Dog in a Manger

Coco Canal

It was such a beautiful morning I decided to take my new accessory on a stroll beside the Regents Canal.

Needlepoint Handbag -  eBay USA

Regents Canal at Angel

Me in sunglasses with new bag, two whippets and a jug.

Hmmm... I am reminded of Coco Chanel's advice: " Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory." She's right. The jug will have to go. 

A Memorable Sunday

It's a bit like Downton Abbey here on a Sunday morning. Me in the basement preparing Ed's breakfast  - cheese, ham and tomato toastie; hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows ('if we don't have marshmallows then make some'); a croissant stuffed with raspberries; a mug of tea...

His bedroom door was still shut when I went up (he'd telephoned his order down earlier) and as I was carrying the tray I pushed the door open with my back and entered the room. Ed was in bed watching the TV.  I was expecting to be greeted with more than a hissed 'be quiet' after all my effort but had forgotten it was Remembrance Sunday and had to stop in my tracks until the Last Post sounded. I was then invited to sit on the edge of the bed and watch as the Queen, the Royal Family and everyone else laid their wreaths at the Cenotaph. London was at it's most beautiful and beguiling. A light November haze accentuated shafts of winter sunlight filtered through autumn trees. That bloke's voiceover on the BBC as one by one all the dignitaries solemnly step forward - it's just all so atmospheric and very moving. 

So, stuff Clissold Park for a dog walk - we headed into town, dropped Ed at Pineapple in Covent Garden and wandered through Trafalgar Square and down towards Westminster. Whitehall was closed to traffic and the legions of servicemen and women had dispersed and were standing in the sunshine outside pubs enjoying a drink and a reminisce. They admired whippets and we admired medals beside the sea of poppies.    

Robespierre's Shoes

Oh Lordy!
Back in May...
                                                                                ED

                                   asked for a pair of these lovely, summery, cornflower blue Vans. 

                                                                                I

                                                     said. 'You'll have to wait 'till your birthday.'


It's his birthday on Friday and yep, you've guessed it, they've sold out EVERYWHERE. Please help me. He thinks he's getting a pair and keeps saying things like 'can't wait 'till I get my baby blue Vans.'
There is a conspiracy between the Vans shop in Carnaby Street and the one in Covent Garden to pretend that they never existed. Vans have removed all evidence of them from their website and all unsold pairs appear to have been destroyed. Brian, an artist :), says this reminds him of the huge painting by David of the leading figures of the French Revolution. A sizeable number of the heroes of 1789 had become the villains of 1792 and had to have their faces painted over. Whatever... Hang on, he's muttering something about 'The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.' 
' FFS - get on eBay and track some down.'
'They've got these brown ones, or these greyish-brown ones, or these browny-grey ones or these taupe ones.'
'He wants CORNFLOWER BLUE ones.'
There aren't any. All the pretty summer colours are gone, to be replaced by a dreary selection of puddle brown and snail grey shades. I don't have anything against those colours; they're fine for.... I don't know, a painting of grey and taupe whippets on a brown background. 

But not for a pair of summer shoes for padding around in Lanzarote.

                                                                     He likes blue.

Short Shopping

Whippets welcome.
Part One of an occasional series featuring whippet-friendly shops.


Shopping for shorts is Brian's least favourite pastime - I won't go into the reasons why - but Hub made the experience far less painful this season by having a really great selection. He had barely crossed the threshold when a pair of Dr Denim's in Army Green caught his eye and the whole transaction, including trying on was completed in under 90 seconds. 
Despite the speed shopping Capri managed to find herself a comfy spot and dozed off, so everyone was happy...

.... except me, so we crossed the road to the ladies Hub where Enzo made himself at home while I had a browse.

ps. The wedding was fantastic fun but the rain and hail stones were so torrential that we all scrammed in search of rum punch instead of posing outside for photos. Lots of sunny colours inside though.