A fairly distant member of my family collected a galaxy of glittering prizes from his university but a few of the miners in our family sometimes expressed how disconnected he was from their daily lives and conversations. Being rather impressionable I absorbed and accepted this criticism of the 'family scholar' without evaluating the merit of their point of view. Lately it has been put to me that the 'scholar' was actually a rather shy and reserved person prior to the beginning of his middle age. Could the miners not have contemplated the possibility of that? In any case could it not be that a youngish man, armed with glittering educational prizes, would find the world of the miner somewhat uninteresting?
In truth a substantial benefit from higher education ought to be a cultivated interest in, and tolerance of, all honourable people, whatever their 'station' in life, but that is easier said than done and can take time to achieve.
You will already know that family history can be a learning process and is not just a chart of names going back to Tudor times [I would be so lucky!]. Were things what they seemed to be? Are you sure?
WB
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