A swim in the river, a concert, dinner at our local Chinese, church and tidying the house!
I thought I'd share my outfits from the weekend:
Here is my outfit from Sunday, worn for church. It's my Mum's 1980's Laura Ashley dress which now fits me well! I wore it with my Lotus blue pumps, Swarovski necklace and a stretchy belt! It's weird the way it looks plain above. As you can see below, it is patterned!
Here's what I wore on Saturday night to go out for dinner! Yes, I wore two of my charity shop purchases bought mere hours before.
The teal dress with wings, the white cotton crochet top plus a pair of Kurt Geiger shoes (charity shopped earlier this year) plus a charity-shopped glass aurora borealis beaded necklace (years ago!)
Ann and Sheila wanted to see more of the wings! Here they are!
Here's what I wore on Saturday to go to the concert. Bernie Dexter poppy-field dress with a Monsoon cobweb cardigan plus my Rieker pumps!
I had my first ensembles this week at school.
All 3 have been really positive and the majority of children seemed really happy to be there and enjoyed it! One amazing experience was that there is a boy who has SEND and he often struggles to stay focused and not become very (EXTREMELY) loud and emotional. He had been signed up for choir and I was a little worried about how he would be and to my and the lovely TA who stayed to help him, he did not utter one thing the entire time, did not fidget, did not want to leave, but joined in with all the songs and seemed really happy. It may not last but I was so happy, for him, that he was able to be there for it and enjoy it!
This beautiful cream outfit apparently belonged to previous companion, Victoria. So she's dressing as another companion! It looks Edwardian!
I realised I could make another closet cosplay of this so here it is:
I started with the skirt which is the Per Una Skirt I wore last time for this cosplay. It's so pretty and was a lovely birthday present from my Dad and Stepmum around about 12 years ago.
I was looking in a underbed zip bag for a costume piece when I dressed as Wendy last year for World Book Day and I found this blouse. I KNOW it must have come from my lovely friend Ellie as it had a label saying her surname inside but I have no idea when! It is definitely vintage - I'm guessing 1970s.
Although the style is a bit different, it has the Leg o' mutton sleeves & across chest frill. I did contemplate attaching a scarf to get the effect of the downward part of the blouse but decided to just go with it like it is.
Decided to pose with a walking pole to represent the gun. Last time I cosplayed this, I used a broom!!! I remember people laughed!
I had a go at a side-by-side photo! The blouse is VERY fitted so I'm not sure I could wear this in public without it popping open!
I had a lovely weekend!
Friday night, CBC was rather sleepy so we didn't do anything particular.
Saturday morning, we had a lazy morning, breakfast out on the swing seat. Then we headed out to Chelmsford where CBC got a haircut. I had a look in the charity shops along Moulsham street (where we parked) and ended up buying the following. I didn't need them and you may feel free to judge me should you wish.
One of the charity shops had a end of season sale and I bought the Monsoon red top and the White Stuff sleeveless blouse for 49p each. The white Primark crochet top was £1. The Hobbs cotton striped twinset was £6 and the teal dress with beaded wings was £5.
The whale was £2 and the turtle was £1 and I bought them for one of the Year 5's book corners which I have helped create with my work friend. I put up words on her high window saying, "Dive into an ocean of reading!" (wanted to avoid the stereotypical phrase), added some nets from Treasure Island and added my Beanie Baby crab, plastic lobster and a whole array of shells from Holkam beach. There was already a cuddly octopus too. The children LOVE every time I add to it. I am thinking of trying to make some plastic bubbles out of packaging!
I also bought CBC two shirts in the 49p sale too!
We then headed to Little Baddow church to watch our friends Lara and Tim do a fantastic piano and drumkit recital- it was superb! I collected conkers after the performance and we enjoyed drinks in the churchyard. Had a lovely catch up with a retired work colleague.
We then headed to a localish wild swimming spot where I spent a blissful 20minutes swimming in the river before heading home and eating a Chinese.
As I've mentioned before, I LOVE Summer clothing! This week, thank goodness, I've reverted to wearing more of my Summer outfits as the weather decided to improve!!
This outfit, above, was one of my favourite Summer outfits. I wore it on an extremely hot day and felt pretty cool!
The skirt was a purchased from Zoe Del Mondo in Majorca last April. It has a shirred back and is really comfortable.
The top is cotton lace and was bought in a charity-shop. I think, I posted about how it reminded me of a shop called Uluwatu when I lived in Bali that I fantasized about buying something from. Their shops were airconditioned, soothing dark walls and contained beautiful Balinese cotton lace clothing in neutrals (not usually my bag). I felt so calm when I when I entered these serene boutiques. Of course, I was never able to buy anything from there as the cheapest garment cost my monthly rent. Finding this makes me feel nostalgic. It's very light and airy also!
