Of Butties And Buttons

Thus far, Christmas has been wonderful. All the services at church on Sunday and Monday well attended, really good atmosphere, and it was lovely to be with friends old and new, to worship the Christ-child together. The lights twinkled, and the Lindt Teddybears were well received by all who came [thank you Steph]
Then 11.50am on Christmas Day we locked up the church, the last to leave, and headed off up the motorway. Brief stop at South Mimms Services for Bacon Butties in Starbucks. 


You will notice that Bob's wearing his best Christmas waistcoat. I read an article about them on Saturday. It is traditional for gentlemen to leave the last button unfastened. There are three opinions as to why this is so.

In Georgian times, dandies [think Beau Brummel, or the Scarlet Pimpernel] often wore two waistcoats, one over the other- by leaving the bottom button undone, the under-waistcoat was visible. This was an early example of 'layering'

I don't believe this- all the pictures I can find show the buttons all done up.
The second idea is that country gentlemen found it much more comfortable when on horseback, to loosen the lowest button. If that was so, why did they bother to put one on at all?
The third theory, and this is the one which I think is most plausible, concerns King Edward VII who was Victoria's son, and reigned from 1901-1910. The King certainly enjoyed his food, and his waistline absolutely ballooned because of all the banquets. The King found himself unable to do up the bottom button. His loyal subjects at the meal table observed the protocol and undid their buttons to match. My photo of Bob conveniently omits to show what he has done!

We were all very smart on Christmas day - Rosie in a particularly fetching dress decorated with llamas, and the rest us almost as grandly attired.
But in the 2 hours between our arrival and Rosie's bedtime, we forgot to take a family photo. Steph and Gary had to leave early on Boxing Day, so here we all are, in slightly less glamorous attire recording our Very Happy Family Christmas.



We were blessed with some lovely gifts, and delicious food, and lots of laughter - but just being together was the best part. One young lady is now fully equipped to join the cycling clan. I love the Miffy Bell on the handlebars, and the wicker basket.

Hoping you've had a happy time wherever you have been.