Our grandchildren are currently organising their prom night and have asked me if I would drive them in my 1947 Bentley Mk VI and I have agreed as I feel it might add an element of class to the occasion.

Sadly, it seems so many of the youth of today would rather go to one of these events in a stretched Hummer, which is an American military vehicle which is effectively an armour plated lorry. Perhaps to venture into London nowadays one does need the protection of armour plating, but I’m going to take a chance anyway and hope we shall return unscathed due to the protection of the fine walnut veneers on the interior, surely enough to stop any bullet.

I must say, the Hummer looks a damn sight more classy in military form than it does when some silly arse has stretched it to such a degree that it is unable to manoeuvre round the most basic corner or roundabout.

It was indeed the grandchildren themselves who knowing that some of their fellow pupils are travelling in a stretched Hummer and have become sufficiently adult to realise which of these two vehicles has more class and to request the Bentley.

At vast expense, Nanny has purchased complete outfits for both of the grandchildren and in all fairness they are very smart suits which they will be able to wear later in the year on our trip to Honfleur.

However and there is always, a however. In my youth we never used to have Proms, even when someone had actually graduated from University, as these events were an invention of the Americans, as I believe were baby showers and Halloween and it is only relatively recently that we seem to have followed suit, although God alone knows why.

As you can tell, I am not at all keen on following anything the Americans do, enormous buckets of Coke, super sizing, Disneyland, rap music, bad car design, famous for no reason celebrities, to name but a few off the top of my head.

The main reason for my reluctance to embrace fully this event is the fact that the grandchildren are only 11 years old, so quite what they have graduated from I have no idea. I have a nasty feeling this will be the first of many graduation events through their school and University career, although I think if you do have to have one, perhaps leave it until one has actually graduated and gained a degree and have finished your education.

I’m sure the grandkids will love it and at least I have the consolation of knowing they will arrive with style.