Big old fashion parade!

I think this Summer is the one I've been most absent from blogging which is curious as I was definitely home for lots of holiday. I'm genuinely not sure where a lot of the holiday went!

However, over the course of the Summer, I took the off picture of outfits I really liked that I wore and I thought I'd bung them all together!

This first one is a curious pattern clashing combination.  All the outfit is charity-shopped, of course, except the hat.  The shirt was bought in a charity shop in Dolgellau in Wales in June and is a lovely Laura Ashley, lawn cotton. We were away and I needed another cover up shirt as what I had packed was very sweaty.  It's very light and I liked how it combined with this chintsy strawberry print skirt with its faded style print.

A TA at school told me she really liked this outfit.  I like the folk-loric feel of this.

Another Cath Kidston item here with the vest top and a cute tennis skirt!

I love gingham and checks! This Emily and Fin dress is slightly oversized which I really liked when it was SO hot!

The IT Monsoon dress of a few years ago. I learnt of this from a friend on Insta who, when I posted it was from a charity shop, told me it was sought after and had been sold for big profit on eBay!

One of my favourite maxi-skirts, handmade from a 60's cotton- charityshopped! The Monsoon linen knit cardigan was one of my favourite Summer cover ups. And of course, it was charity-shopped!

Not so sure this combo worked but it felt very cool! Am wearing this shirt today!

This & Other stories dress is lovely and lightweight!

This dress is some sort of vintage one and again, is very thin!

The checked Emily and Fin dress in a different print!

I really like this ditsy 90's dress. Reminds me of one I had as a teenager!

When I bought this Topshop skirt on Vinted, I really hoped it was going to be exactly the same gingham as the Primark sailor top. It isn't but do I get away with it?

CBC bought me these trousers from Hexham's hippy shop, Bohemia- they are so thin and lovely. Are you detecting a theme to my Heatwave choices?

Featuring my other favourite cover-up- the Miss Selfridge Broderie Anglaise shirt.

Which one is your favourite?

xx

 

The competition and some outfits!

 Greetings friends!

I hope that all is well with you.

Two years ago, I wrote blog post about my experience with my school choir at the Primary Choir of the Year final.  This year, I hoped, upon hope that we might get a placing.  I spent the last week being extremely worried about the announced strikes when I heard about them. I contacted the organisers of the festival who also didn't know about them.  They investigated changing the date and postponing but all decided to go ahead. I spent the week checking and rechecking the tube website to try and get definite information.  We investigated coaches but it was going to cost £350 ONE WAY for a journey that was fewer than 10 miles. Isn't that crazy!!?!?!? I have been thinking about little else for a week!  However, Tuesday morning after a stressful morning of Year 1's and Peter and the Wolf (they just keep talking!!!!) , the status update on TFL seemed to suggest that there was going to be Central line tubes past Stratford so I decided to go ahead with our planned Liz line and Central Line route.  Amazingly all the children had remembered their packed dinner and we set out to the train station happily.  I introduced some of the girls to Qwirkle on the train and when we got to Stratford, the train we needed was due in 6 minutes.  After a walk from the station, we arrived to the venue over an hour early but this was great! Happily, we were given absolutely the best dressing room which had loads of space and sofas and were right next to the loo with drinking water AND we could practice to our heart's content without anyone hearing us!  We went and did our practice on stage which went well and then we took the children out to play on the grass outside.

We interrupt this blog post for an outfit update!

Here's an outfit update from the holiday.  I wore a Clara jacket (Vinted) over the top of a charity-shopped Chianti and Parker stripy top plus my denim blue corduroy trousers. Cords and a stripy top are a standard for me!

Back to the report.  

We had a walk through with all the schools and it was dinner time.  I took the children up to their room. It was SO much nicer to have our own contained space with enough room. I felt so much more relaxed and happy than 2 years ago when we had a communal space and my kids were very annoying!

The concert began. 

The first school were really sweet. They sang two songs with cute actions. Although their didn't sing in harmony, they sang very nicely in tune. They sang Skimbleshanks and Anything you can do.  I thought they were really lovely but I thought that perhaps our programme was a bit more challenging

The second school sang a mashup of Viva La Vida plus a song called Dumba and were visually very impressive with some harmonies and great dynamics and some really lovely storytelling. Occasionally, they went a little sharp but I thought they were superb! I thought they were a cert for 2nd prize.

The third school were super sassy with a song I didn't know and then ABC. They were really confident and super fun but were a little out of tune. They didn't have lots of harmonies.

The fourth school started Somewhere only we go with the most gorgeous quiet blended sound and excellent dynamic contrast .  Their second song was also Anything you can do". It was super funny although a little bit out of tune.  They didn't have many/any harmonies but the song was very wordy and a lot to remember which they did very, very well.

At this point, we had to go back stage as it was time for us!  I was really sad not to be able to watch this school as they came second last time and they were singing 3 part harmony songs, Rise up singing and Jamie Mama.  I knew they would have a great chance of winning! They were my favourite for 1st prize.

Luckily, my kids were really well behaved so I opened the stage door so we could listen in on them and just as expected, they were excellent in all aspects of their singing.

It was our turn.

