Ahh bless her JRW, you're a lucky man.
I tried the, "what this old thing?" line the other day, but it didn't work on my new 15L Lowepro Flipside back pack. Mainly because it is a bright blue colour and is very hard to sneak past anyone with.
BTW, the back pack is very good, very light and very secure.
Oops and it is new stuff, so I am not following the example of OP Mickw. I'm trying but it's hard.