TARDIS Tuesday- Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

It's been quite a few weeks since I partook in a TARDIS Tuesday post. I've been so busy and the weather has not made it easy to choose one of the outfits but today, I am returning to a favourite Clara outfit worn in Series 7 by Jenna Coleman. Last worn on the blog in July 2022

IMage borrowed from this Pinterest

The print on this dress is of sequins but looks like flames, molten lava and all sorts from a distance!

 I love this collar dress and it will probably remain my 2nd favourite Clara outfit apart from her tartan Hobbs dress.  It looks very creased here! Ooops!  

I've worn this as my Christmas dress for quite a few Christmasses but never out to a Summer engagement due to the synthetic nature of the material.

xx

#TARDISTUESDAY The Snowmen and the Polka Dots

 Hello! 

It's been less than a year since I shared this TARDIS Tuesday inspiration but I have a little change to it.

It's an outfit worn by Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) in Doctor Who Christmas special, The Snowmen, right at the end.

It features a black silk, polka-dot blouse from Jigsaw, a pair of navy shorts from Whistles, a brown belt and a red satchel

https://www.facebook.com/ClaraOswaldCosplay/photos/the-snowmen-modern-outfit-jigsaw-bib-tab-shirt-in-blackwhistles-mim-tencel-short/146884895501986/ 

I changed out of my work outfit tonight to wear this cooler outfit. I'd also worn it on Saturday before going out to dinner but didn't get around to photographing it then.

I acquired the screen-accurate silk blouse from Jigsaw via Vinted a little while back for the princely sum of £5 and was very pleased for the cost for this soft silk blouse.

I seem to have lost my camera (actually very perplexed as I now keep losing things from my handbag. Lost my purse also...) so had to try and use my phone propped up against a watering-can. Not the best quality photos.  

I am looking forward to pairing this blouse with red- I think it will work very well against a nice scarlet-shade!

I was grateful not to have any special evening plans this evening, was planning to get my reports done but what with getting dinner ready, making lunches, doing the washing up, the thought of starting them was pretty grim...so I quickly wrote this post.  I had one orchestra last night and have another tomorrow night and I have developed a cough/sore throat/lost voice. Grrr.

Bit premature, but here is my poem for this week's prompt word which was 'Puzzle'.  I've always been rather perplexed by the name, Monkey Puzzle Tree. There was a fine example of this Chilean tree in an a road close to my childhood home and I was always rather mesmerized by it, as well as intrigued by its name.

I'm quite proud of myself that I have managed to prepare myself a mixed fruit breakfast for the past 3 weeks to eat on the train on the way to school. More often than not, I don't manage breakfast, so managing to stick to this has been great! 

One wonderful contributor has been the cherry tree in the carpark adjacent to some flats on the way home from the station.  I noticed it littering the pavement with cherries 2 summers ago, it seems NO ONE picks them, what a waste, and investigated picking some for the past 2 years.  This year was a bumper crop and I've been solidly picking them for two weeks and eating at least 12 a day, along with cherries, strawberries (now homegrown, 30 picked today, but also some from a colleague who was going to chuck them out but offered them to me first as she knows I'd be annoyed if she were just chucking them because she didn't want to take them home...along with a cucumber), grapes, plums, and, for the past two days, melon.  I forgot today and I really missed it so I made sure to get it ready tonight, for tomorrow, along with a healthy salad for my lunch! Hurrah!

Hope all is well with you!

x

TARDIS Tuesday- Face the Raven

 Is it really 6 years since I last shared this cosplay? I'm staggered I've not shared it if so!

It was worn by Clara Oswald in her 'final' episodes (actually- she made two more appearances after her death, but in both, wearing this jumper!)

The jumper is an all-in-one from Topshop, her jeans, Topshop probably and her trainers from Ash.

