Bow Tie Issues

After the competition last week, amongst many other things, we had a discussion about ties. Should we mandate a specific knot, and should it be the Windsor, the half Windsor, or something else entirely? Should we go for a bow tie, or was that just silly.

There was a certain move towards replacing the ties entirely with clip-on ties. Which of course is a horrible abomination. If nothing else, the very reason they're called ties is that, well, you tie them. I expressed my dissatisfaction at this development in no uncertain terms.

Last night, I was attending the birthday ceilidh of a friend, at which I decided to wear a bow tie, for no good reason (other than that I always do well in formal wear, and the more formal the better). However, horror of horrors, my bow tie is, in fact, a clip-on. Tsk tsk.

So, off to Marks & Spencers I went, and soon emerged with a new and shiny bow tie. Sorted! Or so I thought...

Sadly, it turns out that real bow ties are almost pure evil, and nigh on impossible to tie. Perhaps the worst thing is that because you're working directly under your chin, there's no way to see what you're doing, save with a mirror. But using a mirror just gets really confusing, what with left and right being all mixed up. Plus, in the mirror universe, I have a goatee, and that's just not a good look...

In the end, I was consumed by rage, and cast the offending bow tie to the ground. I then resorted to the use of the clip-on, accepting that this was merely playing into the hands of the foul clip-on lobby. One day, though, I will work it out, and on that day all will be well.

Anyway, the ceilidh itself was quite good, although it does appear that the enthusiasm for the form may be dwindling - few people got up to dance, and more reluctantly than has previously been the case. Shame. Still, that does take the ceilidh-count to 3 for the year, so that's good.

(I find myself wondering if there is a Breton equivalent to the ceilidh, and whether we will be treated to such a thing during our visit to France. I daresay that could be quite... interesting. "Je ne sais pas les pas... et j'ai deux pieds gauche.")