It's My Life

What a washout the last few days have been. 

I was very brave on Tuesday morning, leaving my coat at home and walking down to the swimming baths in my Frida jacket, albeit with a weighty vintage Louis Caring maxi dress, thermals, huge velvet scarf, Nordic socks and Doc Martens underneath. 

We picked up a Lidl Waste Not box after our swim along with a few extra groceries (not too many, we had to carry them home) and so far we've eaten......veg cutlets with baked potato, sweetcorn and green beans; Greek salad; Punjabi tikka with aloo chat and vegan gyros (they were on offer in Lidl and they're absolutely delicious).

 The early morning drizzle when we left the house at 7.30am soon escalated into torrential rain so, after washing our swimming gear, I left Jon making music and took myself off and spent the rest of the day refashioning the Cath Kidston "London Bus" single duvet set I'd bought from the clearance charity shop last week into a maxi dress and matching tote. The design was only printed on one side (the reverse was red polka dots) so it took a bit of effort to match up the pattern. I think I did okay.

It was another miserably wet start to the day on Wednesday. After my workout and breakfast we drove over to one of our regular haunts for a morning of charity shopping.

Again I was brave and left the coat at home, plumping for last week's River Island balloon sleeved denim jacket over another of my Dilli Grey dresses with a vintage felted wool hat.

Picking were slim but we found a few bits....

Italian-made Jones The Bootmaker fringed suede boots; 1980s leather waistcoat; 1980s leather bag by Palio, Italy; Clarks silver leather shoes; Wooden beads; Draped jersey dress by Israeli designer Ronen Chen (still with the £195 price tag attached); West African waxed cotton co-ord; Hand-painted glass beads (I've found a near identical set listed on Etsy as "antique" & priced at £119!); 1980s leather Gladstone bag; Silk scarf; Massimo Dutti Spanish-made suede cowboy boots; 1980s Shy, London draped jacket.

After an afternoon of listings (and dodging showers to take photos), the evening was spent watching Daisy Jones & The Six, which has proved very good so far although Sam Claflin played such an amazing role in Peaky Blinders I'm finding it difficult not to unsee Oswald Moseley fronting a rock band! We also tuned into the new series of the BBC's Race Across the World, where real people have to make their way across Canada without mobile phones, a limited budget and no flights.

On Thursday, we went for an early swim and a 'Spoons breakfast.With the temperature reaching a balmy (!) 15°C I braved bare ankles and wore the Jones fringed boots I'd bought yesterday, a bargain at £1! I also snaffled the vintage glass and the wooden beads to wear with my Indian block printed smock top, Greek fisherman's cap and chazza shopped Levi's (which are a couple of sizes too big but the quality is so good I'm reluctant to part with them).

Between rain showers we managed to get a few tasks done in the garden, namely removing a clump of bamboo from the border. Word of advice, if you're ever in a garden centre, step away from the bamboo, it's evil! By the way, that's a before photo, it was p*ssing it down by the time we'd finished!

 I also managed to sort out the raised beds, harvesting the last of the onions and turning over the soil in readiness for the seedlings gradually sprouting on the windowsill.

Although he pops round daily to get his Nepeta fix, Mr William Woolberforce has now started appearing on the doorstep every morning, desperate for food (luckily we had some left from when poor Ollie used to visit). As I've mentioned before, he's an entire male (pompoms still attached) although he's very friendly and happy to be picked up and cuddled, I think he must be from the cat colony in the old windmill recently sold and under development, so he's possibly been displaced although I shall print off a paper collar HERE just to make sure he's not a pet from a careless owner. 

 On Thursday evening we went to the theatre (twice in a week, how decadent!) This time we saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at Wolverhampton's Grand. Our tickets were a Xmas present from Liz and Al. The show starred Paul Nicholas (Just Good Friends and, of course, a pop star in the 1970s) and Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel from Only Fools and Horses) and was absolutely brilliant. I've seen the film I don't know how many times although, with it being set in Bangalore as opposed to Rajasthan and with Dorothy from the BBC replacing Graham (the character played by Tom Wilkinson), the stage show was based on Deborah Moggach's book of the same name (and a wonderful read). It was Liz's birthday on Wednesday so, after she'd unwrapped her presents we celebrated with large glasses of red wine in The Moon Under Water, Wolverhampton's branch of Wetherspoons which conveniently, is directly opposite the theatre.

 

I wore this hand-embroidered, Barcelona-based designer dress by Nekane NKN, purchased new with tags from eBay last year along, with a car-booted tribal necklace.

Not due at the dentist till 2pm, I had a leisurely morning planned for Friday, a workout and breakfast followed by wrapping parcels, sorting out festival applications and catching up on some cleaning, so I was still in my exercise gear when the surgery called and asked if I could possibly change my appointment to 10.30am. After a mad dash I made it on time and work continued with the intricate business of replacing my cracked 24 year old veneer with a crown.

Knowing my face would be frozen for the rest of the day (a combination of anaesthetic and being in the chair for almost an hour) I posed for a photo before I got there. As Jon was dropping me off I left the jacket at home, wearing one of my vintage Indian block printed waistcoats over my All About Aud dress and last week's cowboy boots. 

One of the many advantages I've found with having a mobile phone is that I can call Jon to pick me up rather than having to walk two miles home in the pouring rain. Whilst I was waiting I took a few photos (another bonus of phone ownership!)

My dentist's surgery is in the Pleck area of Walsall, a mile and a half from the town centre and, like nearby Caldmore & Palfrey, has a large South Asian population. The Shree Ram Mandir one of several Hindu temples in the town. I'm sure you already know that the swastika is an ancient symbol of peace, appropriated by the Nazis in the 20th Century.

 

As well as sari shops and goldsmiths, the high street is choc-a-block with chai shops, sweet centres and balti houses. The tantalising smell drives you mad when your mouth's frozen!

It's been a miserably wet afternoon so I've cracked on with the tasks I'd planned on doing this morning including agonising over choosing which of the two music festivals held on the same weekend we're going to trade with. Portaloos, sequins at dawn, bare feet, live music, all day drinking, good company and 18 hour working days...bring it on!

Tomorrow is All Fool's Day and marks our Never Had a Wedding Anniversary, 31 years of unwedded bliss (yes, I know he'd get less for murder!) No doubt Lord Jon and I will be celebrating the occasion with a few cheeky rums.

See you soon!