Hand-me-downs?

England beat Scotland at rugby last weekend. Great. Tindall was injured so came off. I expect Zara was concerned as she was at the match and would have known he was hurt.

Today I read that an acquaintance of Zara P's was wearing a coat identicl to one that Zara wore in 2007. The article intimated that maybe she had loaned or even given the coat to her chum. Suppose she had, I can't see the problem.

It's a great thing to be able to pass on a perfectly good piece of clothing to a friend or relative. I am sure that when I was small I wore clothes that had been my older brother's and I distinctly recall my younger brother passing on several good suits to me a few years ago.

Charity shops thrive on the basis that generous folk give good clothing to be sold, whilst wise others shop and buy bargains galore. Maybe not hand-me-downs but for sure give-em-aways! I recall John the Baptist gave this advice, " John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."Luke 3:11 (NIV)

I suppose Zara is watched closely by the fashionistas because she is of royal lineage and maybe especially so at the moment since she is soon to be married. May she be able to ride the media interest as ably as she manages her horses.

Handing things down is a fact of life. Without this activity we would be impoverished. For example, I was handed down details of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Receiving that information transformed my life and world view. In turn I hand that news down as often as I can and I have seen how different ones have been helped by it.

The activity of handing things down or passing them on, is so widespread, we might even say it's universal. Many hand down advice and practical aid in all sorts of spheres of concern and need. Passing on information, instruction or material goods can be of great benefit to the recipients. Where we can help, let's do so without any strings.