Country Mouse

International finery

I’M off for my final fitting of my morning suit at Favourbrook on Pall Mall for our now rather imminent wedding. Rather surprisingly, I discovered deep in the depths of a wardrobe that I owned two morning suits, one inherited from my father and the other from my grandfather. Sadly, my body has evolved over time and the buttons on the waistcoat were stretched like Tom Kitten’s— hence the trip to Pall Mall. My grandfather’s coat must be about 100 years old, but, by combining it with other bits of Dad’s, the sons will be completely kitted out. It all seems very sustainable.

Rachel and I support 16 orphans who live in a Buddhist monastery high in the Bhutanese Himalayas and through Tashi, a living saint, who spends her time between guiding tour groups and educating the young boys in English, maths and the uses of local herbs, they are having a ceremony for us there and we have watched the boys and monks prepare their celebrations. There will be two services—a world apart—on the day, one Christian and just as traditional as my grandfather liked, and one Buddhist. The similarity is that everyone dresses up—but it looks as if the brightest clothes will be in Bhutan.