I found an old-fashioned hand-knitted royal blue cashmere cardigan inside the envelope sent to me by BB. The price-tag on it said £25. Although it was tiny and wouldn’t fit me, I thought that that the cardigan might be suitable for my niece F.

This garment led me to a former student who now ran an interior design shop. She mistakenly thought that I was an international fashion buyer. She was very disappointed to discover that my interest in her faded jumpers and scarves was simply driven by a desire to bag a bargain.