Tie in a bottle

In case anyone is wondering what is this, let me just say that it is one of my ties in the cut-off bottom of a plastic water bottle. What happened was this: when I learnt that there was a possibility that everyone would have to wear batik or a tie with his normal office attire to the Old Frees Association annual dinner in Kuala Lumpur last month, I decided to go prepared.

But the problem was that I would be travelling from Penang and if I were to just throw my tie into the luggage, the chances are great that it would end up creased and crumpled. And it wouldn't be the first one. Even if I were to fold it up carefully and place it in the luggage, the tie might suffer the same fate.

So there I was, pondering how to solve the problem when I happened to glance at a few bottles of mineral water on my kitchen table. The idea struck me. Why not just cut the bottom off one of them and stuff the tie in it? I was sure that the plastic would be sturdy enough to resist normal crumbling attempts. I wasn't wrong. My tie went to KL and back in tip-top condition. Everyone should try this!