Eat, Sleep, Watch Football....Repeat!

The promised hot weather and sunshine wasn't forthcoming on Friday morning and it was cold enough for a jacket when we walked down to the baths. However, emerging from Spoons after breakfast, it was starting to warm up. 

I wore a 1970s St Michael vest top, a me-made Anokhi fabric maxi skirt and my Jesus Saves 1970s belt. As I'm an aethist I'm hoping there's a goalkeeper called Jesus playing in the World Cup to make it more relevant! 

It was warm enough to sit in the garden when we got home - which we did! 

In the recent National Trust members magazine, they'd shared a couple of recipes from one of their publications, Irresistible Salads. Jon made both and we enjoyed them so much that we ordered the book. This Lemon, Rocket and Burrata Pasta Salad was another winner.

After the fabulous opening ceremony at Mexico's spectacular Azteca Stadium on Thursday evening and Mexico's well-deserved win, we're now well and truly invested in the World Cup, 2026. On Friday night it was the turn of Canada who drew with Bosnia & Hertzigovina. Neither of us had the stamina to stay up for the 2am USA vs Paraguay match afterwards.

On Saturday morning we watched the game over breakfast. 

After the match we went for a walk around the block before spending the rest of the morning gardening. I wore this 1970s Oasis Trading maxi skirt with a me-made halter top (made using the same Anokhi fabric as yesterday's skirt) and road-tested my newly charity-shopped Tevas, which were an absolute dream to walk in. 

 Although it wasn't exactly tropical I did manage to lie outside reading until late in the afternoon. I started my 43rd book of the year, Philip Kerr's A Man Without Breath. Set during WWII, charismatic Nazi-hating Bernie Gunther, a Berlin police detective, has been enlisted into the German War Crimes Bureau to investigate the Katyn Massacre of 1940. Josef Goebels wants proof of Russian involvement in the hope of destroying the Western Alliance but the truth turns out to be far more damaging. The Bernie Gunther novels (there are 14 in all) are currently being serialised for television and will star the fantastic Jack Lowden on Apple TV later this year. 

Saturday night was another (late) night of football although we went to bed before the Scotland match, watching it on catch-up on Sunday morning.  Continuing with my run of wearing me-made clothes I wore this dress which I made in 2014 using a pair of vintage Grace Sullivan for Heals' Treetop screen-printed curtains and a Kenzo for Butterick dressmaking pattern from 1971.

We went for our usual walk around the block before spending the rest of the day outside (and the evening in front of the football). 

How gorgeous are these roses? I think they're called Carnival but it's been six years since we planted them so I could be wrong. 

Monday was swimming day and, ever the optimist, I left the house with bare arms and sandals. There were issues with the main pool and the management opened the brine baths early so we regulars could get our fix. We used to use the brine until swapping allegiance to the gala pool. I'd forgotten how hard it is swimming in 34°C salted water, it was like wading through treacle! 

I wore a 1960s Jantzen beach dress (nylon with padded boobs) with my denim waistcoat. I tried sitting in the garden for an hour or so when we got home but was defeated by the cold wind.  

Later on we had to go the hospital for my annual appointment with the Opthalmic department - happily there's no change so I'm still just verging on borderline with my Glaucoma. 

The evening was, once again, dominated by the footie!

On Tuesday (today!) I had an appointment with Michael the osteopath and, with a shared love of travel and football, we got on like a house on fire. I wasn't expecting miracles but I felt so much better after I'd had my treatment. At home I realised I'd climbed the stairs like a normal person rather than clinging on to the bannister and going up a step at a time. 

Needless to say, I didn't walk round to the clinic in my black lycra cycling shorts & sports bra - although that seems the outfit of choice for the majority of women these days - instead opting for this embroidered linen sundress from Zara (via the charity shop).

Liz, back from her holiday in St Ives, popped round and we sat outside chatting in the sunshine. I tried to sunbathe for a few hours after lunch but it clouded over....grrr! 

We're both already nervous about tomorrow. Come on, England!

Pox, Pistols & Powdered Wigs (What I've Been Up To This Week)

 

I signed off my last blog post by wishing you a good weekend and here we are, on the cusp of the next one. Thank you so much for those of you who left a comment especially with advice regarding my diagnosis. For those of you not in the UK, our NHS is fantastic & we are incredibly lucky to have it but I will not be having a new hip in the next few weeks! 

Although the target is 18 weeks, from diagnosis to clinical intervention , a hip replacement typically takes between 20 - 36 weeks and, in some cases, 50. I haven't even got an appointment with the consultant yet. If you know my story, you'll remember that my first hip, which through a undetected birth defect, had been causing me problems since the age of 11, wasn't taken seriously for over 27 years so anything's an improvement on that! 

