Cuffs

I noticed a shirt hunt back in September, at reference 1. Unfortunately, back home, it turned out that one of the two shirts laboriously selected from the heap at John Lewis had no buttons, rather than one button per sleeve. Perhaps we had got tired. Perhaps an example of the accidents mentioned at reference 3.

However, rather go through the business of returning the wrong shirt, I decided that I would have a go with cuff-links, something I have not worn for many a year, probably not in the regular way of things for more than forty years. My recollection is that they were commonly worn in the 1970's, but not that much since.

As it happens, it is not that long ago that I came across my cuff-links from that time, rather large and clumsy looking affairs now, possibly suitable for someone much younger, and chucked them out, only retaining the rather more discrete gold pair left me by FIL.

So this morning, the offending shirt came to the top of the heap and I put the cuff-links on. A putting on which lasted for some minutes, my fingers having more or less forgotten how to do this. However, while the fingers might have forgotten, the brain seemed to have stored away some of the necessary programs and after a while it got them down from their shelf and gave them a go, after which the fingers seemed to start remembering how to do it. Maybe if I work at it, I will come to be able to do it without thinking.

I have to say, the result looked quite smart. Smart in the sense that a prominent linked cuff on the end of a sleeve looked finished and satisfying, in a way that a buttoned one, by comparison did not. Finished and satisfying in the way that a wall is finished off with some coping stones, a door is finished off with some architrave or a picture on your wall with a picture frame. These things do usually have some more prosaic function, for example throwing the water off, but they also serve aesthetic ends. With the only catch in this case being that the cuff-links were not to be seen once I had put my winter cardigan on, on top. Obviously designed for use in buildings with more powerful central heating than our house.

The illustration, lifted from the interesting site at reference 2, gives roughly the idea. But FIL's are rather thinner and one face of each pair has been engraved with a rather florid version of his initials.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/danish-bacon.html.

Reference 2: http://2queens.ru/.

Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-art-of-fielding-one.html.