Pilton Keelie: Where best to raise the child - a public housing scheme in Scotland's capital city, a small highland fishing town or a middle class American suburb near Washington DC?

Is it better to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth or a hunger in your belly? Is life in the city better than life in the country? Is life in the new world really better than life in old Europe? Is private education better than public? Is a university degree compulsory to success in life?. What exactly is a better life? Affluence does not guarantee happiness and poverty does not guarantee misery and regardless of inherent socio-economic standing a kind or cruel bounce at the right or wrong moment can be life-changing. Strong parental love and guidance ultimately trump actual money but the latter does make further education more readily available and that generally opens up more opportunities in the modern world. My wife and I had no post-secondary education and loved our upbringing yet we strived very hard to make sure our children did have university degrees and a shot at that ‘better’ life. I hope the joyful if sometimes embarrassing memoirs of a Scottish working class boy, combined with a good deal of social history and the many quirks of the common language which my native and adopted countries allegedly share, can amuse and inform.