Kitty looked down at her skirt and blouse. They looked perfectly all right to her, but then compared to the flamboyant outfit and hat that her mother was wearing, she supposed they were a little drab. She watched with interest from the window as the cab went along and soon they were in what Ruby told her was Oxford Street.

‘We’ll go to Marshall and Snelgrove’s first,’ Ruby said. There was nothing she loved more than spending money and she could hardly wait to get into the shop.

Once inside, Kitty stared around in amazement. Compared to the shops in her home town this one was huge and she didn’t know where to look first. There were counters displaying all manner of things in every direction, with smart young assistants standing behind them.

Ruby stopped at most of them, fingering gloves and scarves before dismissing them and moving on again, and soon Kitty’s head was buzzing. There was so much to take in and now amongst the finely dressed ladies who were milling around she understood what her mother meant. Her outfit really did look plain compared to theirs.

‘I think we’ll walk along to Selfridges,’ her mother said after a time. ‘They have a much better selection of everything there and on the way, we’ll stop in a tea shop for a pastry and some tea.’

Kitty found herself smiling, her mother really did love her food. It didn’t feel like any time at all since they’d had lunch. The tea shop she chose was very quaint with waitresses flitting about in pretty lace aprons and black dresses. Ruby ordered them a pot of tea and a selection of pastries, and when they were delivered on a fancy three-tier cake-stand, Kitty gaped at it. There must have been at least a dozen small fancies on there. Ruby wasn’t fazed though and three had disappeared in seconds while Kitty was still nibbling away at her first.

‘Mm, you really must try these jam and cream scones. They’re quite delightful,’ Ruby enthused with a blob of jam on the end of her nose. Kitty giggled. Already she had formed the opinion that her mother was used to having her own way and was rather spoiled – and yet she was also very likeable.

Eventually they arrived at Selfridges and if she had been surprised in Marshall & Snelgrove’s Kitty was positively shocked in there and didn’t quite know where to look first.

‘We must visit the perfume counters,’ Ruby said, her eyes sparkling, and before Kitty had a chance to answer, Ruby was off. She then proceeded to dab and spray all kinds of perfume on her wrists until Kitty felt as if she was going to choke, the combined scents were so overpowering.

‘Oh, I’ll take a bottle of this French one, I think – charge it to my account,’ Ruby told the young assistant eventually as she sniffed at her wrist with an expression of ecstasy on her face. ‘And we’ll also have a bottle of that one for my niece. It’s lighter and more suited to a younger person, I think.’