So I got on the bus to go to the station this morning and there as usual was a young Irish mother with her four children, the oldest being twin boys of maybe nine. Noisy brats that she can't control. They both wore blue caps with the Nike tick on.
A couple of stops later an asian mother and her son got on. The son's the same age and while the mothers manoeuvred their pushchairs in an attempt to fit them in a space too small for them, the asian boy sat with the Irish twins.
They stared at each others' caps. The asian boy's was red, with the logo of their primary school on it. There was a solemn silence. I waited for the burst of jeering as the twins abused the other boy for not having a trendy cap.
Instead I heard, in disappointed tones: “Yours has got the school on – ours has only got a tick.”
Maybe there's still hope that the world isn't going to be swallowed up into one huge brand experience after all.