What I know about armpits, plugging gaps and David Bowie

This could be a winding path.
   Above is an image of one side of the Epiploic Cube. It is based on the armhole of a 17thC. dress. The construction of clothes during the 17thC. was such that armholes were high and tight. The next idea to add is that silk rots, the worst thing that can happen to silk is a human.A I have said in a previous post I am not an expert in antique clothing nor a conservator but I do have experience of wearing and mending antique clothing. I collect antique textiles and am very fond of the well loved ones with thinning sections and exposed layers. In brief I can use all of this to plug a gap in knowledge when I handle materials which are old or delicate. I can guess very well how a tight high armhole will age if made in silk and I know how it will need to be mended; all this kind of knowledge sits at the front of my thoughts when I watch surgery.
    So, David Bowie collaborated a long time ago with Bing Crosby on 'Little Drummer Boy'. The world of tradition met the world of the avant garde and who knows how many unlikely collaborations it germinated. At the time, perhaps, followers of each side were uncomfortable with their sound, as a child I was one of them. Now I listen to it and hear how their harmonies wrap around each other in a painfully honest way. I see Bing's jumper and David's dual eye colour and I hear two musicians just being musicians and not superstars.
    What has this got to do with me doing the work that I do, with me cutting up poached eggs and handling ancient books in order to understand it? Some people will be uncomfortable with it and some will understand why. Some will shout about it in the staff room (yes I was listening but you didn't know it was me) and some will see me as part of the furniture. This is the strangest time of my life and I am living every moment of it.