Myself and D, walked onto the stage. D to play drum and myself to conduct.

My children walked on singing 'Viva La Musica' a Renaissance 3-part round.  They sang confidently, walked into their places without any mistakes and watched me well.

We launched into the most risky song of the performance, a 3 and a half minute arrangement I had done of Congolese folk song, Si si Si Dolada.  It was risky because it was completely unaccompanied, they had to stay in tune and in time without any piano support and they constantly changed what they had to do.  They sang antiphonal drones with clapping, alternating between the melody and drone.  They then returned to unison, sang in a 3 part round, then sang in unison and split into 3 teams with a melody and counter melody then ended together.  I was SO proud of them as they stayed perfectly in time, didn't go out of tune and remembered everything.

Next, we sang Morning Song by Philip Godfrey.   They sang delicately and beautifully, followed all my dynamic leading and their harmonies were balanced really nicely.

Finally, we ended with a song by Peter Jenkyns, a story telling song with actions about a Wizard in a picture book.   They dynamic changes were excellent.

I was so proud of them and really felt we had a chance at 3rd prize with the contrasts and the challenge of being the only choir to sing unaccompanied.

Alas, it was not to be.  The judges gave feedback and I did feel a little patronized by their feedback, with the opening gambit being "This choir has potential". You know when you are the only ones to hear that, that you are not in with a shot. But perhaps they wanted 2 longer songs, not 4 shorter ones. I felt really deflated because honestly, I did think we deserved 3rd place but apparently, showing the skill of totally singing unsupported and the changes wasn't enough.

The two schools I thought would get 2nd and 1st did indeed get that- well deserved.

I was surprised by the 3rd place school. They DID do gorgeously quiet singing but I didn't feel they showed any skill of harmony singing and were a little shouty but I am not a judge and it's perhaps hard for me to feel impartial (though two years ago, I judged it perfectly!)

The end of the concert was lovely with hearing one of my past pupils who is now in Year 7 singing in the Youth Choir. They sang superbly! She came and gave me a massive hug and acted like a total celebrity to all my choir who used to really look up to her. I am SO pleased she chose to continue with her singing at a higher level! I do hope some of my children continue to do this when they leave me.

When we came down the stairs, our parents were all waiting and they burst into applause. It was so sweet! It made my feeling of sadness abate somewhat.  It was an amazing experience for all my children! The organiser came up to me at the end and she said to me, "Don't be sad, I adore your choir. They were superb and they were the only ones to make me cry." She thought we had a chance at placing. She was very sweet and told me that the head of the music service would consider funding me on a conducting course which was kind.

I got home around 10.30pm

I continued to feel sad all the way home and did shed a few tears. I'm not sure why I was so affected this time. The organiser sent me another lovely couple of texts and the next day, my Headteacher told me she agreed with my judgement too and though we deserved 3rd too. Ah well.

The girls in one class were adorable and all 4 came up to me in front of the whole class and told me they were proud of me and thank you so much for all my hard work. It was such a touching moment!

I am pleased to say that I had a superb day of lessons at school. I taught the year 5's about chord sequences and had such positive outcomes and my Year 6's did some great performances too!

We end this blog post with another holiday outfit. I was SO chuffed to find this gorgeous embroidered cotton muslin dress in a charity shop for £4 over the holiday. I love it!

Hope you have a lovely week!

The lost Summer outfits of 2024 (rainbow remix)

Last week, I shared a lost outfit from last Summer featuring the rainbow dress and so here's another one I also missed. It's actually almost identical to the one from last week but that I folded the dress top down and made it into a skirt. I also tied my hair into a side bun. I think I prefer this to the dress version. 

Here was another list outfit featuring my Laura Ashley cotton jumpsuit (charity shopped at £6) worn with Mallorcan belt and my Tom's Huaraches. 

Added white cardie and sun visor (both charity shopped) 

Here was another outfit. The circle skirt and belt were second hand and the top with its little boats from Sainsbury's. 

Plus my Scrabble necklace and Lorelai LQ earrings. 

 

Flowing skirts

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!

I do hope everything is well with you!

xx

Cornish outfits and purchaes

I thought I'd intterupt my posts (it's called Procrastinating...) on Cornwall to share a few outfits and things I purchased on holiday.

The first is this English-made vintage cardigan from Totnes market.  I loved the beautiful balloon sleeves and the shape of this.

CBC and I agreed to share this beautiful stained glass Alpaca cardigan- it's so pretty!

The Laura Ashley sailor top was bought on our last day in the charity shop in Looe.  The skirt was from a small shop in Polperro. It's very thin cotton.

I left my lightweight beach towel in Ouchy last year on our holiday, hanging on a rope in the park to dry so I picked up this stripy one from the charity shop new goods in Looe.  the brown suede belt was from Totnes vintage market.  The tanktop was a sample from Seasalt Cornwall as I had a gift voucher.

Here was what I wore the day we went kiyaking. I didn't kiyak in this but I changed into a yucky wetsuit!  This dress is from Tu at Sainsbury's but it was charity-shopped. My shoes are Huraches from Toms and are incredibly comfortable!

