It's Official - Housework is Bad for your Health!

If you were ever in any doubt, there's the proof....

On Monday morning, in a hurry to get the washing pegged out before the England vs Nigeria game, halfway down the garden my foot gave way with a sickening crack. I staggered back inside and unable to stand, Jon drove me to A&E where, to my relief, X-rays determined that it was a bad sprain rather than a fracture. Following NHS guidelines, I'm doing RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression (a tightly laced trainer rather than a bandage) and Elevation. I'm hoping that I'll be able to put some weight on my foot by next week or setting up for Beautiful Days is going to be tricky! 

As I can't elevate my foot when I'm sitting at my computer desk, in the absence of any blog catching up (I find it almost impossible using my phone), my days have been filled with reading and watching World Cup football. All I can say if is you do decide to injure yourself do it when the national football team are playing a critical match. I was in and out of A&E at Walsall Manor Hospital in just over two hours which it must be some sort of record! 

The view from my chair - William has decided to remain in my line of vision by snoozing on top of Gilbert.

Anyway, on to other business. With the weather being so vile, I've been dressing like its Autumn. 

On Sunday (pre-injury) Jon took an outfit photo for the first time in weeks. Along with my chazza-shopped Timberland boots, vintage India Imports of Rhode Island block printed maxi skirt and 5 year old All About Audrey wrap top, I wore this Crackhead Jesus belt for the first time.

Isn't it bizarre? Slightly damaged, it was marked up at just 50p in one of the clearance chazzas. 

And here's Tuesday's outfit (sans head). I love how Indian block prints, old or new, combine to create wardrobe magic. That's one of my vintage Anokhi skirts worn with a contemporary Monsoon blouse (bought from one of their 70% off online flash sales). The snazzy walking stick was an emergency car boot purchase back in 2013 when I overdid it at Glastonbury and needed an intravenous steroid infusion to sort me out - I've not needed to use it for 10 years (and hopefully it'll be another decade till the next time!) 

When I got up at 6am today (Wednesday) my phone announced that, at 6°C, it was the coldest August morning on record but, with sunshine forecast for later, I wore the new-to-me DIY Daisy dress bought from the clearance chazza on Sunday morning along with my tightly laced chazza-shopped Michael Kors leather trainers and my "Gucci" shades (bought from a Greek supermarket). I'm still waiting for the promised warmth but at least I haven't had to resort to putting the heating on. Sitting around doing nothing chills me to the bone.

And talking of secondhand finds, here's a mere fraction of the fabulous stuff we'd found on our travels since Womad.

Clockwise from top left: 1960s St Michael psych shirt; 1980s feather trimmed crepe cocktail dress; 1980s Frank Usher sequin vest; 1960s Elgee, London all-wool mini dress; 1970s feather print halterneck maxi; 1980s Racine, Paris midi dress; 1960s Dollyrockers maxi; 1960s West German cotton Mod mini; 1950s Empire-made nylon housecoat; 1980s Frank Usher cocktail top

Clockwise from top left: 1970s Funny Girl needlecord flares; 1950s Tootal smoking jacket; 1970s corded cotton maxi dress; 1970s nylon nightie; 1980s Agnes B cashmere & wool maxi coat; 1980s Salou souvenir sweat top; 1970s psych lace-front maxi dress; 1970s chiffon cape sleeve maxi dress; 1980s Duffer of St George gabardine mackintosh; 1970s cotton folk print maxi skirt

Clockwise from top left: 1970s Dacron maxi: 1970s Marion Donaldson maxi skirt; Bejewelled Indian mesh coat; 1980s Diane Freis sequin & bead cocktail dress; 1980s Wallis snakeskin jacket; 1960s silk maxi dress; Handmade Liberty fabric shift dress; Missoni, Italy midi dress; 1970s C&A smock dress; 1980s Brutus bomber jacket

And a lovely treat from Lynn & Brendan, a Greek Kalimera cat mug, found on their holidays in Norfolk.

It was Lord Jon's birthday on Saturday and, with the weather being too awful for our usual National Trust/cultural birthday adventure we went to see Oppenheimer at Walsall's Light cinema instead. The film is three hours long but its so effin' good that the time simply flew by. 

Back at home we watched Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. It was released when we were in Corfu so we missed it on the big screen. Was it any good? Do you really need to ask?

And here's our current TV obsession...

With five series under its belt, the gripping and achingly stylish French spy series, Le Bureau Des Legendes (The Bureau) first aired in 2015. As self-confessed espionage obsessives, how on earth had this slipped under our radar? GQ says, Mixing gritty realism and good writing to elevate a pulpy genre to unexpected heights is a proven recipe for great TV, and it is not hyperbole to say that what The Wire did for the cop show, the French drama Le Bureau is doing for the 21st-century espionage drama. 

I'm off to ice my foot. See you soon!