Green Day

With the cool autumn breeze blowing the trees outside my window, I decided to take the plunge and get out some warmer clothes for my day out. I wanted to walk a couple of miles to see a girl-friend of mine and didn't want to get cold on the way home, as it might be quite late by then.

I settled on a pair of black jeans, a polo shirt and a large, green crew-neck jersey. Fearing that my neck might feel the wind I picked out a couple of silk scarves from my collection. The first was an oblong scarf in plain green, which all but matched my jersey. The other was a large square scarf with a red and gold pattern and a green border. Nobody was going to say I wasn't colour-coordinated!

    The oblong scarf I folded on its length into a 2-inch strip. I then wound it round my neck about 5 times and tied a double knot at the back. I tucked the bottom of my choker into my shirt and jersey.

I pulled on my favourite knee-length boots over my jeans and picked out a black 'ski' jacket. The jacket has a collar which can be turned up and the zip then goes right to the top which would cover my chin if I needed it to.

The second scarf I tied as a headscarf in standard Grace Kelly style. I then pulled the jacket on, zipped it up as far as my neck and turned the collar up at the back over the headscarf. That should keep the wind out.

The walk was enjoyable on such a crisp day - my boots clicked along the pavements, my jacket 'swished' as I move my arms, and my headscarf blew nicely in the heavy breeze. On reaching my friend's house, I untied my headscarf and put it in my jacket pocket, but I kept the choker on.

    I didn't leave my friend's house until mid-evening and it was getting quite dark. As I started the walk home, I pulled the scarf from my pocket and started tying it over my head, then stopped as I had an idea. The evening wind was picking up and my face was getting colder so I undid the choker and put it in my pocket, then I tied the headscarf as before. Next, I took the oblong scarf and started to wrap it around my face as a mask. I kept the scarf as high as I could at the back of my head and at the front I tied the next bit around my chin, then my neck, until the 5 or so turns had covered my face and neck completely below the bridge of my nose. Finally I turned my collar up and zipped it up over my chin. Feeling very snug and warm I continued my walk with a large smile underneath my silk mask. As I got nearer home, the choker mask started to slip down slightly at the back but it just about kept in place until I reached my road, by which time it was a little loose and flapping nicely in the wind.

    Back in the warmth of my flat I took my jacket off, but I couldn't help leaving my head covered just a little longer...