Oh what fun we had

Friday already? Another busy week has whizzed past in a bit of a blur.

There have been the usual Ebaying and charity shop duties, but also parents' evenings for Owen and Nina, and a musical performance at Claudia's school.

Owen is in Year 6, a year of school which has been dominated by increasingly intense preparations for SATs in May. Despite the fact that he's doing fine, either hitting or ahead of his "targets", we were told that he should be working to increase those levels still further, and that nightly revision was expected in order to achieve this.

When I was tidying up our noticeboard at home, I spotted this postcard from our trip to Oxford last summer, which reflects both Owen's and my feelings about that idea...

SATs' results matter far more to the school that they do to the kids. I know everyone at school is under pressure, but seriously, these children are only 11, give them a bloody break. Hey, teacher - leave them kids alone!

1960-70s Designed for California by Tom Jones maxi dress - vintage fair

Levi's jacket (I get it on weekdays, Claudia has weekend custody), bangles, ankle boots and scarf - charity shopped

On Wednesday evening, the whole family went to watch Claudia perform as part of the cast of Olivia! 

Claudia's costumes courtesy of my wardrobe, of course. 

 (I knew that black silk skirt from the flea market last week would come in handy.)

She sang a solo and beamed throughout, as usual.

I'm not the biggest fan of musical theatre, but I can understand why schools choose that genre for their productions. The Year 7, 8 and 9 students who made up the cast and crew did a very confident and professional job, I was impressed by the talent on display, and the level of maturity and commitment. Well done, kids!

Nina and I took photos in the interval.

I've been in school again today, doing two of the things I like most - hearing children read, and making a display of their artwork. I wish I had taken a photo, some of the drawings were really fantastic. 

But since I didn't, and since Nina hasn't had much of a look in during this post, I'll show you some of her art instead. 

Oh dear, this has all gone a bit Proud Mama, hasn't it? Please bear with me, I promise it won't happen very often.

Today's outfit for Red Nose Day at school. Not that I wouldn't wear it any other day too.

What family resemblance?

Now here's a completely random question which has nothing to do with anything else in this post; can you think any great names for a cafe?

Friends of mine are buying one and need to change its name; we've been trying to come up with ideas but nothing has been quite right so far. It will be a family-friendly venue with a breakfast and lunchtime menu, but they might open for themed evening sittings in the future. The emphasis will be on great home cooking, a classic/traditional core menu with seasonal and imaginative specials, using locally sourced produce wherever possible, and a friendly comfortable vibe. They don't particularly want to use their name, or anything which tries to be funny or uses a pun.

So come on, throw some names in the pot; if your suggestion is chosen, you'll get a free lunch! (Sadly winners must pay their own travel costs...)

Have a great weekend!

xxxx

There's one thing which turns this grey sky to blue

Saturday was a beautiful day, clear and bright.

Everywhere benefits from blue skies and sunshine, and Sheffield's city centre is no exception.

Kemsley House, built in 1913, was home for many years to Sheffield's newspapers, the Star and the Telegraph. Grade II listed, it now houses a Santander bank.

Sheffield Cathedral. 

There has been a church on this site since the 12th century.

(All the overhead wires are for the tram system.)

The Catholic Cathedral of St Marie, built in 1850.

I love the shape of the Winter Gardens' building; it sits on one side of Tudor Square...

opposite the Crucible theatre...

while the Lyceum theatre, with Mercury on the top, is on another side of the square.

Next stop;

 City Hall.

The foyer has the most ornate ceiling and magnificent arched windows. 

I've seen a lot of musicians play here over the years (Paul Young, Steve Earle, Glen Campbell, Elvis Costello, Robert Palmer and Richard Thompson, to name a few), and by the end of the year I'll be able to add ABC to the list.

I'm excited!

Owen was supposed to be imitating Vulcan's posture (there he is on top of the Town Hall).

It's an interesting exercise, wandering around your home town with a camera, trying to see familiar places with fresh eyes. I found more to admire than I expected. 

 Time for lunch.

She can't help herself; camera+Nina=face-pulling. 

She makes me laugh. So did this;

scrawled on the back of a seat on the bus. Never mind the antisocial defacement of property, look at that inappropriate apostrophe.

(Apologies for the blurry photo - the bus was moving, and I was laughing, and Nina was wailing Muuuuum, don't take a picture, it's rude!)

If Charlie could write, he'd probably pepper the walls in the garden with obscenities; he's that sort of cat.

 

1960s jacket, 1970s St Michael pussy-bow blouse, 1960s tapestry bag, belt and bangles - charity shopped

Gap skirt - found it in my wardrobe, forgot I still had it (it must have been a work skirt from the 1990s)

Boots - retail

I'll take my yellow and black outfit along to Patti's Visible Monday get-together.

Here we go for another week; hope it's a good one!

xxx

The wonderful world of Chesterfield flea market

It's been some time since I visited Chesterfield flea market. A combination of bad weather and other commitments has meant that Joanne and I have spent our Thursdays elsewhere lately, so it was good to be back yesterday.

