I spent years with an upper class hunk - watching Disney's Rivals reminds me why I'm glad I didn't 'marry up' and wed a normal man instead!

My caller boyfriend's granny settled herself into her armchair, poured maine a hefty solid of azygous malt, and leaned successful for a 'little chat'.

'So archer me, my dear,' she said, taking my manus successful her gnarly, bejewelled one. 'Do you young ladies inactive thrust broadside saddle nowadays?'

I astir spat my portion into my glass, arsenic my fellow guffawed into the bookcase. She wasn't being mischievous, she genuinely wanted to beryllium brought up to velocity connected the preferred riding benignant of women successful their 20s, arsenic things had 'moved connected truthful overmuch since she was a debutante'. She considered it a worthy speech opener with her grandson's latest flame.

I didn't person the bosom to archer her that I didn't thrust broadside saddle, oregon immoderate saddle. I'd ne'er truly ridden a horse, unless being led astride a pony, aged ten, connected a camping vacation successful Wales counted. The closest I'd ever got to equine riding was going to the bookies, connected behalf of my granddad, to spot a bet.

In the extremity I simply went on with it, for the sport: 'No, I don't,' I said successful a dependable that didn't dependable similar mine. 'And a jolly bully happening too, it looks frightfully uncomfortable,' arsenic my fellow backed retired the room, doubled up with laughter.

Oh, however I adored 'Posh Granny'. She ne'er failed to punctual maine of the wholly antithetic satellite I'd stepped into during the 2 years erstwhile I – a working-class, comprehensive-educated miss from a grotty seaside municipality successful the southbound of England – dated a Debrett's-listed subordinate of the aristocracy, successful the aboriginal 1990s.

It's a satellite that immoderate are enjoying with the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's outrageous 1988 'bonkbuster' Rivals, which explores the machinations and pleasures of the affluent horsey set.

Although I can't accidental I ever played bare tennis with a Conservative minister, oregon joined the Mile High Club connected Concorde a la Rivals, it was an interesting, fun-filled 2 years that yet ended with america going backmost to our respective worlds.

He accepted a occupation abroad, which enactment america successful an intolerable position. To articulation him, for visa reasons, I would person had to wed him, and I deliberation some of america realised that wasn't thing that would work.

Yet why? These were the expected glory days of societal mobility. Just a twelvemonth earlier, successful 1990, southbound London grammar schoolhouse lad John Major had entered Downing Street promising a 'classless society'.

Ultimately, however, my ex and I simply were not compatible. It went mode beyond 'napkin not serviette' niceties, our antithetic backgrounds meant we were truthful retired of sync connected galore cardinal issues.

Dating extracurricular one's people shouldn't matter, but sadly it usually ever does – adjacent if cipher likes to admit it.

Statistics thin to backmost up however overmuch people is inactive softly astatine the controls successful the UK. Those who thought narration people issues were confined to Austen's time, volition beryllium amazed to perceive that adjacent today, radical thin to wed their ain kind.

A study by Institute for Public Policy Research showed that 45 per cent of women calved successful 1970 joined idiosyncratic from the aforesaid societal people arsenic them. Thirty-two per cent 'married up' and 23 per cent joined down. A procreation later, the archetypal fig was up to 56 per cent – with conscionable 16 per cent 'going up' and 28 per cent lowering their sights.

My ex and I had met astatine enactment – that large leveller – though helium arrived with an costly acquisition and a cut-glass accent. What attracted america was good-old chemistry. I'd ne'er met anyone similar him before, whereas his household had lone ever employed radical similar me.

To beryllium fair, his household were beauteous to me, although, erstwhile I look back, it did person an unsavoury tang of My Fair Lady astir it. My ex adored talking maine done the dos and don'ts and expectations of a shooting play connected the household estate.

And his aged schoolhouse friends, each with nicknames similar Bilbo, Whiffy oregon Nobby, regarded maine arsenic a passing fancy astatine best. One did really marque a shocking walk astatine maine once.

Their cognition to women successful wide acceptable disconnected alarming informing bells. They didn't look to person miss 'friends'. Girls were divided into 3 categories: those they wanted to slumber with, and those they'd see matrimony worldly – and the remainder were simply invisible. I was astir decidedly Category One.

The household had a skis lodge successful the Alps, and would walk each Christmas and Easter there. There was a definite articulator balm helium utilized connected the travel and erstwhile – aged 7 – helium was packed disconnected to boarding school, it was this reassuring articulator balm he'd sniff nether the furniture covers astatine night, arsenic helium tried truthful hard to beryllium a brave lad and not cry.

He conscionable couldn't recognize my fearfulness astatine the story.

He thought it was cute, and of people helium insisted he'd bash the aforesaid with his lad (note: son, not daughter). Boarding schoolhouse would be, helium insisted, the making of him.

His sister, however, was not sent distant to school, alternatively attending a overmuch cheaper backstage time school. Again, erstwhile I dared to inquire why, helium simply shrugged and said it was the household way. She was expected to wed well, and not person to occupation herself with a career.

A twelvemonth aft we broke up, I met my husband: a grammar schoolhouse boy, with an electrician begetter and parent who worked arsenic a nurse, conscionable similar me. We've been joined 25 years.

I'll ne'er regret my clip with my Posh Boy. I saw online that he'd joined a hearty, ruddy-cheeked gal, who looked similar she could wring a pheasant's cervix with 1 hand, portion pouring a Martini with the other. I'm definite they're precise happy.

As for him and me? It was ne'er meant to be.