A small squidgy parcel popped through the letter box yesterday. It contained four face masks adorned with the Bellew arms: sable, fretty or.
As you know, in days of yore, a chap’s Arms was emblazoned on his shield so that he might be recognised. Wearing armour with a helmet and visor one knight looked much like another. Today, in England, masks are compulsory and will make identification problematic. If everyone sports their Arms it will be much easier to recognise friends while we keep safe. Gratifyingly these masks are made in England. They were an unexpected present from a friend who knows a gore sinister from a gusset dexter. He has a portfolio of jobs including the NHS and the College of Arms – an armigerous face mask neatly combines them.
There is another aspect to keeping safe. Yesterday morning I tried to log into my National Savings account. I had to be sent a code on my mobile to prove it was me. Later I logged into another online account and the log in procedure will soon be made even securer. However, I know the way in which I am most likely to be scammed and yet I may carelessly fall for it. When I need to make an online payment, perhaps to a butcher, baker or candle-stick maker, the scammer will intercept the payment instructions so that I pay the money into the wrong account. It’s hard to spot as the instructions appear to come from the trusted e mail address of the company I owe money to. To my knowledge this has happened to a firm of Solicitors in Mayfair and a landscape gardener. I must remember to call the recipient to check the bank details before making a first payment. Keep safe!
What a resourceful friend to manage a “custom” face mask, and a nice coda to your epic-sounding Stag’s Leap dinner last week. I’m not sure the mask would work as well for those whose escutcheons are charged with less graphically regular and pleasing elements (and crests would offer similar challenges — imagine squinting trying to make out those heraldic beasts). The Bellew arms are admirably suited. The return of heraldry to the business of aiding in identification by sight would delight traditionalists, who continue to judge simpler designs as better ones.