SO, HOW POSH ARE YOU?
Society magazine reveals Covid dos and don’ts for toffs
THERE are few among us who have not had to endure drastic lifestyle changes this year.
Now Tatler has helpfully come to the aid of the upper classes by compiling guidelines on how to be posh in the world of Covid.
Among the toff dos listed by the magazine’s etiquette specialists are separate bathrooms for couples, pen pals and paying for a hospital wing.
The don’ts include sharing lipstick – or spouses – and allowing dogs, be they pedigree spaniels, terriers or corgis, to jump on your bed.
The October edition of the society bible warns: “A pandemic can turn even the strictest rules on their heads.”
Using labels coined by Nancy Mitford in the 1950s, acceptable habits are seen as “U” for upper class while “Non- U” denotes aspiring middle- class. These include having a dirty kitchen or plunging into a hot tub on skiing holidays.
Using Ocado and hugging your parents is also a sniffy Non- U, but having live- in staff and a driver, Zoomcalling your therapist and holidaying in Britain is reassuringly U.
The tongue- in- cheek guide announced: “Live- in staff are now practically a prerequisite for the muchdreaded second wave, particularly if they also happen to be trained hairdressers.” It also suggests that asking friends to take their shoes off when they visit is not the done thing.
Anyone from the higher echelons who has taken to two wheels during the crisis is said to “bike” to their destination rather than “cycle”.
Talking about your anti- body test results, wearing a homemade floral mask, eating tapas and decorating are all considered Non- U.
But Gavin Rankin, owner of Bellamy’s, an exclusive London restaurant said to be one of the Queen’s favourites, told Tatler that fans would come back in fashion as a kind of face shield.
He also suggested leaning in at dinner is a “no- no”, and predicted that hugging will be replaced by the much safer air- kissing.
The magazine says keeping chickens and knowing someone who is working on the vaccine are to be considered acceptably U. It adds that high society women should do their own nails, and that foreign weddings and using a hanky in place of a tissue are out.
SOCIETY bible Tatler has provided a guide so the upper classes can still be posh in the post- pandemic world. Allowing your corgi to jump on your bed is strictly out, but it gives the thumbs- up to having a live- in member of staff who is also a trained hairdresser.
It is not just aristocrats who struggle to make sense of a transformed country. All of us are trying to figure out how we should greet people now that handshakes are not an option. Britons of all backgrounds are famed for their warmth of welcome, helpful courtesy and friendly decency.
The world is in a state of flux but our best values will survive and thrive.