Untying the past

Time was, I did an enormous amount of flying round Europe as a consultant, turning companies round. I developed a hobby buying a tie wherever I went, and I picked up some lovely Italian and French ones. I could go weeks and never wear the same tie twice.

But I haven't even worn a suit and tie for two years. Part of downsizing has been giving away a lot of decent stuff to the hospice shop, and this week I reduced my tie collection to just a few. This one is for keeps, a John Bellany design, which I bought from the National Galleries of Scotland, and wear when I'm among people who take themselves too seriously.

John saw the world through a different colour pallette to the rest of us, and his work isn't to everyone's taste, but I challenge you not to find something in his oeuvre you like. He was a friend and, after Mrs Oons researched his family tree, he painted us a wonderfully spare and realistic picture of St Abbs Harbour, a mutual stamping ground for us all. He joked it would be great to prove a direct line of descent from Giovanni Bellini. Who could disagree? There was indeed a Bellini, but not that one.

You might like the fairly conventional extra, from 1999, called Flowers Lift Your Heart. I have borrowed it from John Bellany by John McEwen, ISBN 1 84018 955 X which I commend.