The taxi driver said "close the door duck" ! He repeated himself. I turned round to see who he was talking to, he was talking to me. Women  I don't know have called me "Love" and "Darling" ,just being friendly. So were the inspectors from CQC just being officious when they complained that referring to all residents/patients in this manner might be seen by some as  patronising, condescending  and inappropriate even if it was intended to be affectionate and friendly. My 86 year old mum would defiantly consider such over familiarity inappropriate. My mother in law also 86 who lives in sheltered housing would see it as friendly.  My mother would never call someone "love" or " darling". My mother is middle class and class may explain the different reactions.

We don't talk much about class these days. Under Tony Blair we were all middle class except for the underclass but class may be making a come back with the new leader of the opposition taking on the posh boys in the cabinet. Downton Abby may be a thing of the past and those who wash, dress and feed are no longer refers to as servants but care assistants. Being a low paid, low status job, most of these staff come from the working class (except for the highly educated East Europeans) and those they serve are mixture of working and middle class. The staff have to adjust to whom one assists.

Blair McPherson www.blairmcpherson.co.uk