Boris

I was going to write a bit about the problem with the Tories who are in power right now and why they hate the EU. My own theory is that none of them have ever lived anywhere else but England - in fact, most of them have never lived outside the south-east of England and that little bubble of middle class life that the wealth of that region can offer.

For most Tory politicians in Westminster, the idea that there are places in the UK that are closer to Norway or to Ireland than they are to London, or that there are quite a few languages spoken in these islands that are not English but are still definitely 'native' languages probably comes as a shock. Witness the confusion of MPs in Westminster faced with the constituency of Na h-Eilanan an Iar in a recent debate on refugees. A bit like the amazement some Tories experience when they find out real people live in the Highlands - as against tourists and land owners.

But then I googled Boris Johnson and lighted on his wikipedia page. On paper, Boris had a wonderful international early life: born in New York, attended a range of exclusive schools like the European School of Brussels and Eton College. Parents very well off. Ancestry Circassian-Turkish, German, French and English. His name is in fact Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. He chose to be called Boris when he went to Eton.

But honestly, he's a poor soul.

With a father who was an aspiring academic (for a long time) and a mother with mental health problems, he and his siblings were mostly brought up by au pairs or in boarding school. They moved constantly between England and the USA, till they settled 'in the family farm' near Cheltenham and then in London and then Brussels. Boris also had health issues. When he went to Eton on a scholarship, reports complained about his idleness, complacency, and lateness. Given his background, I'm surprised he could function at all. In fact, if his family wasn't so posh, the Social Workers would have been in.

He went to Oxford and studied Classics. I wonder if that included any part of Roman or Greek history or philosophy that could equip him for his current job as Foreign Secretary. Doesn't look like it.

So in answer to my original question to myself that started this post off: would travel have broadened the minds of the Tories currently in power? The answer has to be:  you can only get out of the bubble if you leave the bubble behind you. Poor Boris and family obviously never did.