Cool

I had one of those flashbacks this morning.

A small redhead from Surrey (England, not New England) called Rachel whom I knew in my university days in Swansea. My friends informed me that she fancied me.

You know the sort of girls who fancy you and never act accordingly? That type.

Conversations between us did not amount to much. All-knowing stockbroker belt girl from the South-East meets blunt northerner from a working class family.

Never mind my IQ being at least her equal. Most of all she could never get my sense of humour. My ability to translate words and phrases back literally caused her considerable difficulties, and one day she admonished me with the expression:

"Tony, do you always have to be so prosaic?".

No chance. There were other proverbial fish that I had to fry (unsuccessfully as ever in those days). I went off to try and prosaically charm them - unsuccessfully.

Which brings me forward 40 years.

There is an American fashion outfit (who do not deserve any free publicity from me) that has decided that it wants to appeal entirely to kids who are "cool". Not literally (or prosaically) "cool" of course - I don't think that anoraks and heavy sweaters comprise the bulk of their product range. Just well "cool".

Digression - note to parents at this point. If you want your kids to be cool, please do not stick them in the fridge - assuming that you have one big enough. End of digression.

OK. Define "cool".

This word has been round in its current form for some 60 or so years actually, but finding a good definition is not easy actually. It is pretty much in the same category as "in" "hip", "with it" usw have been over the years.

What people, particularly young people, want to be like to impress their friends. And some adults who can capitalise upon it - like clothing manufacturers for example ....

No appealing to individuality, no trying to persuade people to "do their own thing". Fit the peer group image and expectations. Wear our gear - be cool!

Of course what was "cool" last year may well not be "cool" this year. This is a phenomenon which generations of parents have discovered over the years. Not that parents should matter that much in this argument. Peer groups decide what is "cool". Listening to what parents think was never too "cool" (would they understand anyway?) and their sole role in this is to pay out the substantial sums of money to allow for the new "cool" to replace the old "cool" - otherwise they are irrelevant (or stubborn or stroppy when they refuse to acknowledge their decided role in this cycle!).

Interestingly the word "cool" has crossed borders. It has not been translated in the process though. German online games players can go and try out www.coolespiele.com for example. Cool young people in Germany are not "kühl" - at least one hopes not!

Ever the non-conformist individualist, I never tried to fit the image of cool too much. In the UK I would never have got away with being "cool" at any point of my existence. I was also sadly never that appealing to women in the UK (not tall enough, not glib enough, too prosaic maybe?). It was always a source of surprise that women in France and the Netherlands found me far more fascinating (in certain instances anyway - avoid the generalisation where possible).

In Paris in 1989 I met the gorgeous, very sexy Sophie (mentioned in one of my previous pieces on here). I was 40, she was 23, but summat might have clicked long-term if my job had allowed me to stay and she could have curbed her propensity to flightiness.

One of her interesting descriptions of me was though, interestingly, that I was "un type cool".

Fascinating. What was not "cool" in the UK was "cool" in France. How does this work, one wonders?

Anyway enough of the nauseoustalgia. It is 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) outside. Cool, prosaically, it is not. Meanwhile an old Ray Charles CD is blasting out from the only thing that we have that still plays music efficiently - he was "cool" back in 1961 I recall. Time to dig out the extremely tight trousers and "Slim Jim" ties that were "cool" in my adolescent years, maybe?

Perhaps not. Being anything cool (even prosaically on days like this) is not that easy when you get past a certain age. Which may be as well!