I grew up on the edge of Brixton, a notoriously insalubrious part of London. Whenever I was asked where I lived my mother would hiss at me, ‘Say Dulwich’ (Brixton’s better appointed neighbour). This isn’t an unusual attitude – many people are ashamed to admit where they come from. Plenty of people work to disguise a regional accent, or change their dialect vocabulary, all to ensure that no one realises where they grew up.

Of course you can go too far the other way. I had a good friend when I was younger who came from a rough part of Manchester. She was the first in her family to stay at school until she was 18, and then got a good job in the city centre with a decent salary. Some members of her family made it clear they saw her as a traitor to her working class roots, hanging out with all her new friends. She really wasn’t ashamed of her background, and made no attempt to hide it. She just wanted to get on in life.

Where you come from is a part of you. You can choose to stay there all your life, or you can choose to move around and end up somewhere very different. Both of those options are fine. But if you try to hide your roots, you’re denying a part of yourself. And sooner or later that will make you unhappy. You’ll regret being ashamed, or you’ll live in fear of being found out.

If your background is humble, that speaks all the more loudly of your achievements when you succeed (in your own terms of course) against such odds. Why would you want to hide that? We all know prejudice exists, but anyone who is so shallow they’ll judge you on something you have no control over – where you were born – isn’t worth your time or respect (although being a Rules player you’ll remain civil at all times). It’s as wrongheaded and prejudiced as judging you on the colour of your skin.

There are places where it’s seen as more embarrassing to admit that you’re privileged than to acknowledge a poor background. But it’s still a part of you, and it’s daft to be ashamed of the fortune you were born into. That suggests that you disdain other people who aspire to your advantages, which is patronising and would be something to keep quiet about. No, if you’re ashamed, you need to consider why. If you feel such advantage is unfair (I can’t comment – I have no idea how privileged you really are) then do something to redress the balance. Get some experience of how the other half lives, do what you can to spread your kind of advantages (wealth, education, a supportive family) more fairly around the world, whether in your own small area or in some wider way – work, charity, informally, whatever feels right for you. And don’t allow inverted snobs to make you feel ashamed of your lucky beginnings.

So be happy to stand up and declare your roots. Remember what they’ve taught you, the opportunities they’ve given you, the strength you’ve developed to make the best of them, and be proud of them, because they’re a part of you.