Hanging On The Telephone

Afternoon, all! I'm glad you loved Divine Beauty as much as we did. 

A successful charity shop find is one that you wear straight away. This unassuming woven top with a fringed trim which I found on Friday morning for £2 originally hailed from hush, a decent quality brand aimed at women who, the Australian founder says, "like fashion, but are not slaves to it." The weather's gone properly Wintery - which is only to be expected considering its January - so it provided a extra layer of warmth when we went shopping on Sunday morning.

Don't die of shock...I've finally joined the 21st Century and got myself a smartphone. It's starting to get harder and harder to travel without one what with paper-free train and airline tickets, keyless passcodes to access accommodation and QR codes for museum and art gallery exhibits. The helpful young woman in Argos told me that her mum has the same model (a Samsung A04s), they're apparently popular with us over 50s! The case was off Walsall market.

It also means that when I go to 'Spoons I can leave my camera at home and annoy everyone by taking photos with my phone instead...

Playing at being an Instagram w*nker by taking food photos, that's my vegan roasted vegetable pizza, the boys had Spoons' legendary fish and chips with mushy peas and curry sauce.

Apparently yesterday was Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year...no misery for us though, Tony, Jon & I had a cracking time in the pub.

The only hint of the blues was what I wore.

A first outing for this Dilli Grey dress. Like all their dresses, it's been handmade with love and ethically produced. Expect to see a lot more of her over the coming months. 

I spotted these fabulous blue suede boots on eBay and was amazed that I was the only bidder, snaffling them for under a tenner. They're by The Jacksons, a high-end Notting Hill boutique whose ethics, like those of Dilli Grey, are top notch . These boots would have originally cost £hundreds. As the quality is so good, they're insanely comfy, I didn't even feel like I was wearing heels, even in yesterday's icy conditions. 

Viewing-wise we've devoured ITV's Stonehouse, a wonderfully stylish three-part series based on the true story of John Stonehouse, the Labour MP for Walsall North who, in 1974, hatched an outlandish plot to disappear. Although I was only a child at the time, I still remember the scandal and our town making front page news.

It was -6°C and when I got up this morning, cold for England if not necessarily cold to many of you reading elsewhere. After 40 lengths of the pool we popped into 'Spoons for breakfast and, of course, I had to photograph my Mushrooms Benedict just to annoy Jon. 

Visiting the charity shops on the way home, we walked back in dazzling sunshine and I was able to photograph both Sunday & today's finds in the garden....a handmade cardi, a Max&Co wrap dress (with tags attached), a 1960s all wool Gaystyle jumper, a Nike sports top (new with tags, now in my drawer), a 1950s Banner leisure shirt, an 1980s-does-the-1950s rockabilly shirt, 1980s Hawaiian shirt and a Theodora & Callum hooded poncho (also new with tags).

 If you're wondering about the amount of new stuff we come home with, it's because Walsall is home to TX Maxx's main depot and they generously donate their unsold stock to charity. 

Lots of books (as always)....we've read Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas many times and love it. I'm very excited about The Mountain Shadow, the sequel to the incredible Indian backpacker's stalwart, Shantarram. 

My Mum bought this Mongolian lamb jacket in the 1970s. I haven't worn it since Britain battled the Beast from the East back in 2018 and had relegated it to the stockroom until Liz told me I needed to keep it. Underneath I'm wearing 2 x pairs of thermal leggings, a thermal polo neck and a 1960s suede mini skirt bought along with the rest of Graz's vintage stock when we popped over to visit Moseley Vintage Hub before Xmas. 

This afternoon I'll be getting stuck into my third read of 2023, Land of Decoration (courtesy of my friend, Lynn), once I've sorted out the chaos that is my wardrobe. 

I'm off on another cultural adventure tomorrow, I've downloaded my train tickets and everything, how modern! Back with a full report very soon!