49 Up Page #13

for a haughty deb,

he went for a good

Yorkshire lass,

But, I mean, obviously

he knew what he wanted.

(Michael) Does money

concern you a lot?

No. I think as long as one

has enough to be comfortable,

that's really

what one should aim for.

What's the most

difficult thing

about keeping

the marriage together?

I don't think it is particularly

difficult, actually.

We seem to manage all right,

would you say?

I think so.

We talk, don't we?

So how is married life?

Well, I still love him,

if that's what you're asking.

And likewise. (laughs)

I am going to charterhouse,

and after that,

Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Andrew went to Charterhouse and

Cambridge, where he read law.

I'd like to be a solicitor

and also fairly successful.

At 28, Andrew was a solicitor.

What qualities do you think

it needs to be successful?

Well, you have to have a legal

ability in my business, obviously.

By 35, he had become a partner.

In a couple of weeks, we are going to

be having our legal conference in Dublin.

At 49, Andrew has left

the law firm.

I've moved to a large

industrial gasses company

which makes oxygen and nitrogen,

hydrogen, things like that.

Were you taking a chance?

Yes. I've been at the same

firm for over 20 years,

but it's not very challenging,

and changing like this,

particularly quite late in your

career, sort of stretches you.

I think it's not a bad idea

to pay for school,

because if we didn't,

schools would be

so nasty and crowded.

Yes.

So do I think so, and the people

in the schools wouldn't -

And the people - poor people

would come rushing in.

The man in charge of the school

would get very angry,

because he would...

And he'd get bankrupt.

...He wouldn't be able

to pay all the masters

if he didn't get any money.

Education is very important.

I mean, you can never be sure

of leaving your children

any worldly goods,

but at least you can be sure that once

you've given them a good education,

that's something

that no one can take away.

Andrew and Jane

have two sons -

Alexander and Timothy.

Alexander's at university.

He's in his first year at Newcastle,

and Timothy's at boarding school.

I think he'd like to go

to university,

but I think that's

as far as he's got, really.

Maybe even over the summer holidays,

we might start to talk to him about,

are there any universities

he would like to go and look at?

Andrew and Jane live in London,

but they have a second home

in the country.

Well, we bought it about -

just when we got married.

It was a 200-year-old barn

that we bought in an auction,

completely derelict,

nothing in it all

except for manure,

and then, slowly over the years,

we've just been converting it,

but it's really taken us up until

fairly recently to do that.

Ollie, come on.

There's a railway line that runs

along the bottom of our land.

There's a foxes' den down there.

We've been seeing a few cubs recently.

(Michael) What sort of hobbies

does Alexander enjoy?

Well, on the odd occasion,

he's quite keen on doing

what we call dangerous sports.

And we're going to treat him

to a balloon ride

sort of in advance

of his birthday,

which is coming up soon.

(man) Here we go.

See you all.

See you later.

I have actually been

in a balloon once myself.

It was for

my father's birthday,

and it was all going

very well until the end,

when we managed

to hit some trees and...

Don't tell me that now.

We landed on the basket.

We landed on its side.

(Alexander)

It's very high. Very high.

When we landed,

there was a request that...

All the ladies go downwind

so that we could

land on top of them.

Once I had a talk to Greville.

He was in my house,

and I asked

if he could put him

out of my house,

because he was

always getting minuses.

(Michael) Do you think life is

tougher out there for your children

than it was for you?

Yes, certainly I think it's much

more competitive for children.

When I leave this school, I go

to Broadstairs, St. Peter's court.

If you look back at us sitting

on the settee at the age of seven,

and I was saying what I going to do,

as if my life was mapped out for me.

Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

You know, you could never

get a child doing that now,

saying, "I'm going

to go to Cambridge."

Things have become

less certain as a result.

And you three on that settee

had huge opportunity.

We did.

Absolutely, yeah.

Well, I think boarding

makes you feel self-sufficient

and also teaches you to be away from

your parents and to live with people.

And who was the big

influence in your life

in giving you a sense

of proportion and value?

Well, obviously

it's your parents.

You know, they bring you up for

the first 18 years of your life.

Well, I have my bath

at 6:
00 and then...

Do you ever look back

and think

is there anything you would like to

have been different from what it was?

I think, from my point

of view, perhaps,

as the children were growing up,

I would liked to have spent a bit

more time at home with them

rather than in the office, but that's

something that it's too late to do now.

So everything we say,

they'll think,

"Oh, that's a typical result

of the public-school system."

When we were 7 and 14 and 21,

we were fairly prepared

to say what we thought,

but we have become

more guarded over the years.

What are you guarded about?

I'm guarded

about being guarded.

Here we go. Ooh.

(Michael) So did you ever

fall on the ladies?

No. The lady fell on me.

But it was my wife,

so that was good.

(both laugh)

When I leave school, I am going

to the dragon school -

I might - and mum is,

and I might go -

After, I might go to

Charterhouse, Marlborough.

I don't particularly want to be rich,

but I'd like to have enough money.

Charles went to Marlborough

and then onto Durham University.

Since 21, he's taken no

further part in these films.

When I leave this school,

I'm going to Colet Court,

and then I will be going

to Westminster boarding school

if I pass the exam,

and then we think I'm going to

Cambridge and Trinity Hall.

John went to Westminster,

then onto read law

at Christ Church, Oxford.

I'm thinking of following

a legal career

with a view

to ending in parliament.

Might be at the bar.

(Michael) Doing what?

Perhaps chancery practice.

I now have a career.

I'm a barrister.

Other than that,

life chugs along

in varying degrees.

Well, in a sense, not very much has changed

in my career over the last 14 years.

I'm still a barrister.

I still wear a curly white wig.

The only visible difference,

I suppose,

is I wear a silk gown,

because I am now a QC.

(Michael) Are you ambitious?

Yes.

What for?

Fame and power.

What sort of power?

Political power.

I would quite like

to go into politics,

but, I mean, that's

easier said than done.

I have actually thought about

whether I shouldn't try

and get myself onto

the candidates' list,

but who knows?

I haven't written myself off

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes