One of the things I love to do
above all else is to people watch. I was 22 when I bought my copy of Manwatching:
A Field Guide to Human Behaviour, a book written by Desmond Morris. Although you can
still get old copies on Amazon (where else?) the re-released publication is now
entitled People Watching! I am not a psychologist, but I am fascinated by human
behaviour. My PhD drew upon social anthropology – the study of people, what they make, do, think, and how their relationships are organised.
There were a number of
experiences last week that sparked the anthropologist in me. For example, I
have recently been selected to serve as the Academic Member on the University
Council. Last week saw me attending my first Council meeting. The Council table was laid
out in a square and somewhat surprisingly, there were name plates already
arranged around the table. Sitting there in the pre-meeting small talk moments I
looked at the people already sitting down. Smart business wear was clearly
the fashion prerequisite. Women and men were in suits, dark colours di rigueur.
And then there were the ties.
Every man in the room was
sporting a tie - except for me. I wear Thomas Sabo silver feathers (there are
other fine jewellers) I don’t wear ties. Back when I was reading Desmond
Morris, I was also watching a snooker genus weave his magic. Alex ’Hurricane’
Higgins. He revolutionised snooker, and was possibly responsible for bringing
the game to millions and certainly he was the grandfather of the modern game.
But he was at times a troubled soul.
He had a somewhat volatile
personality, often getting into fights and arguments both at the snooker table
and in his private life. He drank alcohol and smoked during his matches. For
most of his life he smoked 60 cigarettes a day. His life style choice caught up
with him. He had cancerous growths removed from his mouth in 1994 and 96, and unfortunately,
in 1998, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He earned and lost £4m in his
life. Alex Higgins was found dead in his bed, in a sheltered housing project in
Belfast in 2010. He weighed just six stone, having ‘lived’ on a liquid diet for
a couple of years due to losing all his teeth after intensive radiotherapy. Cathal
McNaughton’s photo of him taken just before he died is immensely haunting.
Alex Higgins also didn't wear a
tie. In a time when the governing body for snooker prescribed what the players
should wear, Alex was a rebel and refused to conform. He was his own man and
did his own thing, and did it well and in a way that entertained many, many
people for a large number of years. His experience was slightly different to
that of Alexis Tsipras, the recently elected Greek Prime Minster. He was on a
European tour last week, trying to assuage the anxiety of other European heads of state over the anti-austerity stance of his Syriza party.
Alexis Tsipras, aged 40, is the youngest
Prime Minister in Greece for 150 years, and hasn't worn a tie for years. He didn't
wear one during his campaign, nor for his formal swearing in, or when he met
with the various heads of state across Europe. Whilst fashion has always been a major influence in both organisational and world politics, it has never been more the
case than with ties, one of the most visible pieces in a man’s wardrobe. The
tie has been a colour-coded communications tool. Precisely what Alexis is
communicating is down to political commentators, psychologists and anthropologists
alike to analyse and de-construct for meaning.
And talking about meanings, what possessed
Tesco and Public Health England to take the decisions they took last week.
Tesco staff in Plymouth were asking customers for proof of age when they were buying
fruit. As everyone knows, fruit can ferment and turn into alcohol, which as
we also know cannot be sold to those under the age of 18. Tesco’s were being
uber cautious I guess. Just as cautious and intent on protecting us from ourselves,
was Public Health England. They issued a poisoning warning, asking supermarkets
not to place their daffodil bulbs in the fruit and vegetable section of the store
as people were mistaking them for Chinese vegetables, cooking them and becoming
seriously ill. Not wearing a tie to the Council meeting feels quite tame in comparison
to shopping in my local supermarket.
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