Hillary's underused overcoat

And so Hillary Clinton, the new US Presi-, the new US Secretary of State arrives for her first visit in her new capacity to Beijing and is given a state reception complete with sniper fi-, complete with red and blue flags and lights according to this blog on the BBC news website

(now don't you wish you had studied harder at school and become an important person who gets Red And Blue Flags And Lights welcoming you at airports? When I arrive somewhere by plane I have to navigate an arrivals hall clogged with numerous overweight taxi drivers who've been holding a mucky whiteboard in one hand and a half-eaten donut on the other)

One thing that struck me about this blogger's observation was the "Overcoat Etiquette" on display. Very important this, apparently. If an arriving dignitary appears on the airport tarmac not wearing too much clothing this makes the visiting VIP more vigorous looking, apparently, and possibly more menacing ready to strike the negotiating table running (if you could possibly imagine running on a table, or a negotiating table at that.... I wonder if they sell them in IKEA?)

Our mis-speaking Hillary though actually decides to be sensible and wear an overcoat, not because she wants to appear weak, but because it's cold in Beijing (and bullet-proof vests can be more easily hidden, in case those pesky snipers return).

Which makes you really thankful Hillary is a woman of practicality whose next stop is not some sun-baked equitorial island ruled by an aggresive dictator: I'm not sure I want to see Hillary Clinton arriving in a bikini (or even Obama in just his Y-fronts, if I'm totally honest)