On Saturday we went for a walk around the block. I wore a vintage Anokhi maxi skirt and this 1970s embroidered blouse bought from a junk shop in Corfu town. I finished reading My Husband, a great book with a surprising ending. With Trump seemingly determined to sabotage this year's World Cup I'm not as excited as I usually am but after we watched the England vs New Zealand friendly I started getting into the mood, ordering a new Three Lions flag to replace our old one. 

On Sunday I wore this India Imports of Rhode Island maxi skirt with a gauzy cotton All About Audrey blouse for my now-daily Project keep the hip moving walk around the block. In need of a World Cup Wallchart we were forced to buy the Sun as it was the only paper with one. What a disgusting, salacious, rancid rag it is (it went straight into the recycling bin). If that's the UK's most popular newspaper no wonder there's so many ill-educated, bigoted morons roaming our streets. 

 

I started (and finished) reading No Small Thing by Orlaine McDonald, an deeply emotional read exploring the impact of trauma and poverty on the lives of three generations of women on a South London housing estate. If, like me, you adored Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other, you'll love this.

In the evening, after we'd caught up with Criminal Record, we continued with season 2 of For All Mankind which, despite mixed reviews, we're finding just as thrilling as the first series. 

Monday was our first swimming day of the week and with the weather so miserable, it was pretty quiet at the pool. Rather than look around the charity shops we decided to straight home after our Spoons breakfast, getting in just as the heavens opened. 

I wore my beloved Anokhi maxi dress with one of my many All About Audrey wrap tops (this was a Vinted find), the ideal way of wearing your strappy dresses all year round. I started reading Creation Lake by Rachel Kuchner, a Booker Prize shortlisted thriller about an American spy infiltrating a network of eco-activists in Western France. Espionage is probably my favourite genre and it's a great read so far. 

Taking advantage of a rare dry day, Jon put the festival trading tent up in the garden on Tuesday morning. As he'd rejected my offer of help I vacuumed and dusted upstairs.  

If I stare at my wardrobe for long enough, a new combination of clothing invariably slaps me around the chops...like this Naked Generation (via Vinted) blouse and this vintage '70s block printed wraparound skirt by Papillon. I was having a good foot day and was able to wear my Lottas for walking down to the parcel shop although I kicked them off when I got home and spent a couple of hours tackling the weeds. 

Currently empty but at least it's up! 

It was the turn of England's mighty Lionesses to play on Tuesday night and although they beat Ukraine, their place in the 2027 World Cup isn't guaranteed. I shall keep everything crossed for the play-offs later in the year. 

In hindsight, I should have worn a jacket rather than my quilted vintage Anokhi waistcoat over my wafty All About Audrey kaftan when I walked down to the pool at 7am on Wednesday, it was so cold! 

It was another quiet day at the pool. After breakfast we had a wander around the chazzas where, to my delight, I spotted a brand new pair of "Universal" Tevas in my size for £6 in the British Heart Foundation (they retail for £50). Tevas are a game changer, the best sandals I've ever worn - waterproof, supportive, lightweight and comfy even when I'm having a hellish foot day I can wear these without wanting to saw my toes off! They are the only footwear I pack when I travel in the Summer.  

After we'd picked up some essentials in the newly opened OneBeyond (a UK discount chain with a surprisingly good array of stock) we went to the matinee performance of Savage House at Walsall Light. I hadn't read any reviews, I saw this poster and just knew we needed to see it. I love a powdered wig! 

Set in the 18th Century amidst an outbreak of the pox and a Jacobite uprising, Sir Chauncey (Richard E Grant) and his wife, Lady Savage (Claire Foy), dream of an aristocratic lifestyle, believing their opportunity has finally arrived when the celebrated Duke & Duchess of Devonshire invite themselves for dinner but their preparations soon descend into ironic decadence and bloodshed. A marvellous satirical observation on class and power and wickedly funny. We both loved it - Withnail and I with Wigs! -  although the elderly lady in the seat in front of us loudly whispered to her friend, I didn't expect sex and swearing! 

I popped around to my friend Vicki's for a couple of hours, drinking wine, chatting about Greece (she's just back from the island we're off to soon) and, as she's a chiropractor, getting some helpful advice & tips on all things hip. Back at home I continued with the drinking...it was England's last friendly before the World Cup and the rum was flowing. The crazy weather in Florida caused the match to kick off an hour late so it was past midnight by the time we'd thrashed Costa Rica 3 - 0. 

A wood mouse (not Algernon)

The evening took on a rather surreal feel when a cute wood mouse sauntered past us on his hind legs and vanished behind the tv. He looked so haughty that we decided to call him Algernon. As fast as lightning William chased after him, reappearing with Algernon dangling from his mouth. Jon managed to capture him and release him in the garden unharmed, if a little dazed. 

As I went to bed so late I was going to forfeit my Wii Fit session but, as usual, I was awake before 6am and it seemed daft to lie in bed for the sake of it. I ended up really enjoying every minute of my half-hour yoga session. 

