The Captain in his new hat with the Chairman and Brigitte Smith of Silvers
The Captain at the Leander Club in the late afternoon in his new hat.The Captain wanted a new hat. “Chairman”, the Captain said, “I want a new hat”. Just to make sure that I had not got the wrong end of the stick, I asked him if it was a new hat that he was after. “You’ve got it in one”, the Captain replied. “I don’t know how you do it.” Well, having sorted that matter out, I managed to ascertain that the Captain required a straw boater, his original cheap straw Henley hat having flown into the Thames during the 10th anniversary cruise of 1999, and his 30th birthday panama hat (lovingly brought for him by the Chairman, First Lady, Vice Chairman and the Chair of the Wines & Spirits Committee) having rotted on the parcel shelf of their Dawaeo after having been left there in a slightly damp fashion by its “careless” owner (the VC’s phrase, not mine). So, a boater. Well, where would one start? Luckily, the Chairman had a few ideas, and was delighted to share them with the Captain, and in the spirit of generosity, I thought I might share them with you.
You might be interested to read that there only appears to be one manufacturer of the traditional straw boater with a stiff brim in the UK, this being a firm called Olney Headwear of Luton, who charge their trade customers £17.00 plus VAT per hat according to a milliner we met on the towpath at Henley. Upon closer inspection, the Chairman’s very own boater is indeed an Olney, and based on information ascertained on their website, it would appear that they also supply Lock’s of St James with their boaters (presumably marked as Lock’s as opposed to Olney). Lock’s being outside the price range of the Captain (they retail their boaters at £109.00 if you please), the Chairman approached Bates of Jermyn Street (£62.00), only to be told that they did not stock the Captain’s 7 ¼ hat size. A brief trawl of the internet introduced your corrrospondent in co-respondents to the Olney site, only to find that they ask £47.25 plus postage for the same hat, but the Chairman had one more idea. Well, where would you go to look for a boater? To Henley itself, of course, and the Chairman knew just the shop.
You might be interested to read that there only appears to be one manufacturer of the traditional straw boater with a stiff brim in the UK, this being a firm called Olney Headwear of Luton, who charge their trade customers £17.00 plus VAT per hat according to a milliner we met on the towpath at Henley. Upon closer inspection, the Chairman’s very own boater is indeed an Olney, and based on information ascertained on their website, it would appear that they also supply Lock’s of St James with their boaters (presumably marked as Lock’s as opposed to Olney). Lock’s being outside the price range of the Captain (they retail their boaters at £109.00 if you please), the Chairman approached Bates of Jermyn Street (£62.00), only to be told that they did not stock the Captain’s 7 ¼ hat size. A brief trawl of the internet introduced your corrrospondent in co-respondents to the Olney site, only to find that they ask £47.25 plus postage for the same hat, but the Chairman had one more idea. Well, where would you go to look for a boater? To Henley itself, of course, and the Chairman knew just the shop.
Silver’s have been dressing the discerning gentlemen in regatta fashions for the past 80 years, and were delighted to offer the Captain assistance. Not only do Silver’s provide Olney straw boaters for the comparatively nugatory sum of £39.50, but also offered to trim the boater in club colours for a mere £5.00 per hat. The lady to whom this job was entrusted, Brigitte Smith, did a marvellous job, and trimmed our two hats in less than 45 minutes. “I don’t think I’ve done any from your club before”, she said, but members will be delighted to note that should you ever require a boater trimmed in the club colours, a trip to Silvers would seem to be essential. You will be made most welcome, our boater ribbon details are now held in their archives and the service and value for money is second to none.
No comments:
Post a Comment