Sir: I fear that M Val6ry Giscard TE,staing is not
the only Frenchman 'wearing an Old Etonian tie to which he is not entitled—vide Sir Denis Brogan, 2 May, and your competi- tion No. 552.
Two years ago, I spent a short holiday in Burgundy as the guest of old friends. Wishing to express my thanks to them in some tangible way, I asked the son of the house, a pleasant fourteen year old, what he would like by way of a present from England? I expected him to nominate some item of Carnaby Street plumage: instead, he plumped for something 'fres Anglais, fres distingue. et. surtout, fres
snob'
To fit this specification there was, obviously, st1),
only one answer, and in due course the splendid tie winged its way to Santenay-les-Bains: in France, at least (I thought), an illicit wearer would be safe from discovery.
Now, Sir Denis Brogan's delightful article has shown me how very mistaken I was: all I can say, in guilty deference to Sir Denis's censorious, quasi-Etonian eye, is, surely, 'Floreat Rutherglen Academy!'
Previous page
