Blessed Are The Cheesemakers

After almost a month of using Darlaston baths, on Wednesday the Gala pool was finally up and running and I was beside myself with excitement. 

Expecting my mile swim to be followed by a Spoons breakfast and a look around the charity shops, I wore this 1970s maxi in celebration, only to discover that the kitchen was closed for refurbishment so we went straight back home. The dress didn't go unnoticed, it got lots of love on TikTok.

I've got a bit of a thing about chokers at the moment so I raided Mrs Kaur's shop for braid and made a few of my own. I'm wearing the purple one with my dress. 

After Monday morning's frost and Tuesday's bitter chill, Wednesday afternoon brought a hailstorm of biblical proportions. Thursday felt a little more Spring-like so I thought I'd give this 1970s printed cotton pinafore dress by David Silverman an outing.

A 50-plus influencer recently claimed that floral dresses worn with denim jackets were a no-no for older women and loads of her followers promised never to dress like that ever again. Don't people have minds of their own? Would you change your style on the word of a stranger on the internet? I'm the opposite, as soon as I read a comment like that, I develop a desperate urge to dress in that way and immediately pulled on the Levi's Type 1 denim jacket I'd scored from Vinted last month. 

I needed to collect a Vinted parcel so Jon and I had a leisurely stroll down to the pickup point, a former vetinary clinic but now a Kurdish-run convenience store. It's an amazingly well-stocked shop, the array of artisan chocolate and European savoury snacks is astonishing and I counted seven varieties of cheese in the fridge (Gouda, Edam, Cheddar, Feta, Paneer, Haloumi and Stilton). One of the young men who works there told me he'd seen me on the internet so, if he's reading this, hello!!

Check out the groovy label on my Vinted purchase! Anthea Proud was best known for her high-end girl's dresses, often made from Liberty fabric, in the 1960s and 1970s. This grown-up sized dress was listed as being damaged and priced accordingly. I love a bit of mending and soon repaired the damaged area.

As wel as being a talented designer, Anthea Proud also had a well-known husband, Ian Davidson. As well as being an acclaimed screen writer (TV credits included Sorry, The Two Ronnies and The Brittas Empire), he also appeared in my Dad's favourite programme, Monty Python's Flying Circus. 

And here's the dress in all its glory, worn to walk down to the swimming pool at 7am this morning. 

Disclaimer...I changed my boots when I got home, the ones I wore to town crippled me!

After our swim we walked to Wetherspoons only to discover that the kitchen wasn't reopening until lunchtime so, with time to kill before the shops opened, we popped into the Co-op and had coffee and toasted teacakes in Coffee Republic. We were surprised when the server asked if we wanted jam with our teacakes, is that normal? Surely there's only one thing you spread on teacakes...butter! 

The calm before the storm...it was rammed by the time we left. 

I've not posted about our film/TV viewing for a while so this is what we've been watching lately.

The two films we've seen were uber-stylish heist movie Crime 101 with man of the moment, Barry Keoghan and Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire, based on the true story of a botched kidnapping in 1977. In real time, we've been gripped to The Capture, Race Across The World (Jo & Kush for the win!) and loved the fourth series of Dark Winds. We've binge-watched the second and third series of the tense Irish crime thriller, Hidden Assets and finally got around the watching Fargo, I've no idea why its taken us so long as we absolutely loved the film and adore anything by the Coen Brothers. 

Not name dropping or anything but Fargo's Martin Freeman (and his mate, Jason Watkins) visited our stall when we used to trade at London's Classic Car Boot and is so lovely - he actually came over and introduced himself to us...like we didn't know who he was! I've even got a photo to prove it....

Will it be season 3 of Fargo or a film tonight? The bar opens at 7pm, so I'd better go and slice the limes for out rum & cola. 

Have a fabulous weekend and see you on the other side! 

Mile High Club

 Good afternoon! After only swimming once last week, on Monday we visited one of the borough's other pools, going back today as the technical issues at the Gala show no signs of being sorted and, as usual, I'm basking in my post- one-mile swim euphoria.

Faced with trepidation I wore my comfort blanket aka my beloved 1970s Pakistani kaftan, bought from eBay eight years ago and still as vibrant and beautiful as ever. Wearing this I feel ready for anything!

Tuesday was a morning spent pottering and, with all our tasks ticked off the list, we headed over to Birmingham to visit a couple of our regular chazzas.

After last week's False Spring it was back to the Winter layers. I've been on this planet for almost 60 years and I'm not daft enough to pack away anything just because the calendar says it's spring. If you've been following me for a while you'll be familiar with my vintage 1960s Indian velvet maxi dress, green wide brimmed hat and my witchy sleeved velvet jacket, like old friends they emerge from the depths of my wardrobe year in and year out.

We snaffled a few decent bits for the Kinky rails and I was delighted to find the Cancer UK bookshelves groaning with "uncorrected proof" paperbacks (books sent out by publishers for review). Many years ago I had a journalist friend who edited the literary section of a well respected broadsheet but he couldn't keep up with all the books he was sent so used to pass them on to me to review, my name never appeared in the paper but I used get a real kick from seeing my thoughts in print!

