A 'posh venue' and other things...

A weekend without jeans... AND I decided to 'push my boundaries' by focusing on statement jewellery rather than a scarf.  These are a few of the outfits I wore for shopping and teaching on Friday (left), a 40th Birthday Party (centre) and Sunday lunch with my F-in-L (right)

 

 

The necklace at the top has heaps of sentimental value.  Mark bought it for me to wear with a black Laura Ashley dress for my 21st Birthday party - which was also the night that we got engaged.  I bought the big bracelet a few years ago to wear with a long black dress to a formal dinner.  The next necklace is a 1950s Lisner piece (and is easily my favourite of all my vintage jewellery), while the bottom bracelet was a gift from a pupil several years ago.

 

The frock that I wore to the party is a Ghost dress that I found in a TKMax clearance section a few years ago.  I used to wear it for work with a smart jacket and flat boots.  It felt perfect for the party on Saturday night because our friend had booked the first floor of this venue, right next to the river at Greenwich.  We don't know the area at all and didn't realise how posh it was going to be until we arrived and started exploring in the afternoon!  It was an amazing location, with a fabulous live band, and we stayed up way past our usual "country mouse" bed times!!!

 

 

The weather was pretty foul on Saturday afternoon

but we did manage to explore the park around the Observatory..

 

..and I snapped this photo of the Greenwich Meridian

through the gates of the Observatory buildings

 

We left early on Sunday morning because we wanted to get across the city before the traffic started to build up.  We stopped off in Oxford on the way home to see Mark's Dad.  He's 82 this year and has some problems with his heart, and he seems to be increasingly frail.  It's clear that he doesn't feel much like eating at the moment so he struggled with the volume of a pub Sunday lunch.  We are worried about him (but he gets very grumpy of we try to ask too many questions etc.)   The good news is that he's got further hospital appointments and a scan in the next week, so the Doctors are not ignoring his situation.

 

On Monday I went to Hereford with my neighbour to visit the fabulous Doughty's Fabric Warehouse.  Yesterday I attacked the housework and made time to pop round to see my Dad.  He's also had a period of severe ill health with his asthma recently.  He did some tests with the asthma nurse on Monday and they discovered that his 'preventative' inhaler was actually making his condition worse(!!).  Fortunately there are plenty of other medications that he can take so we are hopeful that he will soon be feeling significantly better.

 

I had a nightmare at the weekend that I had to go back to work!!!

It's funny how your subconscious throws up random stuff in dreams...

I hope that you're all having a good week,

Jx

You Gave Me Confidence...!

Ladies - thank you for your comments!

I was going to wear a pair of trousers on Day Four,

but you encouraged me to maintain some 'leg confidence'.

I'm not quite this gorgeous lady....

 

 

but I kept my legs out....

 

Day Four - dressing for a day of practising and pottering, with a couple of hours of piano teaching in the late afternoon.  My favourite day so far - fabric boots with a heel, leggings, an empire-line tunic/dress, light cotton scarf and vintage Coro necklace.  This outfit felt great all day.  I like the way the empire line (especially in a patterned fabric) gives me a bust but skims over problems!

 

Day Five - dressing for coffee and a fabric hunt with my fellow 'craftaholic' and lovely neighbour, some housework and a late afternoon trip round to my parents house.  Flat boots today, leggings, a slightly longer dress, scarf, necklace and 'satchel style' brown leather handbag.  I used to wear this dress to school with a cropped brown jacket.  Without the jacket, it felt comfortable but slightly shapeless....

 

Can I asked your opinion about another thing that's bothering me?

I've worn a scarf pretty much every day of my life for the last 20 years - even draped round the outside of a hoodie!  They are a habit that's developed from the years when I was having major neck issues after a motor-racing accident (another story...!).  My neck is fairly ok nowadays so I don't need the extra warmth and support.  Having looked at these photos, I wonder if they spoil the neckline/shape of the dresses, rather than adding to it.

What do you think?

 

We've got a busy weekend ahead - a lot of travelling around (which would always have been jeans etc. territory), a 40th Birthday party and a meal with my F-in-L.  This is going to take a bit of serious 'clothes consideration'.... Eeek!

I hope that you all have a good weekend too.

Jx

A little bit of vintage.....

In my head I'd like to be on a spectrum between these two wonderful ladies..

Don't you love the way that she her 'look' is complimented by a 'natural' hair colour?

 

 

..and jeans with an oversized jumper just looks so effortlessly chic.

