Greybeard is a lifelong conservative Conservative – and having reached 84 years of age, is now a very old one. He believes that great age combined with a sceptical turn of mind gives him a special insight into the fads and follies of today as well as those of the past.
He is particularly critical of Britain’s new establishment, the so-called liberal-left elite (moronic metropolitan mafia, more like) which he considers is having a largely malign influence on our way of life and should be fought at every turn. Equally deserving of censure, in his view, is the tendency of that same metropolitan mafia to espouse shallow intellectual fashions which subsequently prove to be deeply flawed. Greybeard will make it his business to expose the vacuity of these fatuous fashions..
Unfortunately, Conservatives are not wholly immune to such flawed orthodoxies, one of which is a manic, unquestioning faith in the virtue of free markets. Don’t get Grouchy Greybeard wrong: he doesn’t believe in a Corbynesque mass nationalisation of Britain’s industries and considers that free markets work fine for everything from aeroplanes to zips. But some markets, notably housing and rail transport, are not free at all and need to be treated differently.
As for the personal bit, Greybeard is middle-middle-class. He went to a public school (Stowe) and has no degree, but he does have a sound knowledge of basic physics and engineering honed by many years of reporting on the mechanical intricacies of the motor car. In his time he’s been the editor of a number of magazines including Motor, Traditional Homes and Car design. He lives in Suffolk with Jane, his beloved partner of 25 years. Between them they have five children, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A remarkably affectionate former guide dog called Finley completes their household.
Grumpy Greybeard 