Rex,

I held back on this one as I didn't want to cut in too closely to your original post, but I think the thread has moved on sufficiently for me to throw in my sixpennyworth. Hope you don't mind.

Being a full-time kilt wearer, I wear the kilt whenever I go to the theatre, be it to a play, a musical, the opera or the ballet. Like you, I went to the ballet (in nearby Worthing), but this was about three months ago. The company was the visiting Moscow City Ballet and the major part of their programme for the evening was "La Sylphide", in it's entirety. I must have seen this ballet dozens of times and I am always enchanted by it, as I was on this occasion. With me, in his kilt, was a friend (in fact, the one with whom I am coming to California in October). It was quite obvious that many in the audience noticed our kilts and the only woman to ask us about them assumed we were something to do with the Ballet Company or the theatre!

However, whilst we were at the bar during the Interval, we were approached by a youngish chap who was armed with the theatre programme and a note book. It turned out that he was the Theatre Critic of the local weekly newspaper, and he was fascinated to know why we had bothered to dress in kilts for the evening. Were we showing some sort of respect or solidarity with the main ballet's theme? Were we, perhaps, going on to a Scottish event after the show? When I explained that my friend is a frequent kilt wearer and that I am a full-time one, the man lost all interest in us!! He apologised for troubling us and disappeared into the crowd before either of us could say another word.

Make of that what you will. Jim and I puzzled over his reaction for quite a while.

When I read his review in the paper a few days later, he made no mention of having seen kilts in the audience as well as on the stage, so I assume that when he saw us he was hoping for some sort of 'angle' with which to pad out his all too short critique!