Jon loves Pendleton and adores tea so he was pleased to spot this large Pendleton mug for £1...it passes his exacting standards and retails at £30....I'd better take care when I do the washing up!

Look at last night's rainbow! That's no filter, the sky was positively golden when we were eating our tea and shortly after that vision of gorgeousness we had the most atrocious storm which went on for most the night.

For this morning's swim I wore my vintage 1960s Mythical Beasts maxi dress by Shubette of London, last seen worn whilst swanning around Rome (HERE). My roots were shocking, hence the reason I kept my cap on in the house (Jon's just redone them!)

The weather continues to be all over the place. This afternoon we've had hail, gale force winds and snow. I swear the magnolia tree is a bit stupid, it waits for the worst day possible to burst into flower.

I listed a dress on Vinted that I wore on repeat a few years ago but wasn't feeling it any more. I managed to sell it for the price I bought it for and this is how I spent my takings..on Vinted, of course!

An All About Audrey recycled sari dress, still with the tags attached (the seller bought the wrong size and left it too late to return).

A spectacular 1960s cotton velvet maxi skirt from Dollyrockers.

Although they aren't generally great for those of us with arthritic joint pain, I've wanted some of these Converse x Missoni since they came out 12 years ago and at £7 I couldn't resist. I shall buy a pair of insoles and see how I get on (I can always relist them if I can't walk in them). 

A Kuchi pendant and a vintage velvet bag, handmade by the seller. 

This week we've been watching Danish cop drama The Pushover on Channel 4's Walter Presents, which was pretty good although the constant ad breaks drove us to distraction. 

Its rum night tonight and I'm not sure whether to start Taylor Sheridan's new series, The Madison or watch a film instead although, after today's early swim, there's always the chance one of us will fall asleep in front of the TV!

See you soon! 

A Week of Outfits & Some Beauty Musings

Hello! Here in the centre of the universe (aka Walsall) we're finally enjoying a bit of Spring sunshine and the sunrise this morning was spectacular. Without further ado, this what I've been wearing recently.

Last Monday, for an early morning swim and a wander around the chazzas, I wore an embroidered maxi dress from the Barcelona-based label, NK Nekane (eBay, 2021) along with a dyed sheepskin collar, handmade in England by Wada of London and rescued from the 50p bucket in a charity shop in 2020. 

On Tuesday, for my day out with Nikki, I wore a vintage Marion and David Donaldson Liberty fabric maxi dress (Vinted) with a 1970s Suede & Leathercraft, London coat bought from a charity shop in 2018.

 

On Wednesday, for wrapping & dropping off parcels and my biannual dental check-up, it was the turn of my vintage Indian Imports of Rhode Island maxi skirt (eBay, 2022) and an All About Audrey recycled sari wrap top, bought new in 2017.

On Thursday, for a day of Vinted stuff and stockroom sorting, I wore my Free People Jayde jeans (which I've now taken up) and my vintage Falmers waistcoat along with a hand-embroidered Greek blouse I found in a charity shop just before Xmas (£3!)

On Friday, for another day of swimming and charity shopping, I wore a vintage Ayesha Davar cheesecloth blouse (eBay, 2020) with a 1970s lurex maxi skirt by the iconic British Boutique* label, Stirling Cooper, I snafled from Vinted for an insane £3! The sheepskin hat, made in Italy, completes my trio of vintage Cossack style hats (black, brown and cream) and was £2 from a chazza shop last Winter.

*Talking of British Boutiques, stay tuned for another sought after label (and Vinted bargain find) coming up in my next post! 

I'd not worn this India Imports of Rhode Island handloomed cotton 1970s kaftan in ages (I've also got it in orange), the leather belt is 1980s Warehouse (made in India) and the black, feather-trimmed Accesorize fedora was £2 from a charity shop three years ago.

On Sunday, I wore one of the art silk sari dresses I bought from Mrs Kaur's £5 rail last Summer accompanied by my Frye Campus boots and a vintage leather belt. 

And today, for swimming, 'Spoons and a look around the charity shops, I wore this 1970s maxi dress which I'd worn in Rome. I bought it with the intention of selling it but I tried it on and the rest, as they say, is history! 

Ratnamurti asked for an update on my beauty routine and, as it's been a year since my last one, here we go...I'm still a soap and water girl and use Patounis olive oil soap to wash my face twice a day. Made on Corfu, it's the oldest family owned soap manufacturers in Greece and it's my excuse for going back to Corfu every year! You can buy it online, but where's the fun in that?!

I'd run out of facial oil and popped into Holland & Barrett (a British health store chain) to pick up a replacement but noticed this dr.organic Rose Otto day cream on special offer and loving anything rose scented decided to give it a try...I'm glad I was brave, it makes my skin feel wonderful and smells like retro sweets, I love it!

I spotted three of these boxed Vitaskin Vitamin A resurfacing masks on the counter in one of the charity shops last week and for £2.50 (it's in Holland and Barrett for £16) I thought I'd give one a try. Damn it, it's amazing - I wish that I'd bought the other two now! 

