Posh Frocks and Pop Socks

A rant with a social (I believe) point in it.

So.

Today, like most Tuesdays these days, Man Wonderful et moi took the young lad AKA the smallest grandchild out for some R&R (Reasoning and Rebellion: they are never too young....) to a local indoor squidgy play space.
This one is small, relatively fragrant, kept v clean, and has more-than-reasonable-level toilets and a damn fine coffee bar attached.
As usual I took my knitting, and sat with shoes off and teacup to-the-brim as we watched young lad play, explore and generally exercise safely.
And as usual the other grown-ups were, for the most part, attentive to their small charges and to their chums or fellow mums in equal measures.


Now this little play centre is very near a quite nice garden centre. Which is adjacent to a picturesque little town. (It's a Very middle-class area.) 
And because it's in (a Very middle class area) you tend to get (Very middle class) people.
Which is. 
You know. 
Nice.
And there's a sort of standard.

An unspoken one.
A sort of - you know what you should be doing/talking about/dressing like - unspoken standard.
I mean there's lots of people who look 'nicer' than just, "Oh let's go to the play area...ok I'll just grab my jacket." 
Y'know?
There's young mums in full make up. And not too much, like interview make up, not nightclub make up.


With nails done and hair up. And pop socks under their nice slacks.
To go to the play area.
So anyway, you get the picture of the nice (Very middle class) play area..

And there, sat playing on his mobile phone, was a man, a dad of a youngling.
And he was wearing - I promise you no exaggeration - a 
baseball cap, a t-shirt with a large slogan on it, an Overshirt borrowed - in all probability - from a lumberjack, RED AND WHITE PATTERNED baseball boots, and what I believe to be tracksuit bottoms - but the arse of these trousers was where any sane person would have the knees. 

Now I'm not saying you should wear a dinner suit to go to a garden centre: but the role of the "adult" - and I use the phrase gingerly here - is to set a standard, to be a role model, non?

Well it may come as a surprise that when one is spectator to a few under-fives jumping inside a padded ball pool, one is not going to EVER be asked to act as a sub in a game of bloody basketball!

Rant over.

I think, for now anyway. 

Until next time, xxxxx