thetimes This will be an irritating column. There’s no point in you leaving a comment underneath going “that was irritating”, because I know, I know. For, in a week in which we have a new cabinet, and in which more of them are Oxbridge educated — over half — than any other cabinet this century, I will argue that it is deeply significant that Andy Burnham, himself, did not go to Oxford. Because he went to Cambridge instead.

They’re different, I swear. People from Oxford will always quickly tell you they went to Oxford. People from Cambridge will instead drop humblebragging hints and hope you figure it out for yourself. At Oxford, I’m told, students feel a strong rivalry with Cambridge and call it “the other place” (as if there are not many, many other places) and refer to those who go there, routinely, as “Tabs”. At Cambridge, by contrast, Oxford rarely came up, and when it did we referred simply to “people at Oxford”. Whoops, did I say “we”? Meaning I’ve just let slip that … oh well. Can’t be helped. cr：杭之冯玥感谢您关注此人