'Refusing to wear a mask doesn’t make you fearless it makes you selfish'

I got dolled up and went “out out” in London on Thursday.

It felt very weird to put on a dress and high heels for the first time in four months and I’d totally forgotten how to do a full face of slap and ended up looking a bit panto dame.

But what really hacked me off was having to wear a face mask to travel on the ­underground.

Because I’ve only got those bog-standard medical ones and they didn’t go with any of the outfits I wanted to wear.

And when you’re borderline OCD about colour co-ordination that is a serious problem.

But did I shout and scream about this monstrous imposition and its detrimental affect on my mental health?

Did I moan about the ­grotesque assault on my civil ­liberties or the bizarre logic of only making masks compulsory so far into the pandemic? I did not.   

Instead I found the only frock that came close to the turquoise hue of my single-use face covering, donned a pair of matching earrings and set forth on the Jubilee Line feigning Covid chic.

Because that is the responsible thing to do. To protect others.

And, when the wearing of masks in shops becomes compulsory on Friday, I believe we have a moral obligation to comply, not just a legal one.

Refusing doesn’t make you a hero or show you’re not scared of the pesky virus. It makes you a selfish prat. 

Because, as the experts keep telling us, a mask’s main purpose is to ­protect others from the droplets you will cough, sneeze or breathe out if you are ­infected with coronavirus.

Nobody, bar a few ­fetishists and doomsday preppers, actually ENJOY ­wearing masks.

They are stuffy, sweaty, itchy and unattractive. They make it hard to talk and, if they steam up your specs, to see.

I don’t buy the argument that masks give people “a false sense of security” either.

Because the ever-present irritation only reminds me to wash my hands more often or squirt on the sanitiser.

So is it REALLY such a big deal to wear one for now – to prevent a second wave and another lockdown?

It will make others feel safer, it will ­encourage people back to the High Street, it will get the economy going again and it will save jobs and businesses.

And by wearing a mask you might actually save someone’s life.