Ellee Seymour

There can’t be a person in the land who wasn’t appalled and sickened by the pointless murder of Thomas ap Rhys Price who was stabbed to death for his mobile phone.

Poor Thomas was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he met his callous killers who showed him no mercy - and have shown no remorse since.

With our knife culture increasing, surely we should be banning their sale from shops. They should be as difficult to buy as guns. Those who  require them for countryside pursuits or any genuine activity will have to prove it, get a letter of consent from local police.

I know these weapons will always be available at sources like the internet, but we must make them as inaccessible as possible. Many violent crimes are probably committed on the spur of the moment, they are done for kicks, a sad indictment of the age we live in. We need to respond to that. My fear is that one day it might be my son, it could even be your child, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time…

Michael Grade wore them with his dark suit yesterday, Sir Christopher Meyer (pic) is famed for them, and even David Gest wouldn’t  be without them in the jungle. But can someone please tell me, why do men wear red socks?

One one hand they look naff and tasteless, the kind of accessory I would expect John McCririck to have a drawer full of. But they also have a quirky appeal indicating a “devil may care” attitude. Are they  simply a ploy of the upper-class dandy?

I wonder if our continental men could wear them with panache, while on a Brit, the site of the red ankle causes ripples of mirth and derision.

Sir Christopher’s hosiery has caused much speculation from commentators seeking  an explanation for his outlandish taste, it has even had Michael Gove in despair. The reason seems to be a tactic to be unforgettable:

“He wears red socks (a 1980s sort of idiosyncratic gesture designed to keep him in the memory of those he meets, but nevertheless one that works), he can ride in the ambassadorial Rolls-Royce through Washington like a pasha, but he is essentially grounded, partly through his wife Catherine - despite them being known as Fred and Ginger on the Washington circuit.”

And I’m sure it is a case of “once seen never forgotten” as Sir Christopher even wears a matching tie! But before you head off to try out this daring style for yourself, do take advice from the Men’s Style Guru who advises you not to wear red socks while giving the State of the Union address as “some will take you for a Communist and others will insist that the vice president take over immediately, on the ‘unable to perform’ clause.”

So men, have you added a pair of red socks to your Christmas list, or wouldn’t you be seen dead in them?