Jilly Cooper

Oh go on petallus

In for a penny..................

And some of our best writers were from working class families

By my standards JC has been hugely privileged from the start. However, if it was your normal experience to have been to a good public school you might not think this was the case.

A lot of writers (especially in the past) have been from that class which did not have to work and who kept servants for day to day chores.

I wrote a poem on this very topic a few years ago when I was doing a poetry writing course. It was written from the point of view of Wordsworth's maid.

I am only just restraining myself from attaching it (through timidity)

What is your point Petallus?

Valid point !!! think I might have one , as now heard DD and DG"S arrived safely in France

Jilly's father was a brigadier and she went to a good public school.

Her plummy accent makes Prince Charles sound common

Whether or not you think she is from a privileged background depends on what you have experienced yourself I expect.

I don't think Jilly Cooper had a hugely privileged life before she became famous. She had a middle class upbringing but went to a secretarial school, not university. She had to work her way up from being a cub reporter so surely her success is down to hard work and not privilege. I read somewhere that she supported her husband for a long time during the early years of their marriage because his publishing firm had gone bankrupt. She also suffered the heartache of not being able to have children until they were able to adopt.
I'm sure everything JC writes is tongue in cheek. She won't care what people think of her grandparenting skills because she's always been eccentric.

kitty I agree I did like Jilly Cooper's articles in those days,they were fresh and funny. As to this article, she has a book to promote and publicity is what it's about. I still quite like her, but wouldn't pay any attention to what she says, sh e is a relic of the past and, in her time was a witty and amusing writer.

It's a bit like saying "The harder I work, the luckier I get"

Absolutely

Would you say Barbara Cartland had a privileged lifestyle?

I was wondering that too, ella

Regarding JC's "privileged lifestyle" she's been writing books and articles for years,doesn't that count as working for a living?

Annobel !

Still agree with u Jane

That hair is not styled - not in any era!

I agree - the article was only about JC and her family dynamics - she wasn't giving any opinion as to whether her way was good, bad or indifferent. There have been many far more controversial articles on grandparenting!

Sorry to be long-winded. It's taking my brain a while to get there is all!

What I'm finally getting to is that I'm not sure if "out of date" is relevant. Ways, or styles, of parenting and grandparenting are as varied as ever and constantly changing. I don't think JC was saying hers was the only way or even a good way, just the way she does it. That's what I liked about the article, plus the clear message that if grans don't want to be nannies (for whatever reason), they don't have to feel guilty about it.

I've just had another look too - I can't really say that hairstyle shouts any era to me! It just looks like rather wiry grey hair that she doesn't bother too much about!

Just had another look at the picture with the article. You can tell how lacking in knowledge about fashion I am, because I would never have known that was a 70's hairstyle without being told. Hey ho. Was wearing my hair in plaits then, sometimes wrapped around my head.

Anyway, I've learned something today already. Bonus! gransnet.

OK, jane. I think there is still that pressure, though, at least in some circles, and I still don't think commenting on a hairstyle is relevant to the issue. Have a good day out

Seems I have repeated what jane just said

I find her views amusing as (to me) they resemble the rather anachronistic views of the old ruling class. They have no relevance to me as her life experience, past and present, bear no resemblance to how I had to bring up my children or to the circumstances in which they are bringing up their children. I certainly don't envy her privileged background - I think she has had her own problems. I love looking after my grandson, I do it willingly, and I love the relationship we have - each to their own.

Bags I wasn't 'judging' JC on her hairstyle. I merely meant that it was out-of date, and unflattering.
I agree with you that we should all do what suits us - but that wasn't what JC was saying, and it wasn't the view in the 70s, when there was a lot of pressure on women to conform to the idea of 'having it all'.
Anagram I think she has had a privileged life, and her views are irrelevant to the many, perhaps the majority, of young families who are struggling financially and rely on grandparents for support.
Anyway I'm off out now

In short, as so often, there isn't a right way to be a grandparent. There are thousands of right ways. If what JC does suits her and her extended family, that's fine. No need to "take sides" or make derogatory comments about her hairstyle. That's irrelevant.