Reflections on Friday, following Brexit

by Miranda Worley

Sitting in the quad at 8:15am on June 24th, puts me in a reflective mood....the UK sits on the brink of some very interesting times ahead.

My first thought is...PGS is very different to England.   The PGS referendum was very Remain: England is more equally divided, but Leave won. Well we know PGS is special, no one would seriously suggest PGS is reflective of the country as a whole. By and large more affluent and more educated southerners seem more pro Europe than our poorer northern countrymen. Yet this difference is quite stark this morning.  A country with such different outlooks probably due to deep seated inequality can be an uncomfortable society to live in.  It looks like Scotland and Northern Ireland, don't want to join us for this adventure.

Secondly, I see groups of PGS pupils coming together as they make their way across the quad, some are discussing Brexit, but very few are. Most are concerned with what children should really be concerned about: football, puddles, new hair-dos. Yet it is those aged under 30 who will be most affected by this seismic change. It is their futures that have now taken a new course. Opportunities closed, but opportunities opening.  I don't think I'll be emigrating in search of a better job elsewhere, but I wonder how many of my children will?

Thirdly, I'm thinking about my holiday. My pound may go less far today, my tapas and cervesa may be more expensive - will we have to holiday in the UK?  Will there be any space here with all the foreign tourists flocking here to take advantage of our cheap hospitality?

Confucius wished his enemies to live in interesting times...I think we certainly will be doing so in the next few decades. Good luck to us all.




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