"Trendy" Toffs

[CCArchive]

Some of my extended family live in one of the most sought after places to live in the countryside. I went to their local pub for a drink where it used to be full of salt of the earth working people, local farmers, country people etc but now its wall to wall toffs, many of whom in their 20s or 30s who work in London and presumably have second homes in the country or just socialise in the country. The pub was bought by a squillionare's wife who made everything expensive so the result is now when you go in there you are greeted by screeching plummy voices across the room "Tim! Tim! Rupert!" etc etc. These people don't actually live in the village, they come from surrounding villages and they all meet up in this one pub on Friday nights and Sundays. Since when did it become "cool" to be in the countryside and be a toff? As the columnist Cristina Odone said in the Daily Telegraph, the rich used to live in the country and socialise and meet up in the towns and cities. Young people are supposed to aspire to be urban sophisticates. These people are changing the character of the countryside for the worse.