You're Upper Class When

gozunda

The only real 'upper class' in this country are cute hoor politicians who are paid huge salaries, get massive pensions for doing fek all and invest their money in business 'opportunities' - which they learn about whilst supposedly running the country.

But no Ireland does not have an 'upper class' of tweed - top hat wearing - holidaying in Saint Tropez types - which oddly seems to be the general impression in such discussions. Too many Downton Abbey fans who think that TV programme was made in Ireland I reckon.

Those in big houses with actual money tend to mostly be the likes of M.D. Higgins and friends.

Wibbs

There are still some small holdovers of the landed upper class here. They're quiet and in the background for the most part and for obvious historical reasons and mostly an older generation, but they're out there. I've known a few. They inhabit a weird middle zone. You can often hear that in their accents. To the average Irish person they sound "English" but to the average British person of the same class they sound "Irish".

gozunda

Wibbs wrote: »

There are still some small holdovers of the landed upper class here. They're quiet and in the background for the most part and for obvious historical reasons and mostly an older generation, but they're out there. I've known a few. They inhabit a weird middle zone. You can often hear that in their accents. To the average Irish person they sound "English" but to the average British person of the same class they sound "Irish".

True. More notions of past glories and social standing than money these days.

If the 'big house hasn't been burned down or god forbid still has a roof- its been tarted up as a noveue riche wedding venue or similar - with whatever land which was left over after the various Land Acts in the last century has been leased or planted up in totality by some commercial forestry company.

AMKC

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Your house has a name, ancient Greek or Roman.

Your child buggy is operated as an SUV with a 1k insurance value.

You have a room for your coats

Pantry in the house

Airpods.

Tall hats

Cheese

Member of the sailing club even though you don't know how to swim.


You have a gate.

My brother and my Parents have most of that but they never named there house and raising children is behind them the parents that is as they raised 6 if us. They both started off very poor from very poor families but got lucky later in life and are both retired and happy now with their lifes.
The brother has his own business but would not call himself upper class but would be more working class.

I hate all the labels can we not all just be human and all get along together?

I have an aunt an the other hand who Married a rich man who was my Godfather who was a farmer who owned a lot of land and had all that including a name to the house well before my parents but he is no longer here so the rich life can also mean a short life.

zanador

Wibbs wrote: »

There are still some small holdovers of the landed upper class here. They're quiet and in the background for the most part and for obvious historical reasons and mostly an older generation, but they're out there. I've known a few. They inhabit a weird middle zone. You can often hear that in their accents. To the average Irish person they sound "English" but to the average British person of the same class they sound "Irish".

West-brit. And they go on holiday in mayo and drive old land rovers and have grown up with horses in their fields but don't have livery they mind them themselves.

I know the owners of one of our old houses really well and they pay 2k a month for heating otherwise the house will fall apart and they're completely skint but have money in land and live off the proceeds from opening their house and gardens.

Your Face

You're upper class when an apprentice plumber calls you a West Brit.

gozunda

Your Face wrote: »

You're upper class when an apprentice plumber calls you a West Brit.

I think just about anyone can be a 'west brit' these days. Especially anyone who can't claim to be a direct descendant of padraic pearse, connelly or larkin is fair game apparently...

The new definition of upper class (ref the OP) includes among other things - having a gate and a place for your coats ...

Vita nova

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Your house has a name, ancient Greek or Roman.

...

You have a gate.

Not just any name but the name of the townland or district in which it's located or the family that has owned it for centuries. Sometimes house in the title is replaced by castle and the lands and the house/castle are often referred to as the demense or estate.

Lissadell House
Leixlip Castle (Guinness family)
Slane Castle (Mountcharles family)
Russborough House

Although in this case it's usually more landed gentry than normal upper class. Btw, they are usually very down to earth people with little very little pretension about them.

Also, you don't just have a gate, you have a gate house, which is nearly always occupied.

Harry Palmr

Have a man to post on boards for you.

NickNickleby

.... you never heard of Boards

gctest50

Your Face wrote: »

You're upper class when an apprentice plumber calls you a West Brit.

apprentice ?

When you have you have your own plumber, living in a house in one corner of the land. Kept busy by the new fangled copper piping

anewme

Vita nova wrote: »

Although in this case it's usually more landed gentry than normal upper class. Btw, they are usually very down to earth people with little very little pretension about them.
.

Agree with this. People mixing up money with class. Lots of tacky mactscks with lots of new money and think they jumped a class or a few somewhere along the way.

I'm still laughing at the OP and his gate reference.

McGinniesta

You're upper class when you can masturbate in public and people call you "eccentric".

NickNickleby

McGinniesta wrote: »

You're upper class when you can masturbate in public and people call you "eccentric".

a "friend" was it? :pac::pac::pac:

Surreptitious

You have a front row seat at Wimbledon. You wear Burbury to the races dahling. You say 'taaaraa now' to the ladies who lunch.
Your servants shine your brass for you (!).

