The Distancing Diaries - 7th & 8th June, 2021

 On Monday morning after my Wii Fit session and I'd wrapped the weekend eBay sales, I gave the houseplants a misting before joining Jon for breakfast. One of the Severn Trent chaps called round to let us know that we needed to boil the tap water before drinking it for the next couple of days. It really is like being at a festival (or in India)! 

Jon did the post office run, a supermarket shop and popped round to Tony's, leaving me to potter around the garden before stripping off to my bikini and prostrating myself on the lawn. When Jon got back we had some noodles, I put some clothes on and then drove up to the local garden centre as they'd posted on Facebook that they'd had some bedding plants delivered and I wanted to get my patio pots filled.

Hooray for hot weather and being able to wear my strappy dresses again! This 1970s Indian cotton sundress was bought as a wounded bird (aka, a project) from eBay last summer. My £3 chazza-shopped Clarks' Originals got their first outing and jolly comfy they were, too.

After a joyous hour investigating everything they had, I spent the rest of the afternoon potting up and watering the garden. Jon brought me out an ice-cold bottle of Corona with a wedge of lime as, funnily enough, it's been on special offer since last year. It's what we always drink at the airport bar when we're off on our travels and yes, I am one of those disgraceful people who drink beer no matter what time of the day it is, airports are like festivals, time is meaningless!

Tea was roasted veggies with Halloumi. Later we watched a bit more of Eastern European cop drama The Pleasure Principle and the Antiques Road Trip from earlier in the day and I was in bed by 10am as I'd been awake since 4.30am.

On Tuesday morning the Wii Fit congratulated me on our 4,200th session. As it looked like being another glorious day I did a load of washing and pegged it out on the line. After breakfast, we drove over to our favourite Black Country town for a mooch around the charity shops.

Another charity shop expedition and another excuse to wear one of my eBayed Dilli Grey dresses, the Bianca. It was the first outing for this Rani Pink one and it got a lot of love from the good folk in the charity shops.

We didn't do too badly and found some decent stuff to top up the Kinky rails.

A 1990s Sisley lawn cotton dress; a 1970s tailcoat; a vintage bespoke cashmere & wool overcoat with a velvet collar; a 1970s cheesecloth sundress; a 1980s leopard print coat; a 1980s Indian cotton midi dress; a 1980s pure new wool overcoat with a velvet collar; a peacock print silk kimono; 1970s sheepskin mittens; a 1980s C&A leisure shirt; a vintage 1960s basket and a Moss Bros linen blazer. 

I nearly had heart failure when I spotted this.....only vintage wool and velvet-trimmed Annabelinda pinafore dress for three-flipping-quid!

Based in Oxford, the Annabelinda boutique traded until 2012 but its heyday was the 1970s where it became famous for its quality hand-finished garments often made from Liberty fabrics and with designs inspired by a pre-industrial, rural England. Annabelinda has featured in several exhibitions showcasing British Boutique fashion including Liberty in Fashion (2015 - 2016) at London's Fashion Textile Museum.

Liberty in Fashion (2015 - 2016) SOURCE

Their dresses were popular with Oxford undergraduates, one notable customer was Benazir Bhutto, the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, who studied at the university from 1973. Other famous fans included Dame Judi Dench. The label expanded beyond Oxford with outlets at Liberty & Harrods. Annabelinda was one of three English labels selected to create a design to commemorate Liberty's 100th Anniversary in 1975.

Annabelinda's Boutique

Annabelinda postcard

The boutique hit the national headlines in 1981 when the late, great Howard Marks, former Oxford undergraduate and international cannabis smuggler, claimed in his autobiography that he had planned to use Annabelinda as a front for his work with MI6. He also claimed to have funded the move from small premises on Park End Street to 6 Gloucester Street to provide a respectable front for the wealth gained from his drug dealing. I was lucky enough to attend several audiences with Howard Marks over the years, he was a fascinating character and Mr Nice is well worth a read if you haven't already (HERE). 

Needless to say, my dress is a keeper!

After our lunchtime noodles, we spent the rest of the day in the garden. Jon did some pruning and I pottered before adjourning to the lawn with my latest book.

When the sun had gone behind the trees we planted geraniums, Russian tarragon, chives, nasturtiums and grasses I'd dug up from elsewhere in the garden along with the Acer we'd bought the other week and some trays of dianthus from our visit to the garden centre on Monday.

We'd got a couple of metal panels going spare so Jon hammered them along the edge of the lawn which should keep the kids and dogs off. 

We took it in shifts to water the garden, fortified by ice-cold Coronas (again).

Tea was salad, feta parcels and a savoury tartlet. The plan for tonight is to watch the rest of Time, Sunday night's episode was riveting.

See you soon!