Image borrowed from BlogtorWho

And here is my 2025 iteration:

I wore this for school today (with different shoes!) and realised I had a twin- one of the girls was wearing an identical outfit and her hair is pretty similar to me- not sure why she was wearing it as it's not our school uniform at all! It's actually a really comfortable outfit to wear and quite smart too as well as easy to wear given that the shirt and jumper are all in one.

It's not been the best day for various reasons.  But, I got through it.

I am grateful for:

1. Having made a big vat of veg stew out of the mouldering things we had in the house yesterday, it meant we had dinner ready for tonight (plus some garlic bread and new kale) and already put some in soup flasks for tomorrow night too.  

2.  Got back from Northumberland and realised that, because the Milk and More website wasn't working on Tuesday, hadn't cancelled the milk. It sat out on our doorstep from Tuesday to Saturday night (plus Saturday's milk) and DIDN'T GO OFF! 

3.  Lovely old colleague came back to help me take the choir to our concert rehearsal today. I love her- she's so fun and positive!

4. My choir got a shout out for confidently singing our harmony part in the No Worries mashup- was super proud of them.

5.  I have a warm home.

6.  Nice stranger put my chain back on to my derailleur on the train.  He got his hands all covered in grease doing it. He was nice to chat to.

Sometimes, you have to just try and make your own sunshine. Even if it's a vague bit of brightness through a fog. 

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Into the Dalek- the final outfit winterised

 In Into the Dalek, Clara spends most of the episode wearing her creepy eye-shirt (which I last cosplayed in September 2024 but just at the end, she changes into an alternative outfit.

I last featured it here in November 2022, so that's over 2 years ago, so I thought I'd feature it again

Let's have a look at it:

• Topshop red ladder-stitch red cropped jumper
• ASOS reclaimed Check jacket
• Topshop black Scallop shorts
• Topshop 'All Mine' boots
• Black Deena and Ozzy satchel
• UO double circle necklace

For this February iteration, I decided to go less accurate and dress for the weather!

I had no desire to root around for tights or even less desire to wear them OR shorts so I decided to substitute the black shorts for a pair of my black ASOS trousers (not the cycle-ripped ones, but the other, baggier pair).

I also decided not to wear my more accurate, vintage jacket, but the Urban Outfitters cooperative bomber jacket that has the same print.  It's a lovely little cosy cardigan to wear (I wore it with 2 coats over the top to cycle!) plus my Topshop All Mine boots.

I forgot how cosy this red Topshop jumper is 

The final touch are the two gold ring necklaces which I bought from eBay a long time ago.

I felt very satisfied with this outfit.

Today and yesterday, I have done quite a few things:

Saturday:

Washing, 

Reading

Booked train tickets for Northumberland

Started packing for Northumberland

Marking (I marked about 400 pieces of work yesterday)

Went to Cinema to see Bridget Jones

Had dinner at Sababa in Southend (review to come soon)

Typed up some poems.

Wrote 2 new poems

Sunday:

Church

(Got chatting to lovely couple who have recently started coming to our church, one of whom used to work with CBC)

Drew tabards for World Book Day

Watched a lot of Classic Dotor Who

Marked about 450 pieces of work- FINISHED all my marking

Made an 80th birthday card for my Godmother

Made dinner of Crispy tofu

Put washing in.

Hung up washing.

Put away other washing

I've got about 540 report grades to get done this week so I've got to take my computer and assessment sheets with me plus a few other bits of admin work to do but I hope we can have a nice break in Hexham too.

xx

TARDIS Tuesday - Polka dots for Pudsey Bear

Last worn in 2020

Hello!

I am wearing what I SHOULD have worn for TARDIS Tuesday last week if I hadn't wimped out of wearing it on Tuesday because I hadn't slept well. However, all worked out as it turned out we were all wearing Polka Dots on Friday for Children in Need so I already had an outfit ready to wear.

Here's the inspiration:

Image borrowed from ClaraOswaldcosplay.com

In a "See it for 2 seconds" moment in a rather dodgy episode called In the Forest of the Night, Clara is wearing this River Island polka dot top with collar and bracelets.  We don't know what else she wore with it as it's never shown. However, this was always right up my street as I love collared tops and polka dots although I owned it for a few years before I wore it due to a snipping incident which required fixing.

