Sunday 1 March 2009

Young Fogeys and chaps

Lord Bassington-Bassington’s better three-quarters, Lady Mju, has supplied him with a link to The Spectator’s elegy for the so-called Young Fogeys.

In short, the Young Fogeys were young people who wore the clothes of a bygone age, such as tweeds and old suits, and had a healthy interest in both learning and manners. The phenomenon thrived art certain English universities, reached its high points in the 1980s and now, sadly, has reached the point where The Spectator thinks that an elegy is appropriate.



(A Young Fogey on the Fogey's preferred means of conveyance)

Wikipedia has a rather good article about the phenomenon.

His Lordship wasn’t aware of this phenomenon until now, though he certainly recognizes the impulses that drove the Young Fogeys in many of his favorite bands, people and fellow canines and felines.

The Spectator’s article achieves an extra layer of charm by being from 2003, and portraying the Young Fogeys as extinct. People in a time gone by affecting the mannerisms of a time even older – how can it get better? Doubly retro. Lord Bassington-Bassington is delighted.

Like adherence to any other subculture, being a Young Fogey sounds like a lot of work. Anyway, Lord Bassington-Bassington is not a pup anymore, and claiming any label that includes the word “young” would be ridiculous. In fact, His Lordship’s first reaction at the mention of anything to do with “youth” is to growl and prepare to bash someone with his bamboo-handled umbrella.

Still, he is looking forward to stealing a style tip or two from these highly entertaining young people. So their movement is dead now? All the more reason to think that it is relevant.



Anyway, the best bits of the Young Fogeys seem to live on in The Chap, a magazine that His Lordship has been following for a while. And he has just been informed by his better three-quarters that a subscription to this excellent publication has been procured for his upcoming birthday.

1 comment:

  1. If I am His Lordship's better three-quarters and His Lordship is in return Her Ladyship's better three-quarters, how much is a Lord and a Lady in total?

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