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I thought it prudent to attend church this morning. If I am to re-enter Walmington society it is important to be seen at-large in public as often as possible. I arrived at St Aldhelm's a little earlier than last week and so had a wider choice of pews. I didn't wish to provoke another row with the town clerk in church - I have other plans for him - so I seated myself three rows back.
As it happened this caused rather more chaos than had I simply sat at the front once again. By doing so I inadvertently upset the hidden hierarchy by which the so-called respectable residents of Walmington rank themselves. If I had been a church-goer in the past I would have known that at the Rotary Club, the golf-club and dinner parties in the best houses of the district a man attains an informal rank that affects his whole life.
I believe that, although I am a respected man - bank manager, Rotarian, officer and gentleman I have been denied my rightful place in society because of one thing: my background.
Well there it is. I cannot change my history and I would not wish to. Everything I have achieved has been through long hard work, application and a refusal to take no for an answer. I will not wait for Wilson and his like to offer me the social crumbs from their tables. This is my town and my life and I intend to make the best of the both of them.
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