Hats Off

And so ends the year of my big adventure.

I was very surprised by the number of people who said to me, both in print and face to face, "Hats off to you, sir!", when they knew what I was doing. This seems quaint and old-fashioned, but I like it.

Similarly, in France I have frequently had the word "Chapeau!", which means exactly the same thing.

I am a hat-wearer myself and have a bit of a collection. It seems a shame to me that hat-wearing went out of style. It is particularly a shame in the area where we now live. Our local market town of Esperaza at one time had 36 hat factories. There were others in nearby towns. Now there are none.

But have you noticed that the wearing of hats is on the increase? Shops and market stalls have piles of hats. This very week we have seen people queuing to try on hats at Mirepoix market.

Tom Mix (above) would be pleased.