I wore it with black trousers and my grey Clarks shoes- these have been repolished and heeled and are looking a bit shabby now but they are comfy 

I added a black polka dot wired headband and merino wool grey cardigan (charity shopped)  and funnily enough, another colleague had an almost identical outfit on!

One of my lovely Year 6's who is one of Sad Frog's new crew this year came in with spot sticker which she had embellished a white t-shirt with brilliantly. She came and added spots to Sad Frog so he was involved! Sad Frog's fans in the other class were amazed to come in and see him all spotty!

Friday was a good day at school-mostly- my year 6 classes worked hard and got on well. Orchestra went well. In the afternoon, I called a music shop to ask questions about ordering a new Timpani skin and then interviewed two lots of six pupils for Pupil Voice- this is something you have to do as a Subject Leader in school. Interview children to find out what they think on a range of issues/subjects.  This time my focus was Most Able, Gifted and Talented pupils so I called 2 of the highest attainers from each class from year 5&6 and got some good useful feedback. I typed it up, complete the report and got it sent off which was a relief.  

I then went to fetch A, an autistic girl in Year 5 who is obsessed with my guitar and ukele and gave her a little 5 minute lesson to play a chord sequence on the Ukele. She picked it up really quickly and was euphoric! Really glad I did this as I have now used it as an incentive for her to work hard and not disrupt lessons and she is excited.

I had a hilarious impromptu moment. One of the reception teachers had asked me about outdoor musical equipment.  We talked about how expensive it is and how things just get trashed and broken (unless supervised) and I mentioned using old large metal tins as make shift steelpans or darbukas.  To my joy, after some searching, I found about 6 different sized tins and took them back to the classroom- they were delighted and right there and then, the teacher, myself and the nursery nurse (both are musical) had an impromptu improvisation on the tins and it was a real moment of joy and musical cohesion for all of us.

I then headed home and wrote a pair of poems about house plants and then CBC and I heated up left over NettleSoup (I made a massive batch the previous Sunday) and left over pizza and watched a Christmas film called Hot Frosty. CBC thought it was dreadful but I LOVED it!

This week after 2 weeks of no evening rehearsals or plans, I have 2 rehearsals this week. Monday night with Forest Phil playing piccolo for Scheherezade and then a rehearsal with Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra on Wednesday- we are playing with a choral society in Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday.  It's a  bit of a dull gig for me as 2nd flute in this particular Beethoven Mass involves lots of rests and not many interesting tunes but hey, it's my first time playing with the orchestra and I get to see my lovely friend Caroline who is playing 1st flute.

Hope all is well with you.

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Hide

Hi there,

Back from the holidays!  We had a lovely half term.

The funeral was really lovely. The crematorium was full to the brim and there were many people who live-streamed it.  We played our music and everyone was very complimentary.  My Godmother and Godsister were really grateful and were brilliant. I saw so many old friends and it was lovely.

We spent 4 days in Belgium.  More on that soon (I hope- I'm not very good with travel posts!) 

We met up with CBC's brother and also with some friends from his previous school (who are also my friends now and bizarelly, one of them comes from where I come from!) 

I've had a roaring headache for the past two days which has been really irritating for school but I've ploughed on.

Now onto TARDIS Tuesday.  This features an old favourite which I wore to church on Sunday.

Did I really last feature this in May 2021?? Surely, I've worn it since!!!

Image borrowed from this Pinterest but ultimately belongs to the BBC

It features my beloved Clara in her quintessentially 90's-looking outfit!

A ditsy floral dress, navy blazer in jersey, a Barbour Duralinen jacket and some black laceup boots from F Troupe

Here's my 2024 version.  It's pretty much the same as the last two times I wore it.   

