Ukridge, in love with Mabel, spends a lot of time at her place where he encounters a rival, Sir Aubrey, a baronet who was in the Guards. Mabel's mother invites Ukridge to join them at the Ascot race meeting and he manages to borrow some money from a friend to finance the day out. But disaster strikes when his top hat is accidentally destroyed and he can't afford to replace it; drastic action is required.
| S. F. Ukridge | a chancer |
| Julia Ukridge | his aunt |
| James Corcoran | his friend |
| George Tupper | Ukridge's friend |
| Mrs Beale | Ukridge's landlady |
| Mabel's mother | |
| Mabel's father | |
| Sir Aubrey |
First published 26 December 1925 in the Saturday Evening Post (US)
Also published January 1926 in the Strand magazine.
Coldstream Guards
- the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British army, founded 1650 and acquiring the Coldstream name in 1670. Their full official name is 'Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards'.
Time, the great healer
- a much used phrase which might come from the Hebrew proverb 'Time is a great healer'.
Arundel Street
- in 1906, William Townend (friend and author) lodged in Arundell Street at PG's expense as reward for telling him a story which led to Wodehouse's book Love Among the Chickens. That book featured the first appearance of Ukridge so it's appropriate he also lodged there (albeit with a slightly different spelling).
Foreign Office
- UK equivalent of the US State Department, dealing with foreign affairs, diplomacy etc.
K. C. M. G.
- Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George, an award for public service usually associated with diplomacy.
Eton collar
- a broad, stiff collar worn outside the coat collar.
'I'll be up and ready, with a heart for any fate.'
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Life.
Ten-bob
- ten shillings.
Mangel-wurzel
- a root vegetable, shaped like a turnip or beet and used for cattle fodder.
Ascot, Hurst Park, Sandown, Gatwick, Ally Pally and Lingfield
- all English racecourses but only Sandown and Lingfield are still open. Ally Pally was properly known as Alexandra Park.
'... it seemed to me that God was in His Heaven and all was right with the world.'
- Robert Browning, The Year's at the Spring from the play Pippa Passes.
Spongebag trousers
- men's chequered trousers patterned in the style of many sponge-bags.