#10 The wearing of Barbour jackets in urban areas

Any man with a shovel in the boot of his car will tell you that it pays to be prepared.

It might be said however, that one’s parsnips have been thoroughly buttered, wearing a thornproof, tartan lined, wax jacket which is “extremely resistant to snags and pulls from spiky plants such as brambles and hawthorn”, on a cloudy day in Notting Hill.

It pays to be prepared. And it no doubt, in the minds of the upwardly mobile, pays to appear to have just come from; be about to go to; or have forgotten one’s Mac at; one’s ‘place in the country’.

Such jackets are undoubtedly very well made, but then again, so are shovels. The problem with being well prepared is that it often leads to a misplaced sense of confidence. The man who slips on a pair of driving gloves (more later) genuinely believes that it is safe to take corners at higher speeds now that there is fleece and calf skin between his own skin and the wheel.

The urban thornproof man is conscious of the fact that his suede loafers and Japanese denim may give the game away, but confident in the knowledge that he is well prepared. Deep seated anxiety and misplaced confidence may well be the worst combination since chair legs and swimming pools. It is a combination that gives rise to Sinistry of the highest degree. I should know; I live in London and have been known, in colder months, to wear a tartan lined wax jacket which is “extremely resistant to snags and pulls from spiky plants such as brambles and hawthorn”. But then again, it is very well made.