After some unseasonably warm weather, May has reverted back to dismally average temperatures but I didn't bother with a jacket on Wednesday morning as I'm always glowing after our swim. These Indian cotton quilted waistcoats are perfect for this time of year, it's just as well I have a few! The one I'm wearing over my India Imports for Rhode Island maxi is a 1970s Chelsea Girl original.
Fed up with my ongoing hip issues, I took my frustrations out on the garden, attacking the ridiculously overgrown patio border. Four hours later and I could finally see my Agapanthus and Phlox "Mount Fuji" again.
Before (above) and after (below).
I felt even better when Jon brought me a mug of tea and the news that he'd booked a holiday for next month. Yippee!!!!
On Wednesday night we started watching A Perfect Spy, a 1980s adaptation of the John Le Carre novel, currently on the BBC iPlayer. A bit dated but still enjoyable.
On Thursday I thought I'd give these charity-shopped cords an outing and, while I was at it, test out my Lotta's by walking to the parcel drop off shop. Amazingly both my arthritic toe-joints and hip fared pretty well and I made it there and back without having to stop for a rest.
The cords were originally from Tu, Sainsbury's supermarket's in-house label. I never thought the day would come when I'd wear supermarket fashion but I think these are the first trousers I've ever worn in my life that are the perfect length.
After spending a couple of hours tackling the horrifically deep bamboo roots in the border I'd cleared, I altered a vintage wraparound skirt I'd bought from Vinted last week....beautiful but dangerously long, with my issues tripping is a real concern.
These wrap skirts have a curved hem so once you've measured how much you need to take off the length, you'll need to go along the hem, marking the exact measurement with tailors chalk every few inches and then cut an inch below the line so allow for a double hem. If you turn the skirt up without trimming off the excess fabric the hem will be too bulky and it won't hang correctly. Be brave and don't forget, measure twice, cut once!
Here she is, four inches shorter and the perfect length with flat footwear. The previous owner bought it on holiday in Barcelona in the 1970s. The seller was at pains to let me know that it has faded over the years (hence the £5 asking price) but I always think that it gives clothes personality and only adds to the charm.
Talking of Vinted, I also snaffled this All About Audrey sari silk maxi dress, still with the tags attached, for £8. Nobody's going to miss me in this!!
On Thursday evening we continued watching A Perfect Spy with a break for Race Across The World. How lovely are the people of Uzbekistan and Kystostan? The scenery is pretty spectacular, too. Shame about the food, I think I'd starve to death!
Friday was another swimming day.
When I'm not sure what to wear I always seem to gravitate towards this All About Audrey maxi dress (bought from their website in 2024). If I subscribed to that cost per wear thingy that some women do it'll probably owe me money! I'd completely forgotten about this amazing vintage Kashmiri woolwork jacket I'd snaffled from Vinted for £5 last year. It's perfect for this time of year.
As usual we had breakfast in Spoons followed by a look around the charity shops.
Today's finds..a pair of handmade plus-sized cotton dungarees, two leisure shirts, a tooled leather belt, a 1960s Austin Reed cord jacket with a fur collar, a 1980s bronze raincoat by Totes and some repro lace-up knee high boots.
And some too-cheap-to-leave vinyl.
We had another session in the garden. Jon set about breaking up Jacob's pen (sob!) and I potted up some houseleeks that grow like weeds in our garden.
Once again it's Friday and therefore rum night! On the agenda tonight is the latest episodes of Criminal Record and Scotland's Home of the Year before more of A Perfect Spy.
Mobile phones, they're brilliant! I'm writing this post whilst sitting in the garden, slathered in sun cream with a cat slumped at my feet. In the old days, before I went over to the dark side, I'd have to forfeit my Vitamin D fix to sit indoors tapping away at my PC.
Anyway, back to business. On Tuesday evening we caught the train into Birmingham and headed to the Town Hall for an audience with brilliant historian David Olusoga with his A Gun Through Time tour. Examining how the world was changed with four guns; the musket rifle, the Lee Enfield, the Tommy gun and the Maxim, David was as mesmerising as he is on the TV, combining fascinating facts with a wickedly dry sense of humour. If you've never seen any of his work for the BBC I strongly urge you to seek them out, he could talk about paint drying and still have you on the edge of your seat and, to lower the tone somewhat, he's rather easy in the eye, too!