 

 

Unfortunately I'm way heavier, have inherited my Dad's super frizzy hair gene and my Mum's colouring (and I can't afford the stylists), so here's days two and three of 'life without jeans and hoodies'....

 

Day Two - dressing for coffee with my Mum in Worcester and some late afternoon teaching.  I'm wearing a soft denim skirt that's been languishing in my wardrobe for over 12 months and a plain wool jumper.  I tried to pull it together with the scarf and an antique style necklace (that I found in Bournemouth years ago).  I think the photo looks quite nice but I didn't feel comfy when I was working in such a thick top (my age - you know!!)

 

Day Three - dressing for coffee with a friend at the local garden centre, harp practice and several hours of internet admin.  I'm wearing a jersey dress that's easily five years old, a jacket that's close to it's second decade and a vintage peach enamel necklace from the 1950s.  Normally I wear a black jacket when I wear this dress but I wanted to go for a softer and more casual look.  My friend (and the girl on the counter in the coffee shop) immediately noticed and commented on my necklace.  This outfit was far more comfortable but I'm starting to wonder if I look a bit 'leggy' in heeled boots and leggings?

 

What have I learnt so far?

Don't wear thick tops for teaching piano in a centrally heated house - it only generates an unattractive 'glow'.  People notice my vintage necklaces and I have MASSES - organise them and wear them!  I may achieve a slighter more 'chic' look if I rethink the leggings and boots.... (Oh dear - I LIKE leggings and boots!)

 

Thanks for all your comments on my last post.

Continued thoughts, comments and tips would be really appreciated!!

Jx

A Confession and A Challenge..

Generally speaking, everything is going brilliantly over here at 'The Great Escape'.  My income is tiny compared to this time last year but I'm happy and healthy, and the maths that underpins my two year transition budget is holding up.  I've got another piano pupil starting this week and a couple of enquiries for harp tuition to follow up once the new term is under way.  Things look fine...

 

....Except for one thing - my clothes!  I feel that I've completely 'lost my way sartorially' since I gave up work.  When I was classroom teaching I developed a comfortable winter uniform of boots, leggings, a smart Alexon or Precis dress and a dark jacket.  These dresses were a bit 'old-fashioned' but they were fine for my job role.  When we got back from France at the end of September I just embraced my Saturday wardrobe of boots, jeans and a Fat Face top or Cuba hoodie.

 

Ladies... I have worn nothing but three hoodies, two tops and a couple of pairs of jeans (on a washing rotation!) for the last three months.  I've barely worn make-up.  I've ignored all my lovely vintage 1950s jewellery.  I've used the same soft black leather rucksack for every trip out of the house.  I've sometimes remembered to put on perfume but, to be honest, I am not the smart middle manager that I was last year.

 

Hmmmm.... This was my wardrobe at around 2.00 pm yesterday afternoon.  You can see that I'm in a state of crisis because this is a very 'un-Jan-like' muddle.  (Just before Christmas I even managed to lose a boot completely in the drifts of stuff at the bottom.) 

 

 

The top shelf - where I keep my hoodies, scarves and soft bags - is in complete chaos.

You can even spot one of my favourite tunic tops on the bottom right (which normally always lives on a hanger)

 

Some 90 minutes later everything looked a bit tidier again.  I've moved all my super-smart dresses to the left hand side of the wardrobe, then there's a sliding scale of smart to casual across the hangers.  This means that my 'smart-casual' clothes are now straight in front of me when I open the doors.

 

I can see all my winter footwear again (and found the boot that I believed lost)

 

Stuff that I won't need until Spring has been piled at the back of the shelf, while my beloved hoodies are in one, easy to access pile at the front.  I've also collected some of my favourite handbags together on the right hand side....

 

So that's the confession side of this post over and done with... now it's time for the challenge.  I realise that I've become a slightly lazy dresser.  There's nothing wrong with jeans and hoodies, but I need to work at finding a 'smart/casual' style that suits my new role; makes the most of the clothes I already have (since I can't afford new ones!) and accepts the fact that I'm going to be 50 next birthday.

 

I am going to go 'cold turkey' on the boots, jeans and hoodie combo, and to prove it I'm going to post photos of my outfits as regularly as possible.  Bearing in mind that I really prefer to be behind the camera, this is really taking me out of my comfort zone..

