VV Amore was out and about this week...

Who doesn’t love getting pressures for Christmas? It doesn’t matter how grown up you are, ripping wrapping paper from a mysterious package on Christmas morning reverts everyone to a delighted six year old.

So, imagine the scene, the turkey is in the oven and the kids kids are playing with whatever Santa brought them.

Your loving other half brings you your first glass of festive fizz and asks: “Do you want your present now, darling?”

So how does that make you feel? Does your heart sink as you mentally prepare your oh-how-lovely-you-shouldn’t-have face? Or do you know that your chap will have managed to find exactly what you want this year?

Ideally, our soul-mate, the person we share our lives with, knows instinctively what we want to receive – the size, shape and brand as well. But, unless you are one of the fortunately few, in order for this to happen, you’ll need to help him along.

There are now several versions of wishlists as smartphone apps, websites or attached to certain retailers. These are a great idea, but they would require a conversation along these lines.

“Have you seen the wishlist website, darling?”

“Um. No.”

“You know the site where people list what they want to get for Christmas.”

“No. Um. Right. Now where’s the remote?”

You can see the problem with that. It’s bound to be slightly more effective than the fabled “leave a magazine lying where he can see it” method, but probably not much.

I found that leaving magazines propped in front of Match of the Day didn’t really have the desired effect.

According to an unscientific poll of a few of my friends, the outcome is clear – just tell him. Men aren’t great at taking hints and they rarely notice subtle messages. The only thing for it is to tell him outright.

Be clear about what you want, where he can get it, the colour you prefer and anything else where a decision is required.

On the other hand, make it easier for both of you with a gift voucher. He gets points and you still get retail therapy – perfect.

The benefit of this is twofold. Firstly, when you reply to the Christmas Day question with a “yes dear, I’d love to open my presents” you can be confident you won’t need to fake your delight. And, secondly, that nerve-wracking moment when your other half sweatily worries if you’re going to like what he’s picked for you is gone. He knows he’s got the right thing and everyone can have a merry Christmas.

VV Amore has just introduced gift vouchers.

The Importance Of Being Earnest

Gyles Brandreth to star as Lady Bracknell

The moment when posh and prim Lady Bracknell says “A handbag” in the Oscar Wilde play is, argueably, one of the most well known in British and Irish theatre.

In case you’ve forgotten, the plot is a parody of class and manners and hinges, in typical Victorian style, on a case of mixed up identity. In this case baby Jack Worthing was found abandoned in a handbag. Jack keeps the bag and, later when he’s grown up, is able to produce it to prove who he really is.

The fearsome Lady B and the handbag as baby carrier are back in the public eye because the play has been turned into a musical. I suppose it didn’t do George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion any harm when it became My Fair Lady.

And in even better news – or at least I think it’s better, but I can’t quite make up my mind. Gyles Brandreth – former MP and hideous jumper wearer – is to play Lady Bracknell. I’m not quite sure about a man playing a woman anywhere but panto and, besides, there are lots of actresses who could do justice to the role. On the other hand, I think Gyles will make an excellent Lady B. You can just imagine him enunciating: “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.”

But back to the bag, it’s key to plot, first it carried a manuscript for the novel the nursemaid was writing and then it held a baby. And English scholars have written essays explaining what the handbag stands for in the play. Personally, I think it represents the fact that everyone needs a good handbag, just in case a baby accidently gets left in it.

In a handbag-related twist, a first edition of the play was found inside a handbag in an Oxfam shop in 2007. It sold for £650.

The play says the handbag is black leather, “somewhat large” and with handles. It certainly set a trend that has run and run. Black bags are still the most popular choice.

But if the play can get a makeover that sees a man play a woman, what if the bag could be orange or animal skin. Maybe patent leather or patterned…