In honour of tonight's opening ceremony in Mexico I was tempted to wear one of my Mexican dresses but it was another horribly cold and wet day so I wore a vintage knitted maxi skirt by Samuel Sherman, an All About Audrey top (via Vinted) and my trusty 1970s denim waistcoat although my Corral cowboy boots were made in Mexico. The weather was so horrible that I didn't even bother with my daily walk and Jon drove to the lockers to drop off my Vinted sales.  

Our lads aren't playing till next week which is just as well as my new flag hasn't turned up yet! 

I'm off to catch up with Blogland before The World Cup takes over my life.

Hip and Happening!

You can tell that the weather's taken a turn, I'm posting twice in a week!

First things first, shortly after posting my last blog, I had a phone call from my GP as he'd finally got the results of my pelvic x-ray. As suspected my right hip is well and truly knackered and I've being referred back to the orthopaedic department at the hospital to undergo a total hip replacement. On the bright side my prosthetic left hip is perfectly fine despite being over 20 years old. 

Tuesday isn't a swimming day so, as usual, I spent half an hour on my Wii Fit doing a mix of yoga and muscle-building exercises. As I have no strength in my hip, there's a few exercises I can't do but plenty that I can. The last thing I'm going to do is allow myself to be defeated and sit on my arse all day. 

The highlight of my day was getting my nails done and, for the first time in my life I went for a French manicure but with neon tips. The photos don't do Charlotte at True Beauty's work justice, I can't stop looking at them! 

It was a day of wildly changeable weather, a morning of grey skies and torrential rain & an afternoon hot enough to sit in the garden in a bikini. I wore this All About Audrey dress to the salon, bought from Vinted with the tags still attached. 

Jon had a dental appointment first thing on Wednesday morning so we swapped our early swim for the lunchtime session which was crazy busy, at one point there were 14 of us! 

As it wasn't particularly warm I gave the groovy 1970s cat jumper I bought from a charity shop last week an outing. 

Later on, we continued to watch For All Mankind but a comment my lovely friend Kezzie left reminded me that I hadn't mentioned Two Weeks In August, currently being aired on BBC1. A drama about a group of friends who meet at university and now, in their 40s, hire a Greek villa for a fortnight. I was expecting this to be a bit wishy-washy and fluffy but it was a excellent watch, quite dark with a marvellous blend of hedonism, beautiful scenery and Greek mythology. Two Weeks was actually filmed in Malta and Gozo but it looked very much like Greece. Well worth watching. 

Thursday started with another Wii Fit session. William, as usual, decided he needed to join in, standing on the balance board and headbutting me while I did my press-ups and side stands, rubbing around my ankles during the Downward Facing Dog and climbing on my back when I did the Plank. 

With the shorter, face-framing layers my hair is pretty wavy. This is what it looks like after I've washed it and left it to dry naturally. 

It was another day of mixed weather but I'm in Summer mode now so it's bare arms all the way. I wore this 1970s Imported Classics block-printed Indian cotton maxi with my trusty vintage denim waistcoat and one of my many Indian silk screen printed scarves I've bought from charity shops over the years. It was quite sunny when Jon & I went for a walk around the block later, hence the sunglasses! 

I spent the afternoon sorting out the clothes I'm taking away to Greece with me whilst Jon rung the insurance company to get my hip included on our travel policy, an additional charge of £26 - a small price to pay for peace of mind! 

I started reading my 40th book of the year, My Husband by Maud Ventura, translated from French, the original language of publication. The book caused a sensation in France and it tells the tale of a besotted wife who demands devotion from her husband. It has been compared to both Gone Girl and to Patricia Highsmith's work, that's good enough for me.   

Friday (today) started with an early morning swim followed by breakfast in 'Spoons and a mooch around the charity shops. I wore this 1970s David Silverman pinafore with one of my All About Audrey recycled sari wrap tops (via Vinted).

Talking of charity shops, I was excited to find a tube of Philip Kingsley's Swimcap for £1 - it retails at £26. 

As an adult I've never worn clothes in bed so when I went into hopsital for my first hip replacment I had the added stress of having to rush out and buy nighties the day before. This time I'm going to be more prepared so I snaffled this £3 Zara nightie, with the £27.99 price tags still attached, and have already packed it away with the charity shopped dressing gown I bought the other day. 

From the same charity shop I also bought this Deco-inspired ceramic plant pot for £3. 

When I bought the Umbrella plant in the photo below it was the size of the one on the windowsill (this was grown from a cutting we'd taken from it), now look at it! I've run out of moss poles to support it....

If you cast your minds back to Lockdown you may remember us planting a wildflower meadow on the rubble-strewn patch of land outside our gates. Isn't it pretty?  

We're starting on season 2 of For All Mankind later. Who'd have thought I'd ever be interested in a drama about space travel, certainly not me! Season 1 got me hooked and reeled me in and its not just rockets and Russians, there's sexism, prejudice and dodgy politics not to mention gorgeous late 60s/early 70s fashion and a groovy soundtrack. 

Have a fabulous weekend, see you soon!