George Drury

Dear Daniel,

What a great surprise it was to find the parcel you left for me. I had almost forgotten about the dressing gown. When I opened up and saw a brand new gown and remembered the state it was in when I gave it you, it brought home to me what a challenge it must have been for the factory. Because I'd been wearing it day after day for many years, (since the late 1980s, I think) it was an essential part of the getting up in the morning routine and I hardly noticed how scruffy parts of it, the cuffs and the lapels, had become, whereas the main cloth seemed alright. It was only when the silk lining began to fall apart and I had to ask if you could reline it, that i felt really ashamed. You made no comment but I noticed when I visited the factory, it was hanging outside the staff toilet, as you explained, at the request of the staff.

The fact is that it was one of your earliest gowns and I have always been proud of it, especially when I recognised the cloth in the drawing made for publicity at the time and now framed on the factory wall. At first I did look after it and had it dry cleaned but as the years went by it was such a regular, essential part of the morning, it drifted imperceptibly, as far as I was concerned, into the state you found it. I promise to take care of it now - it will see me out.

Thank you so much. I'm so grateful for its second life and please thank the staff who took so much care over the revival.

Love

George