Civic Luncheon
Some time ago, after an elaborate service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where servants of the empire were invested into the Knights of the Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, the Air Chief Marshal attended a civic luncheon given by the Lord Mayor of London. He found himself seated next to the Lady Mayoress, a very amply proportioned woman who was wearing her Mayoral chain and a red rose in her bosom.
The Air Chief Marshal, still wearing his robes and the gold chain of the Order, looked at the Mayoress' rose thoughtfully and, as he sat down next to her, said with a smile, "Lady Mayoress, if I were to pluck your rose, would you blush?"
"Marshal," replied the lady without hesitation, "and if I were to pull your chain, would you flush?"