What you wear and how you behave,

especially at a funeral, say a lot about you as an individual.

Many funerals I have attended in the past few years have also been attended by people in a variety of attire. There is no longer a requirement to wear black. Men do not always wear suits and ties. Some people will even attend in jeans and t-shirts.

These are what most of us would call "ordinary people". They are people special to us but they would not want us to "stand on ceremony" for any reason. There was no sea of black for the funerals of either of my parents or for anyone else I have known. On one occasion the funeral announcement actually asked for everyone to wear bright colours. On another people were asked to wear a pair of socks knitted by the person whose funeral it was. We were asked to remove our shoes at the doors of the cathedral in which it was held. Other people, also knitters, wore their own handmade socks. It was a special tribute to a very special person.

But there are other funerals where formality is required. They are the funerals of people like royalty, heads of state and so on. The funeral of Pope Francis was one such occasion. I looked at the reports on the news service and something jarred. In among all those respectful dark suits there was a quite bright blue suit. Yes, President Trump wore a bright blue suit. It was wrong. It was disrespectful. He would have been told what was appropriate. His wife would have known it was wrong. She was respectfully dressed. 

Was it deliberate? I suspect it was. The President made no secret of his boredom. He was caught on camera looking at his watch and looking at his mobile phone too. It was not fitting behaviour at a funeral, particularly during the service.

But President Zelensky was just as disrespectful you say? He was wearing fatigues! As I understand it Zelensky is not a military man. He wears army fatigues but he does not wear a uniform. He has no medals to show. His clothing has been chosen to say, "I am your President. We are at war."

President Zelensky, who is Jewish by birth, wore fatigues as a sign of respect. It might also be what we see him in when he appears on camera but on this occasion I am told he wore them out of respect. He was acknowledging the support Pope Francis had given the Ukrainian people. We did not see him looking at his watch or at the screen of his mobile phone in the middle of the service. 

The dress and behaviour of some people can say a great deal about them.