What a bag of old ties has taught me about change in the future

We were clearing out. It's that time of year, the summer clothes go into storage and the winter ones come out.

- Dr Ali A Smith

Some of the stuff that went away in the Spring no longer seems worth keeping. I didn't wear it last year and I'm not going to be wearing it this year either. They go into a recycling bag never to be seen again. In the bottom of one of the cupboards was a bag full of ties.

They seem anachronous. Lost from another time. I don't really know why I kept them. There are maybe 30 of them. I have a couple that are kept with my suit, but the others are really relics from the past. It's a lot longer than a year since I wore any of them.

If you google my real name, one of the first pictures of me that comes up is from about 20 years ago.

I really don't like the picture. It's not so much because I resent the aging process, it's because the clothes I am wearing seem so hopelessly out of date. I am wearing a jacket and tie. In the early years I was a Consultant, it was entirely unacceptable to arrive at work in less than a jacket and tie. Most wore suits.