This is one of the earliest photos that I have of myself - probably aged 4 then. I wonder if they had trouble persuading me to wear that on my head?
Top hats were worn by men throughout the 19th and the early 20th centuries. There had been quite a bit of opposition to them in the beginning, but this disappeared when Prince Albert set the fashion around 1850. By the end of the First World War, they had almost died out, although in Scotland in the 1930s many of the clergy still wore them on Sundays and at funerals, weddings, etc
One of our daughters, when in her late teens, acquired one and used to wear it regularly, until someone grabbed it off her head and escaped with her prized possession.

Top hats of course are still worn at Royal Ascot and other formal occasions, and I was shocked to learn that the prices at one supplier’s start at £425. And here was I, thinking of buying one………..

THE PRAYER by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
























Bouguereau 1825-1905 was a French painter whose popularity was eventually overtaken by the Impressionists. My tastes in paintings are always changing, but just now I rate his pictures very highly.

And finally here’s another quote for all those who are EIGHTY PLUS -

I don’t feel 80. In fact I don’t feel anything till noon. Then it’s time for my nap. (Bob Hope)