My name is Piers Maxwell. I am 44 years old. I am married to Abigail and I am a father to two sons – Jonathan and George.
We have a dog, Humphrey, a golden cocker spaniel – ‘show’ type – the “London” version (less exercise needed than the working type cocker and aesthetically more pleasing – arguably the gay man’s version…), a couple of resilient gold fish, who have against the odds, survived 5 years in their fish tank, and a French au pair (23 yrs old) called Margaux – like the wine (which is why I voted to give her the job, putting forward to my wife some dubious yet convincing argument as to why she was qualified to look after our young sons). After all everybody needs a good Margaux in their life, even if it’s only to look after the kids…
We live in Clapham, an area of London known for young families, good schools, parks and Victorian houses. It’s also known as Nappy Valley, and the majority of its residents are white and middle class and privately educated. In many ways we are all Chelsea exiles – bought up in Chelsea or big houses in Home Counties, but living in Clapham because we can’t afford current Chelsea house prices. We all believe that we are re-creating our own little English Chelsea in Clapham as the real Chelsea is now full of Americans and Russians. Like us, most residents have kids and a dog like Humphrey. We live on a small street, which my wife will tell you is one of the best streets in Clapham because the houses are 16 inches wider than most other houses found in the streets of Clapham. We have many friends. It’s all fairly non-descript but we like it.
I am a fund manager, a reasonably successful one, with a reputable asset management firm in the City, having enjoyed a good career in banking before that. My wife is a stay at home home mum, who is a part time Ayurvedic practitioner. The kids go to school.
That’s me and my family – you have now met the Maxwells…
This blog is about the trials and tribulations of family life in London. It’s based on real fact which may, at times, be exaggerated and may sometimes be total fiction (my prerogative). It’s meant to be a fun and sometime cynical look at middle class life in London. To be fair my name is not Piers Maxwell, and my wife is not Abigail, but in today’s life its best not to share our names – so for those of you who know my family and I, please be so kind as to respect our privacy …
But most importantly, it’s also the story of our family cactus – Herbert…. Herbert is the Clapham Cactus.
