the land of Terry and June and Abigail’s Party.

Only now do you appreciate the masterpieces of town planning that are Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City. Besides, it’s quite nice to have a garden. And a shed. And a drive. And a bit of peace and quiet. And you’ve been able to buy a whole house for what you got for your Fulham flat.

People can mock all they like, but you’re not going to be like your parents, trimming the privet and washing the car at the weekends, sipping sweet sherry with the neighbours. You’re going to live!

Mind you, aren’t you just so tired at the weekends? You’re commuting all week, so you really don’t want to go into town on your day off. You just want to put your feet up. Or go for a gentle walk. And the car is looking a bit grubby. All the green space is such a relief. It’s almost like being in the country. Almost.

The schools are good, so that’s a weight off your mind. With a little help from a private tutor, the kids are bound to get into St Swithin’s.

And don’t think the city is the only place you can get culture. There’s a characterful little gallery run by two nice women. One does pots, the other watercolours. They serve teas, too. And the Mundania Players put on what everyone agreed was a really good version of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing last month. One of the cast actually used to be an actor…

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