Rocco Forte, who lost the Trust Houses Forte hotels chain to the acquisitive Donegalman Gerry Robinson of Granada, does indeed have a more rarefied lifestyle than the rest of us.

In a first-person essay in the Sunday Times, he writes: "I am meticulous about shoes. The secret of a shine is a wet cloth. Spit is better than water. . . Occasionally I'll clean my own shoes, because it's rather therapeutic, but I've taught the person who cleans my shoes to do it properly. In fact, I've trained quite a few people in London."