A Clever Hat

Over the holidays I acquired a beret from dear daughter. I'd forgotten what an excellent thing a beret is... easy to squish in your purse, warm on your head and you can wear it at different angles according to mood, and even pull it down over the ears if you need to.

The last time I owned a beret was back in my ballet school years, a very long while ago. We wore a uniform of loden green wool blazers, skirts, cardigans, berets, with deep eau-de-nil blouses and dresses for the summer.

As far as uniforms are concerned, I'm not certain whether to be for or against. Certainly, knowing exactly what you had to wear each school day had many advantages -- egalitarianism being one of them. I see the Labour Party in the U.K. is advocating once again for schools to adopt uniforms. On the other hand there's the whole question of, well, uniformity.

I never minded wearing a uniform myself. Perhaps this was because the colours were acceptable to me, and the styles comfortable. But I always remember how my younger brother hated the grey of his first school. When he moved to green he felt much better.

So now I have my perky red beret to wear. If I were a man it would make me look much more French! That would be fine by me. In any case, I'll enjoy the convenience and the memories of my clever hat.