The Big Chill

When we got back from Málaga the temperature at home plummeted to -9°C. Of course, I'm well aware that many of you reading this are used to far worse but here it's very unusual. Although I'm not mad keen on the cold, it doesn't faze me. What is it they say? It's not bad weather, its the wrong clothing and, with my extensive wardrobe, I wasn't struggling for clothes with which to do battle against the Troll of Trondheim.

On Tuesday I wore a vintage Afghan dress over a thermal polo neck and sports leggings, my Afghan coat, twenty-hole Doc Martens, 1970s sheepskin mittens and a Tuscan lamb hat to go out charity shopping. 

 

I spent most of Wednesday afternoon in the dentist's chair whilst he attempted to remove a dodgy root canal done by an incompetent dentist back in the 1990s. Being the superhuman that I am, I didn't feel a thing having inherited my mother's freakishly high pain threshold. I wore a quilted Indian block print reversible jacket by Kharibu with an alpaca wool polo neck, Celtic & Co boots and a cable knit hat which I kept on throughout the drilling, tunnelling and scraping.

The cropped canvas jeans were £2 from the clearance chazza the previous day, the 1970s-style ring zip caught my eye. After struggling to find trousers to fit for most of my life, Zara's are perfect for me.

When we went swimming on Monday and Thursday, as locker space is limited, I wore the same outfit on both days (with my purple Wetherall of Bond Street cape over the top) - a vintage navy suede jacket with sheepskin-trimmed collar and cuffs, Clarks' boots and a Part II striped polo neck (all secondhand) along with a me-made wool hat, Gucci shades and my Hand Bag mittens-on-a-string which my mum bought me from Van Allen in 1971 and I've worn ever since! 

Another clearance charity shop pair of jeans. Although hidden in the photo, these 1980s black denim pair are fabulously high-waisted, I love that they are made in England although I can't find anything out about the brand, most probably made locally, Birmingham had hundreds of textile factories back in the day.

Specsavers had referred me to the hospital with suspected Glaucoma back in January and, on Friday, after countless cancellations and cockups, I was finally called for my field test so, hopefully, I should have a diagnosis when I see the opthalmic surgeon (for what will be the third time) in January. Anyway, I wore a Collier-Campbell for Liberty wool maxi dress, a 1960s teal suede waistcoat and Galleries Lafayette suede jacket along with another Tuscan lamb hat from my collection and my trusty mittens. The outfit must have made an impression, the ophthalmic technician told me that she loved me! 

Saturday was a morning of housework, an afternoon of football and an evening of rum, cola and spy thrillers. These William Morris cotton pyjamas - bought secondhand - are so cosy tucked into my fleece-lined cable knit birthday socks although I take them off when I get into bed. Even in Arctic conditions I could never wear clothes in bed, it just ain't right! 

And talking of birthdays, I thought I'd photograph my cards and pressies before I put them away. Wasn't I spoilt? Yes, that is an electric shrine, just what every atheist needs in their kitchen.

Today is supposed to be the final day of our cold snap and at a balmy -1°C I bravely took off my gloves and coat to pose for an outfit photo. Under my vintage Hindu Kush Afghan dress I'm wearing an embroidered polo neck from East, thermal leggings, cashmere wristwarmers and two pairs of Nordic socks.

How amazing is this wool waistcoat? It's not seen the light of day in a while as last Winter was exceptionally mild. 

The eBay seller described it as a Berber Waistcoat but after seeing some traditional costumes in the folk museum in Rhodes last year I think it's more likely a traditional Greek Shigini, a sleeveless jacket originally worn by women from the Attica region on the mainland.

Those outfits need to be in my wardrobe!

And what of the charity shops? While Liz found us the 1980s fake arctic wolf coat, we snaffled a handmade 1970s maxi dress, a 1970s C&A chiffon party dress, a trio of Cath Kidston, Ralph Lauren and Burberry sweatshirts, a 1970s Romantique wool blend jumper, a leather trimmed 1980s gents jumper, a 1980s Etam coat dress, a 1980s leather flying jacket, a quilted block printed gilet, an unworn G-Star denim waistcoat, a 1960s lime green rayon jacket and a gorgeous Arts and Crafts-era lion's head brass pot, now taking pride of place next to the bath as a planter.

I didn't add this morning's finds to the collage as it had started snowing before I could photograph them. Lord Jon spotted a couple of Philippa Gregory books and on the advice of my friend, Lynn, I've written down the ones I've read and, as they weren't on my list, I bought both. Mind you, at £1 for the pair, it wouldn't have broken the bank if I'd already read them!

TV-wise we've watched the cold-war thriller, A Spy Among Friends, adapted from Ben Macintyre's novel of the same name and based on the deceptions of the Soviet traitor, Kim Philby. With a cast that includes Damian Lewis, Guy Pierce and Anna Maxwell Martin, it couldn't be any less than brilliant. 

We've also been glued to the long-awaited second series of Slow Horses. Set in Slough House in London where M15 agents are sent to see out their days when they've screwed up too badly to attend to their regular duties but not badly enough to be sacked outright. Led by the slobbish Jackson Lamb, played with aplomb by Gary Oldman, it's every bit as brilliant as the Mick Herron books on which the series is based.

And talking of TV, I'd better dash.....the World Cup Final is just about to kick off. Come on, Argentina!!

See you soon.