Reports of the death of the Sloane Ranger have been greatly exaggerated

When did you last spot a Sloane in London? In the 1990s, they were typified by Tim Nice-but-Dim, the television character played by Harry Enfield.

- BY PETER YORK

One of the most brilliant comic creations of the past 50 years, he was an amalgamation of class-identity symbols — public schools, nice manor houses in nice counties, nice-sounding jobs in the City. And “bloody nice blokes”, men who embody all of it. He represented Old Sloane values: what he considered important were grand public schools, seriously big, seriously old houses, and a refusal to talk about money (very déclassé for the old-school Sloane). Tim’s demise was a micro-tragedy in which we could see the end of the road for traditional Sloanes, competing in a tougher world and with people who were miles richer, cooler and faster. Gradually, they slunk out of sight. But did they really disappear? Where are the Sloane gods now?