The shoes are Huaraches made by philanthropic brand, Toms. I bought them in TK Maxx a good few years ago. They are leather and cotton cord and remarkably cool and airy. Are you detecting a theme in this outfit?
The necklace was made by Ladybird Likes who made my Clara Oswald moon collar clips!
Here was last weekend's Sunday outfit, worn for church! Again, cool and comfy. The top, from Tescos, has been in my wardrobe since at least 2013 if not longer (I remember wearing it in a photo in my childhood home on this blog). My belt was another Majorca purpose and the skirt from Polperro this Summer! My shoes, charity-shopped in Maldon by German brand Rieker are another Summer footwear staple! I think my Swarovski heart necklace was either a present from the lovely Lin, my mum's bestfriend, or Grandad! I can't remember which one!
This week has been tiring but ok. We started back at KCO, my regular orchestra, playing 2 pieces I am very familiar with, Haydn's final symphony- his London Symphony (number 104 out of his outfit! He wrote more symphonies than any other composer and did so much to develop that particular form and structure of music that he gained the nickname, "The father of the symphony!". I only discovered recently that he ONLY used clarinets in his 101st symphony onwards!
This orchestral piece has a few memories for me. The first being, we played it in my the Intermediate Orchestra at my local Music Service that was my life for so many years. As a viola player, I never got to play my flute in the senior Symphony orchestra, since the Viola had so many fewer players than played the flute. This meant my only time playing flute in an orchestra, as opposed to a windband, at this music centre, was when I was in the Intermediate orchestra for one year. This piece we played in my final concert and I had a little solo where we dropped down to just one player to a part as opposed to 2.My next memory of it was it is was one of my set works that we studied for A'level Music.
Coming back to it with Kensington Chamber Orchestra a good few years ago, as an adult was lovely, but to come back to it again with the same orchestra but with a flute player I actually like sitting next to me, was a delight! It felt SO familiar and easy! I joked to the first oboe player (who was covering for our regular oboe) that I could probably do an Aurora Orchestra on it and play it from memory! Take a listen.
The other piece we are playing is Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. It's also very familiar!
The third and final piece in the concert was really disappointing for me. It's by a music camp friend, Ian Stephens, who is a superb composer. It's a Double Bass concerto written as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ian talks about his piece below. Worth a listen!
But why is it a disappointment to me?
Well, because I didn't realise that the accompanying instruments are only string instruments and there are no flutes! So I don't get to play it! I think it will be very beautiful. If you would like to hear its very second performance, you can find details of our concert on the 5th October here.
School has been mostly ok this week apart from the interminable losing of my voice! The week goes from Young to Old for me, starting with Year 1's and moving up the school throughout the week. This is actually definitely the best way round for it to be!
Today's TARDIS Tuesday is one I haven't worn on here since May 2020- that's right, since LOCKDOWN!
It was worn by my original favourite, Clara Oswald, as acted by Jenna Coleman.
In this series 8 episode, she wore a rather creepy outfit comprising of an orange silky shirt covered in blue eyes from a Hong Kong brand called Shalex, indigo high-waisted denim trousers from Just Female, River Island brown/tan high-heeled brogue boots, a brown leather jacket and gold double ring necklace plus a tan satchel.
She discards the jacket for a lot of the episode so I will too!
If you've been here a long time, you may recall that this top was adapted for me by my amazing friend and superb prolific blogger, Ang Almond! I found a red eye-print tunic from a brand called Vera and Lucy and Ang transformed it into this blouse. It's a very striking piece, if, a little creepy!
My jeans were from ASOS and are the absolute closest alternative you can get to the real trousers. They are really comfortable as they are soft and flattering, I think! Plus, they fit me really well, unlike most jeans!
The final item which you can see are these grey brogue boots. They are the same brand and model as the originals except that they are suede and grey rather than leather and tan!
I tried to recreate several of Clara's poses in my original post and wore my leather jacket and satchel (that brown leather jacket I wear for practically every Yasmin Khan post!) but this time, I decided to go with the look without the jacket. My hair is a better length this time- last time it was long and scraggy!!!
I had a lovely moment last week. I was waiting with the year 4 children to speak to a parent and all of a sudden, I was incredulous to see the mum of a pupil of mine that left about 9 years ago! I called and like me, she was overwhelmed with joy to see me! We had an absolutely massive hug (you know the type where you are so excited to see someone and someone you really liked as a person!) . It turns out she is the aunty of a boy in Year 5 (I had no idea!) I haven't seen her for about 9 years. She was a lovely lady who is Muslim and who bought me the beautiful hand-carved nativity scene which was made in Bethlehem as a present! It still sits in my living room as it is so beautiful We always used to talk when her son was at school. Her son was a really good musician. To my delight, she told me he was still playing the piano, aged 20, and had achieved his Grade 8 piano and still very much loved music! We had another massive hug and then she had to go. Honestly, it made my day to see her!