I'm glad to say that the use of phones was prohibited during the show but here's a few photos before it started.
Wednesday was a busy day for Jon, with a dental appointment in the morning and his long-awaited steroid injections in his knees in the afternoon. The weather was glorious and I spent four hours on my knees weeding. As Jon couldn't drive, Tony took him to the surgery, arriving half an hour early with a box of Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts) , which lasted all of five minutes!
My beloved 1970s Van Allan maxi is well past her prime these days but she's fine for household chores!
For the second night in a row we were off out so I got changed into my 1970s Quad Mediaeval inspired velvet maxi which Jon spotted in the £2.99 charity shop a couple of years ago.
Our destination was Wolverhampton Grand to see the stage adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley, a book I've read countless times as well as seeing the film on numerous occasions and watching the Netflix series.
Al and Liz picked us up and the non-drivers shared a bottle of red in The Moon Under Water, the Wolverhampton branch of Wetherspoons, directly opposite the theatre.
I cannot begin to tell you how good it was, without doubt the best play I've ever seen. I was sceptical as to how the violence, the brutality and Tom's machinations could possibly be captured on stage but the cast did so with aplomb. If you get the chance to see it then go!
Jon was able to drive on Thursday so we headed to a few of our regular charity shopping haunts in the suburbs. Since I've been using a walking stick I've struggled with my chazza browsing but as we'd driven there I was able to leave the stick behind and hold on to Jon's arm to get into the shops.
The big clearance shop is opposite the student village so most of the offerings are cheap fast fashion but I was thrilled to spot this on the Gold Rail (that's the "designer" rail!)...a deadstock Dollyrockers mini dress!
The choice of books is always excellent and I splashed out £2 on replenishing my reading pile with books set in Morocco, New Orleans, China and France. Can you tell that I'm getting itchy feet? Jon found a couple of workers' jackets and a snazzy shirt for himself.
I couldn't resist these brand new flared cords at £2. There's me slagging off fast fashion and they're from a supermarket. I never try stuff on and an so impressed with the fit and how perfect the length is. What's the problem with cords? When they get wet you corduroy 'em! Sorry, it probably makes absolutely no sense to anyone who hasn't got a Black Country accent!
I spotted these 1940s Utility shoes with the CC41 stamp. A proper bit of WWII fashion, David Olusoga would be proud! Link HERE if you're not into British wartime history. Way to mall for me but I'm sure I'll find someone who'll love them!
I was beside myself with excitement when I spotted these leather Justin "Gypsy" boots and discovered they were my size! The charity shop in question isn't the cheapest but I thought £25 was more than fair for boots I can walk in without wanting cut my feet off but when I got the the till the shop had a sale on and they were reduced by 25%!
It was nail appointment time yesterday afternoon and inspired by my new boots I went for Cornflower blue.
Although it's still pretty chilly in the mornings, this morning I left my coat at home and walked down to the baths at 7am in just a dress and waistcoat.
Now all gang's back together after the pool closure we seemed to do a lot of talking but we still managed to get our lengths in and, much to Jon's delight, Spoon's kitchen was open so he could have his traditional breakfast.
Having sold the boots that crippled me last week, I reinvested some of the proceeds into a pair of Clarks' Tor Run trainers from Vinted (which you'll see if you watch the video).
Needless to say we had a look in the chazzas on the way home from Wetherspoons. I spotted Boy George's autobiography, Karma, in the £1 bucket. If you've followed my blog for a while I'm sure you'll remember me telling you that he used to live in a squat in Walsall (along with Sigue Sigue Sputnick's Martin Degville) before he became an international superstar. There's an area of Walsall called Caldmore (but pronounced Karma) and most of us believe Karma Chameleon was George's homage to our town!
Jon couldn't resist a painted ostrich egg for 50p!
Don't these weeks roll around quickly? Once again, I'm looking forward to pouring the rum and cola and settling down with a film. Have a fabulous weekend, whatever you're up to.
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