Dear Maly Q. I have started to commute to London a
Dear Maly Q. I have started to commute to London and although I do not travel in every day I find myself constantly wearing the wrong kit in the wrong place. A Barbour looks dreadful in London — equally a Crombie or a Chesterfield looks somehow provocative at Westbury station. I can't be expected to carry two coats at all times. How do other commuters solve this conundrum?
M.C., Somerset A. Head for Cord ings at 19 Piccadilly, London W1 (www.cordings.co.uk). Your particular needs will be met by a classic 'covert coat' (£425) suitable for wear in both country and town and favoured by social types as diverse as the late Lord Deedes, Damien Hirst and Alex James. This horsehairand thom-resistant three-quarter-length overcoat comes in tan, charcoal or tweed and can be individualised for you by the addition of a velvet collar. Covert coats were originally worn by young bucks in the hunting field, and as the edges became frayed on the cuffs they would simply sew on another hem. The genuine covert coat still has three lines of stitching on the cuffs and hem as a tribute to tradition. Trainers began wearing them and passing them on to their jockeys, who could cut them down to size. Cord ings, owned by Eric Clapton and Noll Uloth, is one of the last independent retailers of country kit remaining.
Q. I enjoy cooking and having people to dinner but become flustered when the food is ready but no one will come through and sit down; instead just carrying on talking, laughing, drinking and smoking. It really matters if it is something like baked egg. My husband is just as bad as the others. When I lived in England I was able to use your solution to this problem, namely to turn out the lights in the drawing room so that guests filed out like moths to a flame, but where I live now it is not dark until well after drinks time.
Name and address withheld A. Buy an oven timer with a particularly shrill bell. Put this at the back of the room where the drinkers are assembled and announce pleasantly that when it rings everyone will have to come through or the first course will be spoiled. Let the bell ring just long enough to halt anecdotes in their stride, then come forward to extinguish it. In this way you can sweep your guests out in front of you, overcoming any resistance by resetting the bell till you see movement. Most humans have been hard-wired to respond to bells as a legacy of their schooldays.
Q. I am overweight at the moment and when I go to buy my coffee in the morning I have a struggle to resist the delicious pastries and croissants which are positioned right next to the till. I always say 'Just a plain black coffee please,' but the girl behind the counter always makes my struggle more difficult when she hands me the coffee and says, 'Anything else?' in such a way as to make me feel I must be mad not to be ordering a 2,000-calorie Danish pastry to go with it. I always say no but, rather than feeling proud of my willpower, I am invariably left with an irrational sense that I have somehow behaved badly by only ordering black coffee. How can I put a stop to this torment?
L.R., London W11 A. Punish the temptress by saying, 'Nothing more today, thank you, but tomorrow I would like another plain black coffee if that's all right.'
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