On the subject of lovely visitors, on the first day of term, one of my lovely year 6's (the Sad Frog crew), burst into my music room at the end of the day to see me. "I missed you!" we both said to each other with a big hug. She said she'd taken Sad Frog child on holiday! It was so lovely to see her. The next day, I had another bursting into my room visitor- another of Sad Frog's biggest fan! She also took her Sad Frog child on holiday. I asked her if she wanted to borrow a book that I kept telling her about and she was delighted to borrow! She came back the next day to return it, having read it in 24 hours! She took another one!
Back in February this year, CBC was away in Austria skiing with school (supervising students on his holiday...but with bonus of skiing holiday paid for). I was a little sad. Not because I was left behind, I'm glad he had the opportunity and I have no desire to ski (too clumsy, scared of heights, expensive kit, already have wrist issues without risk of injury), but because I hoped to have a sunny pool holiday with my sister but she had a different half term from me!
I ended spending 3 days with my Sis, Dad and Stepmum and then met my friend Margaret for a crafting day!
She has been to this wonderful cafe called The Craft Shed which is in Basildon.
She was booked to do a workshop making clay critters. I decided to join her.
We paid a nominal amount. I think it was £20 but I could be wrong, it may have been cheaper.
We turned up and were sat at a table with 4 other ladies.
Claire, the owner of the cafe, turned out to be an old acquaintance of mine from secondary school. She was a few years below me and played clarinet in our band with me.
She gave us all a large lump of clay and showed us examples of clay critters and how to do basic techniques such as scratching to join extra pieces, adding wet clay water (there's a technical term I've forgotten) to firm the join etc. The basic premise was starting with a pinch pot which is where you make a big hole in the middle of a smooth blob of clay with your thumb or fingers. In this case, the hole is at the bottom, not the top.
The majority of the table followed the example pieces like a Gonk or a goofy Easter bunny but Margaret had googled other ideas and decided on a fox and a cat with her clay.
I decided to go off piste also (since we've mentioned skiing!) and decided to start with a fox also. But my fox would play the FLUTE!!! I was already thinking of companions for Sad Frog in the music room!
He was finished, his flute was a bit wiggly but everyone cooed over him in delight. I had half my clay left so decided Flutey fox needed backing musicians and decided on a pair of mice!
I wasn't sure what instruments they should play but wanted something relatively easy to make and using different shapes rather then a cylindrical shape and opted for Bongos and Balalaika as my instruments of choice.
And here was the finished band!
We left them to dry and then they would be fired in the kiln.
Then we went back in May to paint them. This time we went with her friend Natalie and Natalie's mum who I liked and got to know at the wedding.
Here they were finished!
Now we left them a second time to be fired and then glazed!
Last week, I met Margaret who had collected them for me!
What do you think?
If you are in Essex, the Craft Shed is a super reasonable place to dabble in crafts. You can go at any time to paint premade clay pieces like plates or models and then there are a huge variety of one-off workshops like crochet, mosaicing. Claire specialises on working with children and works with children with SEND too. I thoroughly recommend it as a place! It's very close to both the train and bus station!
Back in mid-August, we headed to Southend-on-Sea to meet our friend N for his birthday and we went to a hotel called The Rosslyn for dinner. After all meal, we decided to head to the beach for a quick walk. I immediately decided to collect oyster shells to leave an arty message for passers by on the esplanade!
I collected many of the plentiful oyster shells in my hat and left this message. I wonder how long it lasted for?
Alas, it was so windy, it was none-too-pleasant to be on the beach so C and N sheltered in one of the covered benches until I'd finished and we headed back through the blustery streets to the car!
I missed TARDIS Tuesday for a few weeks so I am back! I decided, this week, to do use the outfit as more of a general style inspiration rather than try to create more of a match.
I last used this look as my inspiration in April 2021 and it is one of my absolute favourite looks worn by any Doctor Who companion- if you look at the sailor and nautical labels tag in my sidebar, I LOVE a sailor look!
It was a vintage Sailor look worn by 4th Doctor companion and Time Lady, Romana.
I was packing for my holiday and I realised I had worn a similarish Romana look when we did our Treasure island performance and found it ridiculously comfortable, so I decided to pack it for my trip!
Here you can see what I put together.
I started with this Primark sailor dress that I picked up in a charity shop in 2012 around Last seen on the blog in 2014.
To make the red tie, I added a red ribbon which came from the waist tie from another dress and tucked it through the tie of the dress.
The hat came from a charity shop around about 15 years ago and it straw with raw silk edging and hat tie.
The bottoms are actually some pyjama bottoms I bought from M&S (which I did actually buy for the original cosplay!) - yes, I wore pyjama bottoms in public. Do I care? Not really- they work as trousers!
To complete the look, I added a pair of Tom shoes- not the ones I wore last time (which are more red) because that involved ratching around in a cupboard!
I loved wearing this outfit and it worked for a day at home with gardening!
