Good morning one and all. This is a distressed missive from a healthy octogenarian so please help if you will. I have lost my favourite underpants. I am not usually one to lose freshly laundered undergarments and so it is once again likely to be local thieves, or prisoners out on a chain gang or perhaps bored school-children targeting the old and vulnerable, such as ones self. I last saw my treasured dark brown paisley-trimmed y-fronts yesterday morning… I’m sure they were waiting to be starched and ironed by my visiting home-help, whilst I went commando and frequented some our fine local hostileries with my close friends Clare Balding and Jeremy Clarkson. But having returned late last night the pants could not be found. I even looked in the fridge and oven as my clothes often end up there instead of the washing machine. I normally wouldn’t mind continuing to go sans-undercrackers but I fancied wearing my M&S pants on Sunday when I have a young “neice” coming to visit me. The thieves also seem to have stolen a cup of tea I was half way through drinking before I ventured out to the pub. Do these people have no respect for the elderly? If you have you seen my pants or a half drunk cup of tea carelessly tossed into a hedge or tree please let me know or phone the police? Actually, now I look more carefully I may also have lost some biscuits…
Any help would be appreciated. Colonel T. Ludlow (Ret’d)