Lucy8080

Honestly , I feel that I must protest in the strongest terms about this O.P.

The O.P. said ( and it sickens me to quote it) that "you have a gate". We have an electric gate, and depending on our judgement of who is approaching our property we can switch the current on the buzzer to let one in or keep one out!

The O.P. is in for quite a shock if they ever have the temerity to approach our gate.

Sofa King Great

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Your house has a name, ancient Greek or Roman.

Your child buggy is operated as an SUV with a 1k insurance value.

You have a room for your coats

Pantry in the house

Airpods.

Tall hats

Cheese

Member of the sailing club even though you don't know how to swim.


You have a gate.

This has to be the lowest bar for being upper class i have ever seen. .
You have a gate? A GATE?!

Also cheese? What about it? Are we talking easily singles here or a nice mont d'or from Sheridans.

And lastly it isn't a sailing club, its a yacht club.

Stovepipe

Mrsmum wrote: »

You have nothing from IKEA in your home.

As one Lord said to another, when talking about someone recently given a peerage, " Dear God, he buys his own furniture"...

the purple tin

bertiebomber wrote: »

You wear a fur coat belonging to your grandmother ( recycled ) and her pearls ( old & valuable) and you rarely buy new designer clothes and feel more at home in tweeds or a barbour and wellies than Gucci or Prada. Still have real Hermes silk scarves in your wardrobe, ancient but more valuable then the new ones. You use a bar of soap and not the plastic bottles with pumps. You dont have leather sofas in your drawing room & sometimes dont have a TV but prefer to read books. You take great joy in 'finding ' something amazing at a flea market or charity shop. Real class dont flash the cash at all they are frugal.

In other words you are stone-broke :pac:

Church on Tuesday

An ascot is essential.

Stovepipe

All of your shoes are hand made in Lobbs. When you ask a man if he shoots, it's not about holding up a shop with a sawn-off, rather it's about one's Purdeys. Your tweeds are ancient and smell of wet dog. You own proper dogs, not rug ornaments. You served in a Guards Regiment in the British Army and then went to work in a firm in the City, despite not actually needing an income. You only drive Range Rovers. You have a "small place" in Scotland (a castle on 500 acres,with shooting rights and salmon fishing). Your wife is a delightful snob from Surrey,who has never worked a day in her life, and both of you are happily cheating on each other,she with a stable hand and you with an au pair. You live in a slightly run down cottage in Ireland (only the twelve rooms,ye know)and refer to the UK as "the mainland". Your cottage has a boot room, a scullery and a pantry....you know the type.

Hyperbollix

When you're worth a lot on paper but have shag all income.

micah537

You are upper class when you own a yacht and/or private jet and have a garage of hypercars with a house in excess of 5 or 10 million.

Unfortunately in Ireland people seem to think they are upper class with just a 100k salary.

irishguitarlad

When you deny that there is a class problem.

McGinniesta

NickNickleby wrote: »

a "friend" was it? :pac::pac::pac:

Of course.

I couldn't possibly whip it out in public. I don't want to frighten people.

dxhound2005

Stovepipe wrote: »

All of your shoes are hand made in Lobbs. When you ask a man if he shoots, it's not about holding up a shop with a sawn-off, rather it's about one's Purdeys. Your tweeds are ancient and smell of wet dog. You own proper dogs, not rug ornaments. You served in a Guards Regiment in the British Army and then went to work in a firm in the City, despite not actually needing an income. You only drive Range Rovers. You have a "small place" in Scotland (a castle on 500 acres,with shooting rights and salmon fishing). Your wife is a delightful snob from Surrey,who has never worked a day in her life, and both of you are happily cheating on each other,she with a stable hand and you with an au pair. You live in a slightly run down cottage in Ireland (only the twelve rooms,ye know)and refer to the UK as "the mainland". Your cottage has a boot room, a scullery and a pantry....you know the type.

The type where the man gets a mini biography, and the woman gets one sentence.

85603

You're not receiving your package when:

Your house has a name, ancient Greek or Roman.

ExMachina1000

JayZeus wrote: »

Upper class? Must have stumbled onto some parody site. No, wait, it’s still boards.ie

You’re only upper class when society around you decide that a bollix with means is somehow better than every other bollix without.

I’ll take ‘classy’ over upper class any day. Good character, strong principles and a work ethic to drive you through tough times would leave many a man standing head and shoulders above the toss-pots the unthinking rabble would recognise as the ‘upper class’.

Sounds like someone got fired from their Dalkey pool cleaning job!

Spanish Eyes

Go away now with your notions,

Those with money are usually tight arsed anwyay and don't enjoy it much anyway and are discreet lol.

But who cares anyway. Is is jealousy or envy or what.

KungPao

...you have two Louis XIV chandeliers in your hallway.