Meet the Scone Man Who Owns 212 Ties and Has Worn Precisely Four of Them, All to Weddings or Court

By our Local Characters Correspondent

Derek Gow, 66, from Scone, owns 212 ties and has worn four of them, and he says the news that American politicians have declared the necktie “dead” has come “a bit too late for my wardrobe”.

“My family give me a tie every Christmas and every birthday,” he said. “Since 1971. That’s two a year, plus Father’s Day once they found out about Father’s Day. I don’t have the heart to tell them.”

Derek keeps the ties in a cupboard in the spare room. Some are still in their boxes. “There’s a Bart Simpson one from 1991,” he said. “There’s one with tiny golf balls on. There’s one that plays Jingle Bells when you press it. I’ve pressed it. I’m not wearing it.”

His daughter said she had no idea he never wore them. “Every year he says, ‘Oh, lovely, a tie,'” she said. “I thought he was pleased. Now I know he says that to all of them.”

Derek says he will not give the ties away. “They’re memories,” he said. “Every one of them is a Christmas. Also, I’m worried if I give them to a charity shop, my daughter will buy one back and give it to me again.”

The real story: US midterm candidates' style (BBC News)