Some of the elements are entirely individual; I am uniquely the eldest child of my parents, whose deaths happened at specific times of my life, and I have made personal choices about my career, lifestyle, political activities, and pleasures. In contrast, I share my identity as ‘an academic’ with tens of thousands of others, my generational identity with millions of post-World War II “baby boomers”, and my personal preferences with many people who have similar social and/or educational backgrounds. Like many UK citizens, I had grandparents who were immigrants, and grandparents who had long-standing links to a particular part of the UK - in my case, Yorkshire. I have significant interests and enthusiasms in common with fellow opera-goers, trade unionists and cheese-lovers.