I don't mean a gilt-edged proclamation from God, describing every step you are to take for the rest of your existence.

The Flemish centre of old Lille, with its cobbled streets and gilt-edged stonework, has been scrubbed up; new cafes and boutiques flourish.

Every morning, as I awoke, I somehow felt the day coming to me like a new gilt-edged letter, with some unheard-of news awaiting me on the opening of the envelope.