My Newest Ties

My newest ties were given to me for Christmas by a couple of students that I teach. I don't know how these boys figured out I liked ties. I don't seem to mention them much at school.

The first tie is from the British Museum

Let's give it some tie stats- Material: silk

Width at widest point: 9cm

Best Knot: Full Windsor

This tie is great for me as a History teacher because it is all about the Ancient Egyptian Civilisation. The student who gave me this tie figured that I didn't have one to go with this topic. So he went out and sourced this tie over the internet so that I could have a tie which would go with the topic. This was a lovely gesture because he knew that it would be so useful for me to use.

The second tie was given to me by a student who has given me a few ties this year.

Let's look at the tie stats for this one -

Material: polyester

Width at widest point: 8cm

Best Knot: probably a half-Windsor but you could get away with a schoolboy four-in-hand.

As you can see it isn't made from a fancy material and it's also a second hand tie, probably produced around the mid 1990s. Yet I have been given a number of ties by this boy over the year. He mainly gives me ties that he has pilfered from his Dad who it seems has a number of ties in his own collection  as well. However, he tells me that he does this with his Dad as he always needs to find the right tie which has a story behind it. This is because I always tell the boys that every tie has a story. Whenever I was presented with this tie by the young man I ask him straight away "Tell me the story behind this tie?". He is a clever kid and he looked me in the eye and told me that I should be able to make it up myself! "Look at the tie," he said. "It's got all sorts of different sports teams on it. You're always going on about sport and how good it is. It's got rugby and cricket and a few others. It's also a tie. So it combines the things that you like the most. That's why we thought it would be perfect for you." 

A great story from a a young man who has a bit of class and style in his own way. So even if the tie did not have a story before I really think it has a cracker now.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

My oldest tie

Where do I start? With the oldest tie that I own of course and also one of my favourites.

Let's start with some tie stats:
Material: wool
Width (at widest point): 10cm
Best knot to use: usually a Half Windsor but sometimes the Full Windsor can be used.

I love wearing this tie during the cooler winter months. It has a really chunky look because of the wool and also has that touch of old worldliness about it.

This tie was given to be my Dad, Bill. It's a tie he's had since he was a very young man. So young in fact hat he was given the tie when he first went to boarding school at the age of about 8 or 9. It was, I believe, to be his social tie for occasions when one was needed. Of course when you realise that Bill is going to be celebrating his 70th birthday in January you get an idea of exactly how old the tie is. It's been in continuous use for over 60 years now and I for one plan to keep on wearing it for as long as I possibly can.

In fact I often wear this tie to school and the kids will make comment on the tie that I have chosen to wear. I often wear this one on special occasions that remind me of my Dad or when I'm teaching something that fits in with the theme of family or connection. It becomes a great way to provoke discussion and talk to the students about their own family history.

What is grabatology?

To put it in its simplest form - grabatology is the collecting of ties.

That makes me a grabatologist.

It's something that I'm proud of and enjoy doing. I have approximately 300 ties at the moment (although I must admit that it has been a while since I counted). The ties I have collected over the years have come from many places around the world and many of them have been given to me by people.

In many respects I love the ties that have been given to me the most because they all have a story. That story is not just mine but it also belongs to the giver of the tie. It is these stories about my ties that I want to share with the world.