Fiji

Last week I spent on Fiji, a lovely break from the New Zealand winter (and an interesting testing ground for berets).

Leaving home at 4am to catch an Uber to the airport, I managed to forget to put my beret on - a very unusual thing to happen. However, the need for my 10.5p Auloronesa was small, 6 hours later and I fully enjoyed wearing both the Chyldish Fear' Naught (in earth/cotton) and an Eco-Printemps (blue) by Le Béret Français.

The Fear' Naught was the densest/heaviest of the two, but did very well in the warm, humid conditions. Great moist absorption on the rim and never becoming itchy or too warm - the solid cotton lining would have played a role here too.

The Eco-Printemps (made of recycled fibers like cotton, silk, linen, etc) felt absolutely feather light and could easily forget I was wearing a beret even at the hottest and sunniest time of day.

The Fear' Naught proved to do very well in a tropical downpour too; staying pretty much waterproof and keeping shape - pictured here drying on the dashboard of the rental vehicle.

Apart from myself, not many berets spotted on the Friendly Islands, apart from police at roadblocks and behind the speed radar.

One constable was friendly enough to let me have a peek inside his beret: made in India.

The only other Fijian boinero I can think of would be Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Ratu, a naval officer and politician who has been Prime Minister of Fiji since 2007 (I didn't get the opportunity to peek inside his beret...).

But really, I would strongly advise the PM and any Fijian government official to switch from Indian wool berets to a genuine Chyldish Fear' Naught or Eco-Printemps - satisfaction guaranteed!