'I had known the English were extremely class conscious but nothing quite prepared me for the canteen'

'I had known the English were extremely class conscious but nothing quite prepared me for the canteen'

Mike Mahon describes the factory where he trained as a salesman.

Mike Mahon

Trinity College Dublin

1960

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Mike Mahon

Work and Employment

Life Story

London

1960s

The factory was a short walk away and included the sales training centre. I had known the English were extremely class conscious but nothing quite prepared me for the canteen ,or greasy spoon as it was called. It was divided into three sections; the largest was for the factory workers and was self service, plastic plates for plastic food. Beyond that was another smaller section complete with real wooden tables, delft and waitress service. This was for the office staff, supervisors and aspiring salesmen. Then came Shangri - la, separated from the great unwashed by a line of artificial palm trees. This holy - of - holies was reserved for Directors, Senior managers and other Royalty. I thought of tuppence - hapenny looking down on tuppance. We were informed in hushed tones that one could even have a glass of wine with lunch.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)