Don't worry, I did wear a coat, but I wanted to show off this new-to-me 1970s frock from my charity shop. I found it as I rummaged among the summer stock in the attic, looking for some colour and print to brighten up the dress rail, which was looking hopelessly tired, dull and drab.

I know this dress is sleeveless, but that doesn't make it an exclusively summer piece, does it? I brought all manner of pretty dresses down to put out in the shop, to the consternation of the other volunteers; but that's summer stock!  

 

Well, the proof of the strategy is in the sales; I put a sleeveless dress with a great digital print and a brightly coloured little jacket on a mannequin in the window, and a lady bought the entire outfit about 10 minutes later. So there! 

 

I can't tell you how much I love doing the window display, and how much I preen with self-satisfaction when a customer says it looks good.

1970s St Michael faux fur jacket, 1970s Christian Marcus dress, brooch, bangles and tights - charity shopped

Boots - retail

1970s necklace - vintage market

Now what was I saying? I've distracted myself. 

 

 

Oh yes - Chesterfield. 

Joseph greeted us like long-lost friends; I bought a 1950s Alfred Meakin Montmartre jug from his stall. We don't do Mothers Day in this house, but I don't need an excuse to buy myself something pretty for a quid.

I wonder what she gets for Mothers Day?

 

Booze, bunnies and buckets.

Only the strongest and best cocoa for Her Most Gracious Majesty.

No wonder Action Man looks grumpy - he's lost his pants.

Your own Personal Jesus.

 

 

Wonderful vintage packaging.

.

The juxtaposition of lard and champagne made me laugh.

Objects of the day, both from the early years of the Twentieth century;

a Cabinetta oak and canvas fold-up officer's campaign bed, possibly dating from the First World War or earlier (they were used in the Boer War too);

 

and a rather grotesque fur evening bag made out of ermine, I think. All its little teeth are intact, and if you lift up its head, you can see its paws. I'm used to seeing fox stoles, but I've never seen a bag with an animal's head on it before. 

 

I don't know what the poor thing's got to smile about... Possibly the fact that the seller informed me it was a bat.

 

 

Apart from my Meakin jug,  I pushed the boat out and spent a whole tenner on Jo and Amanda's stall. They were having one of their 3-items-for-a-fiver sales, so here are my six pieces;

an Edina Ronay Victoriana-style jacket (doesn't suit me at all, so it's destined for Ebay)

a very weighty beaded Twenties-style dress

a Monsoon silk and net skirt

 John Smedley cotton knit hoodie (for Claudia)

a blue/black wiggle dress by Taylor (not a brand I know)

and a 1970s Indian block-printed wraparound maxi skirt. 

£1.70 each - not bad.

And that's why I love a visit to Chesterfield market!

I'm out for dinner with my old friends Sally and Claire tonight, so I'd better go and put my face on; have a great weekend, everyone!

xxxx

 

Me ears are alight

Sometimes, the things people do or say leave me shaking my head in wonder or bewilderment. 

Sublime to ridiculous and all points in between - we humans have it all covered, don't we?

Walking to school with Nina yesterday, a woman I know only slightly stopped me to say that her grandfather came from a tribe in Nigeria, and she loved my dress because it reminded her of their traditional colours.

That made my day.

We went out for delicious Chinese food on Friday night, and the kids used chopsticks with aplomb. 

I have been trying to remember the first time I ate in a Chinese restaurant; I think I was 21, and it took me some years after that to get the hang of chopsticks.

The differences between their experiences of childhood and my own sometimes leave me breathless.

Then again... some things never change, man's inhumanity to man being one of them.

Nina was mocked and insulted by two children at school about the appearance of her skin. As she always does, she asked them to stop, since what they were saying hurt her feelings. They didn't. She told a lunchtime supervisor, who advised her to ignore them.

No. That is not an adequate response from an adult. It's a cop out, a lazy way to deal with inappropriate behaviour on the one hand, and distress on the other. How do those children learn that such teasing/abuse is unacceptable if it isn't addressed? And why should any child with a disability (or indeed without one) have to accept it?

Rest assured I will be talking to school about the incident, and suggesting that there is a training need here. 

1950-60s Hawaiian barkcloth dress - flea market

Jacket, bag, bangles and necklace - charity shopped

Ankle boots - community fair

The prize for the most inappropriate donation to a charity shop this week goes to the person who thoughtfully gave us a half-used tube of anal lubricant. 

Thanks for that.

The weather has been utterly bizarre this week; glorious sunshine, howling gales, snow and hail storms, all within moments of each other. Or indeed at the same time. 

How is a girl supposed to know what to wear? 

As predicted, we're sharing the jacket. And the scarf, apparently...

My friend has just adopted a kitten. He's adorable. 

Despite my advice that it wasn't necessary, she insisted on buying him a bed. I suggested that if he had the run of the house, he would likely choose his own spot to sleep, and anyway, cats love boxes so a cardboard box with a blanket would be just as good.

She was horrified. She said it would look as though they didn't care about him sufficiently to buy him a bed. 

Because kittens are known to care about how things look, and what has been spent on them.

I don't know. 

 

I listen, but sometimes I wonder if I'm hearing things right. 

 Much like this guy.

 

(Nina doesn't get it, and asked what's a tape?)

xxxx