I'm Sexy And I Know it

So sang the inebriated bloke as he danced up and down the aisles, stumbling over the empty cans of Red Stripe and the Malibu mixers, falling on to the laps of my fellow passengers on the train back to Walsall after a fabulous day spent in Nottingham with Curtise & Tania.  I shall think of them every time I hear that song now. Sorry, girls! 

And what a day it was! Saturday started off with, what Tania dubs The Curse of Nottingham, the grey skies and incessant drizzle that plagues us whenever we visit the East Midlands, but our optimistically bright Summer maxis turned out to be a wise choice as, within minutes of arrival, the rain let up and the sun broke through.

After a cappuccino and a catch-up at the station cafe we strolled through the city centre and caught a bus to Sherwood, an arty suburb a 15 minute ride away.

The bus driver told us that he loved our dresses and gave us a discounted family ticket, saving us a few quid.

Sherwood had charity shops galore, the Sunshine Vintage Bazaar and an annual arts festival. The lady from the WI who'd help coordinate the yarn bombing told us that a quarter of the exhibits had vanished since they'd been put on display. Well, who wouldn't want a woolly carrot adorning their dashboard or a glittery hedgehog on the mantelpiece? 

Forget the goody bags, makeovers and brand sponsorship normally associated with blogger meet-ups, with us its frisky pensioners, mobility scooters and Wetherspoon burger & a pint deals.

Mexican gourmet vegeburgers, ice cold lager and a white wine for Tania ('cos she's a lady) demolished, we exchanged presents, took the obligatory selfie in the loo (top photo) and jumped on the bus back to the city.

Pressies! Indian dancing girl, wooden gazelles and the 1970s St Michael nightie I'm wearing in the last photo from Curtise. Tenerife key holder, Madeira espresso cups and Portuguese cockerel from Tania 

We hot -footed it to Baklash, Nottingham's legendary vintage shop, where we browsed the bargain basement (with only Tania making a purchase).

We visited the charity shops but although there was plenty of reasonable priced vintage on offer none of us were tempted to buy.

We loved the grumpy lion. 

Charity shop, My Sight, had some interesting gear. I tried some Shelley's platforms that were too big and a vintage sequin embellished velvet coat too brown whilst Curtise's 1980s-does-the-1930s Astrakhan jacket was a bit snug around the boobs & Tania got stuck in the towelling beach dress she tried on but it was good to catch up with our friends Jackie & Richard.

Sue Ryder Vintage had a bit of an artsy display but I think this bear with the blooming gut would give small children nightmares.

After a goodbye pint in a canal side pub we made our way back to the station and said our goodbyes. Tania's got two jobs, Curtise starts hers this week and I've got ten festivals lined up. Could be a while before we meet again.

I wore the psychedelic silk maxi bought from Gem at Stockport last weekend along with a Moroccan enamel pendant (also from Vintage Village) and a 1970s St Michael bag (courtesy of Clare who used to blog as Miss Simmonds Says). The dress is a bit creased as I'd had it on for twelve hours by the time Jon snapped this photo.

With a whole weekend free I spent yesterday making a couple of short dresses to wear at Glastonbury just in case it rains (best to be prepared!) The green Kenyan printed cotton was 50p at a boot sale and the 1960s orange Tricel was 99p from a charity shop (I've even made shorts to go underneath as the festival goers of Glastonbury don't really need to be seeing my arse).

Talking of Glasto it's one more sleep and we're off. Today will mostly be spent packing my clothes but where on earth do I start?

See you on the other side!