What does my uniform say about me?
“It says I’m a bit leftfield. I’ve always tried to combine education with entertainment, and I hope I’m a good leader.”
And what it really says
This is not a picture of Thomas, retired teacher. It is a picture of Thomas, loyal supporter of King Charles I, officer in Sir William Pennyman’s regiment and proud Cavalier. And he looks great. Curly helmet feathers, white lacy boot turner-overers (I don’t know the technical terms), scary gun, excellent leather man-bags and a bloody marvellous suede coat. There are elements of his outfit – the coat and bags, specifically – that could be worn with ease around the hipster hostelries of 2016.
Yet it is not 2016 for Thomas. Not while wearing this outfit. I am interested in the transformative effect of clothes (wearing a white doctor’s coat has been proven to make people perform better in tests), and Thomas’s Civil War outfit is utterly transformative. It might not be for those who view him, who could point to his contemporary-looking beard and say, “Not very (Laughing) Cavalier”. But that’s not the point. This outfit is transformative for Thomas. It changes him.
It’s customary to be a bit sneery about people who dress up like Thomas. But nothing happens – in life, in work, in love – unless you take it seriously, and Thomas’s long years in Civil War re-enactment shows he does exactly this. He has knowledge. He knows what he’s doing.
We celebrate OTT computer games and Imax films, but actually, the best events are often sparked by a combination of the real world and our imaginations. At a festival, you imagine you can feel the love when you dance with a group of strangers. At a re-enactment, you imagine the fear when you recreate a battle. And so, for that time, it is real. Virtual reality. Like real life, only more involving.
If you would like Miranda to cast an eye over your favourite possession, email a photograph to magazine@observer.co.uk
