These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who
work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as ‘white-collar
workers’ for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work.
Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay
for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious
situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the
Ellesmere Corporation.
When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job.
He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home
dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight
hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed
back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustman kept his
secret. Alf’s wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will,
for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be
earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well
worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call
him ‘Mr. Bloggs’ not ‘Alf’.