Another new discovery is this British-made Q&A Caffeine eye serum, also from Holland and Barrett. It really is a miracle worker on getting rid of puffy eyes! 

Body-wise, it's Patounis soap in the shower applied with my natural sponge I bought on the Greek sponge-diving island of Kalymnos last year. Nikki bought me the Karma Kream body lotion, I've been wearing Lush's patchouli scented Karma perfume for decades. 

Hair! Also by Lush. When Jungle, my favourite conditioner bar was discontinued, the helpful crew in the Birmingham branch recommended I try Candy Rain. It smells incredible and conditions my hair beautifully. Lush products aren't cheap but are worth every penny. I've used lots of Lush's shampoo bars but Jason and the Argan Oil is my current favourite...partly 'cos I love the film!

My two go-to styling products are Tresemme Lamellar Shine, which is probably the best serum I've ever used.  The Inecto Curl Club, curl defining cream is brilliant, a cheap Savers find, that really does work.

I'd talk about make-up but I'm still in a state of shock. Barry M, the cruelty-free, British family-owned make-up brand that I've been using since 1982, has gone into administration. What will I do?

The Glasto Countdown

It's started! The Kinky Tent's up and the great Glastonbury countdown is on. Here's the official Glastometer (although being crew, we'll be on site a few days before the gates open to the public). The next few weeks will mostly be spent ironing, labelling, doing last minute repairs and panicking that we can't get it all in the van. I'll share more of it when we're a bit further ahead.

In the meantime here's what I've been wearing this week.

Yesterday it was the turn of this vintage 1970s Kate Beaver dress, hand printed in Dorset. I found it in a charity shop back in 2015 and paid the princely sum of £1!

 This huge Tibetan pendant popped up on Vinted the other day, part of a mixed lot of three amazing necklaces. I didn't mean to buy it but the seller offered me a very generous discount and I really couldn't say no. Although it's not stamped there is a degree of silver in it and carnelian and turquoise stones are real.

The Art Nouveau-inspired dragonfly cuff was a birthday present from Liz's mum a couple of years ago.

I've got so many pairs of sunglasses I'd forgotten about these vintage Christian Dior beauties Jon found for me back in 2019. I think the last time I wore them was when we travelled around Crete in 2020.

We've swapped our swimming days and now go to the pool on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, which I'm very happy about, the more time in the water the better. The only downside is that it's easier to throw on my trainers or velcro fastening Tevas to walk there and back so my poor clogs with their buckle fastenings rarely get a look-in. Yesterday, my beloved Lottas finally got an outing.

On Wednesday we drove over to Coventry to meet Nikki and her boyfriend, Steve. I didn't take a single photo! Nikki had been having a clear out and had some amazing vintage clothes she no longer wore, so we bought them off her for the stockroom (and I shall try to resist the temptation to keep it all!) Business attended to we had a walk around Earlsdon, the hip and happening area she lives in, had a look in the charity shops and had lunch in Spoons. I was so excited to see her that I didn't even take a photo of the carpet! (Remind me to show you the amazing pair of trousers with the £365 price tags still attached that we found in one of the shops).

Nikki and Steve visited Morrocco last month, staying in Essaouira and Marrakech. She had this  bookmark featuring my name in Arabic especially made for me. It's currently inside my latest read, The Places In Between by Rory Stewart. I've been wanting to read it for ages, he's a fascinating and deeply intelligent man, and it was a lucky 25p charity shop find a few weeks ago.

This is what I wore on although I ended up taking the headscarf off as my hair wasn't dirty enough to keep it in place. The scarf is a vintage Indian silk screen print from a charity shop, the marmalade velvet top is from All About Audrey (bought in 2023) and the dress is from the Naked Generation sample sale (bought in 2021). How well does this Tibetan necklace match? 

The nails are still going strong, three weeks in. What colour shall I go for next?  

Although we've had rain this week it's still warm and I didn't need a jacket when we walked down to the pool at 7am this morning. The skirt is the one I made under Liz's supervision using a vintage bedcover and the Butterick cowgirl dressmaking pattern. The recycled sari top is All About Audrey (bought second-hand from Vinted). You can just make out my trainer poking out from under my skirt - they're the gold Adidas Superstar reissues Jon treated me to from a charity shop last year. 

The necklace is one of the accompanying ones to the pendant I was wearing on Thursday. An American seller has the same one listed on eBay for $319! 

Its been over seven weeks since I'd had a second set of piercings so I'm safe to change them! I'm loving having double turquoise and silver studs in my ears, they made me feel a bit more glam when I pulled on my swimming cap this morning!

Jon needed a a couple of things from B&M this morning and whilst perusing the aisles I spotted this metal toilet roll holder which I thought would be perfect for bangle storage. 

I keep my cuffs in a wooden baguette chopping board - we found it in a charity shop last year - I wear bangles every day, far more often than I eat bread! 

In cat news, Gordon's getting braver and enjoys spending time indoors playing with his catnip mouse. 

William was outside in the wildflower meadow when we got home today. We clearly starve him judging by the way he's gnawing on that grass! 

Have a bostin' weekend, me babbies! See you on the other side.