 

So this is what I wore to my Quaker Meeting this morning - ankle boots with a proper heel, leggings, a short (but not too short??) grey skirt, a Laura Ashley soft top under a grey wool jacket, a chunky grey plastic bracelet and vintage necklace.  I also ditched my black leather rucksack for a black bag with fabric flowers.   As soon as I walked in one of the clerks admired my necklace - which gave me some confidence that I'm heading in the right direction!

 

I'd love to read how other people are managing the style/fashion/age challenge.

Do any of you fancy joining me in some January posts?

Jx

Between the Storms...

... Mum, Dad, M-I-L, Mark and I visited the lovely National Trust moated manor house at Badesley Clinton.  We were really lucky to see just a hint of blue skies on Boxing Day afternoon.

 

 

I first visited this house when I was a student at Birmingham university in the mid-80s.

In those days NT properties were always closed through most of the winter months.

I love the way many of the properties now stay open and have been specially 'dressed' for the Christmas period.

 

This year Badesley Clinton was full of natural and traditional decorations.

This was the wreath on the ancient door below the gate-house..

 

This is a little detail from the dining room table.

(I'm a huge fan of blue and white and would love to be able to replicate this on our own Christmas table!!)

 

The whole house was full of dried fruit, berries and evergreens.

This is a detail from the library window..

 

Here's our Christmas table, just before everyone sat down for our main meal on Christmas Day.  You can see my beloved blue and white china (Royal Worcester clearance in the mid-90s) but I've got a long way to go before my presentation looks anywhere near as glamorous!

 

Happy New Year to everyone who reads this post

and sincere Best Wishes for 2016 to regular readers who have become my 'bloggy friends'

Jx 

Happy Harpy Christmas!!

I think I was a bit grumpy in my last post about teaching - 

thank you to everyone who took the time to comment.

This post is far more festive...

 

Last Thursday I played a harp duet with my harp pupil in the gorgeous 15th Century Malvern Priory.

I arranged a traditional lullaby called 'Suantrai' for us and we performed it in her school's Christmas Carol Service.  Her father recorded it.  If you click here you should be able to see a photo of us in front of the altar and hear our performance.

 

Happy Harpy Christmas!

Jx

Do you know a happy teacher?

I don't mean the masses of teachers out there who remain professional and wear enormous smiles for their pupils every day.  I'm thinking of some-one who is still deeply happy in the job and wouldn't want to be anywhere else but the classroom.

 

Five years ago, I was deeply happy in my job.  I used to say jokingly (but it was actually serious) that I'd stay in the classroom even if I won the lottery.  I'd just take some of my winnings and build a bit of an extension on my Music block to give myself a nicer working day.

 

When you're happy, nothing seems like too much trouble.  I gave up hours of extra time for all sorts of regular enhancements activities.  We'd have weekends away with small groups of kids to cover allsorts of extra support.  One of my favourite sets of memories is from a composition weekend for Year 10 and Year 11 pupils in the Welsh borders (staying at a quirky, but perfect) residential centre.  Really, really nice times....

 

Then things started to go 'awry'.....

 

Firstly the government put my retirement date back by 6 years and 8 months (it was the pettiness of the months that always irritated me).  Now - when you have an aggressive degenerative illness like Huntington's Disease rampaging through your family - you really start to question the loss of those 7 years of 'active retirement'.

 

Then the whole job became high-jacked by paperwork.  I even had to provide detailed written analyses of the effectiveness of my voluntary enhancement activities......(!!)

I used to say that I did all the extended curriculum work because I didn't have the punishing marking schedule of my colleagues in other departments.  Then 'marking' came to Music too....

 

After 3 years of struggling with an impossible work life balance, I decided to leave the profession.

I decided that quality time with my family had to come first.  My Mum has HD so it's not practical to put things off with her.  If she feels that she can do it... then we do it.  (There isn't a place for endless paperwork in this situation.)

 

But it's clear that I'm part of a flood of professionals that are leaving the classroom at the moment.  A few days ago it made the national news that there was a developing crisis.  One of my friends, who I've known for about 20 years, is moving on at the end of this week.  Over the years she's organised regional dance festivals and done an immense amount of 'additional work' for the love of it.  Another friend, again an established and experienced teacher with an intelligent interest in the job, is going at Easter.  Another, younger, teaching friend cannot see herself working in the profession for much longer...  I hope - for the pupils as well as the profession - that there are still some genuinely enthusiastic and vocational teachers out there.

 

I'm sorry that this isn't particularly seasonal nor cheerful....

For those of you who are still 'at the chalk face' - I hope that the last few days of term are memorable for the right reasons and that you have a good Christmas break.

Jx