Joke's On You

British jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas recalls playing a prank on her uppercrust, nightclub-owning godfather Mark Birley

My godfather Mark Birley was a charming and generous man known for his portfolio of London clubs. In 1963, when he opened the city’s fabled Annabel’s, which was lovingly named after his wife, he decided rather daringly not to insist on evening dress, which was unheard of for exclusive West End clubs at the time.

Mark was one of my mother’s oldest friends. In fact, my very first job was as his secretary at Annabel’s and, as a child, I would spend lots of time with him on family ski holidays. He was one of the most elegant (and vain!) men I’ve ever met in my life. He’s the only man I’ve ever known who insisted on wearing his shoes one size smaller because he claimed this made them look better.