The Huraches again.  The top was from H&M about 14 years ago. The skirt was handmade in Bali. I chose the material and the pattern. That was 18 years ago!

The jumpsuit is from Urban Outfitters- it has an identical pattern to a Clara Oswald dress! It came from Depop!

Oh HELLO Totnes Alpaca cardigan. Worn with Fat Face vest (free with Depop purchase) and some M&S charity-shopped shorts.

More outfits anon!

xx

 

Summer Outfits worn 1

 I LOVE Summery outfits.  Summer is absolutely my favourite season for clothing.

This dress, from Sainsbury's supermarket is one of my favourite Summer dresses. I tried it on in store originally 2 Summers ago with my sister. I didn't buy it as I also bought some Lilac dungarees and one item was enough to be buying but then regretted it and spent the next year trying to track one down second hand.  It's cotton with a lovely shirred bodice which means it fits really well. I bought this hat in TK Maxx about 18 years ago and I'd not realised they would work together! I wore my Accessorise embroidered espradrilles (also charity-shopped)

Here's what I was wearing the first day I got my hair cut! I bought this T-shirt from Hello Dodo in lockdown from their sample and seconds sale - they have so many funny pun t-shirts. I loved this Gull Power one but they also have one that says "Mean Gulls" on it which makes me giggle and a Christmas jumper which says "Raptor present for ya'" with a raptor with Christmas lights on! Go and have a look for a laugh!  The culottes were secondhand from Emily and Fin (eBay) and are so comfortable except for the fact they have an annoying zip that doesn't quite stay up all the time!  The sandals are from Lotus but they were secondhand on eBay a few years ago.

I bought this dress with tiny peaches on it from a charity-shop 3 weeks ago- it's from Abercrombie and Fitch and reminded me of a beloved dress from New Look I had in my 20's.  It was a no-brainer to pair it with my Lorelai peach earrings plus this Esprit cardigan I bought in Croatia and Rieker lattice flats

For church on Sunday, I wore this Emily and Fin floral dress. It was actually too hot for it as it was too fitted for doing anything active so I changed pretty much straight after church!

The last one in this batch features a charity-shopped handmade skirt (out of some sort of 70's floral fabric) and a F&F orange vest-top plus a Monsoon cobweb cardigan (charity-shopped).  Worn with my Toms Huarache sandals (TK Maxx about 10 years ago)

Another pair of Lorelai LQ earrings and a Cath Kidston necklace

The one which was best for the hot weather was the peachy dress!

Which one is your favourite?

xx

A nonet of outfits!

*Apologies if I have not commented on your blog in the last couple of days- not sure what was going on with the comments but I kept getting error messages about not being able to save my comments and this happened on multiple blogs!*

Spring and Summer are my favourite seasons for clothing.  There's something about the light fabrics, the colours, the patterns that lightens my heart! I photographed 9 of the outfits I wore in May so far to share with you.  

Wore this to go to the recording day for when I went to my old Sixth form to record. I got completely soaked in it as the rain plummeted down all day. I also wore the same outfit last week for school and orchestra.  The star of the outfit is the lovely lightweight skirt I bought from 'By the Sea vintage' in Southend. I picked out the turquoise with this turquoise top and purple Karen Millen cardie (bought bought second hand) Added a charity-shopped skirt in honour of Ann and my Florence-bought blue boots.  

The butterfly earrings came from Joy and I saw a girl with them at Stansted airport around 15 years ago and asked where she got them from. I spent more on the postage than the earrings!

This screen-printed dress with clouds and raindrops came from Amy Laws but bought second hand from Vinted. Wore with the Lotus blue pumps

This raindrop necklace and matching earrings were a gift from the lovely @LaserKate on insta as they were TARDIS blue!

I transferred the jewellery set to the next day's outfit and wore more clouds-Cath Kidston skirt bought for me by my Mum plus a charity-shopped H&M top.

I have this Monsoon dress for about 5 years and I cannot believe two things...

1. I have never shared it on the blog

2.  I didn't know it was a dipped hem skirt until this Saturday just gone!!!!

It has a nice back and I actually often wear it backwards with the blue tie tucked in. Worn with Esoteric London star tassel necklace.

For my orchestra concert on Saturday, I wore this lightweight black dress from Superdry (Vinted).  Added my favourite ever Secret Santa gift- a black velvet and diamante necklace. I still wonder, to this day, who bought this for me!  Can you see my cat flats? No? Maybe later?

Can you see the cat flats THIS time?  

Worn with this lovely vintage floral skirt (purchased from Think Twice in Bruges) and a lovely white top which I bought a few weeks ago in the Salvation Army.  The Tassel star made a return. 

The Year 6 girls loved this outfit!

The tassel necklace made a return here with an East silk blouse, a Primark butterfly sequinned top and my Miss Patina cat culottes. Can you see the cat flats?

Oh, ok, here they are!  Do you remember when customised a pair of Asda ballet pumps with sewn cat faces?

Bonus arm photo! I think my hair needs a cut

The last one features the charity-shopped Topshop stripy trousers I shared in my last outfit post. It's pretty similar to last time except my black Topshop top has no sleeves!

Out of my nonet, which is your favourite?