It features an alternative dress from Soulcal which has a similar print and shape plus a New Look blazer alternative.  I wore tights this time, as opposed to leggings and I regretted it on the cycle to church- this dress was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too short to cycle in- I had to keep pulling it down as I cycled and wore my Barbour jacket (seen below) round my waist on the way home.

Richard at church, who I often joke with as he often drives behind me and beeps, "Road hog!" at me, commented on my dress and I mentioned I was regretting it.  He laughed and said he'd missed that! He's in his 80's and loves making fun of me!

I hope all is well with you!

Much love,

Kezzie xx

TARDIS Tuesday- KILL THE MOON!

 Today's TARDIS Tuesday is an outfit I wore strangely recently (in comparison to others which have had a long hiatus)

Image borrowed from:
https://claraoswaldcosplay.dreamconnect.de/?p=639

It was worn by my old favourite, Clara Oswald, in series 8 of Doctor Who in a controversial episode called Kill the Moon. Controversial because it turns out the Moon is, in fact, an EGG...which hatches into a creature!

She wears a black and Autumnal coloured floral dress from ASOS plus her typical black opaque tights, her block-heeled Bertie shoes and a tan belt.

And here I am:

There's not much to say about this outfit except to say, I am wearing the ASOS dress but with leggings.  Mine was shortened...NOT something I needed to be done but when you buy it 2nd hand, not much you can do!  I also sold my screen accurate shoes so I am wearing an alternative pair of Clarks shoes I've had for a loooong time!

  

TARDIS Tuesday- Into the Dalek

 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!

Image borrowed from this Pinterest

Here I am!

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!

Hope all is well with you!

xx

TARDIS Thursday- Day of the Doctor Clara

 I had an awful headache lasting from Sunday evening to Wednesday morning and I couldn't face a computer screen so TARDIS Thursday it is, instead of Tuesday! I also had a first rehearsal for The Rite of Spring which I am playing with the Orchestra of the City in Holborn on Friday 19th July (if anyone is interested!).  It was really exciting! It is such a difficult and interesting piece to play and I am playing the Alto flute part which, to me, actually seems the best part out of all FIVE flute parts as I get solos but none of the dreadfully difficult high stuff! Admittedly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have done with a stonking great headache but I did have a nice little treat as I bought a battered sausage from the nearby chippy to eat just before (I'd had some salad and fruit plus marmite on bread) and the guy threw in a little scoop of chips with it which was really kind!

Anyway, onto a TARDIS Tuesday which last featured in October 2021.  It hasn't changed since my last two permutations except I switched in some different black boots.

Let's look at this very 90's looking outfit: 

Image borrowed from this Pinterest

Image borrowed from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/339881103102661537/

And here's my 2024 rendition:

The main element of the outfit is yet another red garment for TT- it's the 3rd week in a row with red as the main feature!

The red dress is from River Island and really needed an iron!

I added a black belt and Clara's Topshop boots from some other outfits. I didn't bother with the SA boots.  Considering slowly discarding all my uncomfortable Clara shoes- I already sold 2 pairs!

My jacket is from Barbour but hers is Belstaff. I like this one well enough!

I like this outfit very much and it's a nice Summer outfit- if I wear the dress with leggings rather than tights and sandals rather than boots! I'm wearing a tiny horseshoe necklace which I bought from eBay a long time ago!

This Friday, I am taking my Drumming Club to a interschool festival, this Thursday we have an author coming to visit the school and this weekend, CBC and I are going to Northumberland and Scotland for Chase the Sun North. He will cycle the 205 miles from Whitley Bay to Ayr and I shall attempt it by Pubic transport! Ahrgh!  We have to get to Whitley Bay at around 11 at night and then he has to get up at 4am or earlier to get to the start line. YUCK!

Hope all is well with you.

My day was good today  as my Year 3's had a jolly, well-behaved lesson in which they composed and performed their own recorder roads melodies and the year 2's enjoyed learning about Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes, listening to two of his sea interludes, Dawn and the Storm and then learning a song with contrasting verses about the sea and creating Dawn and Storm interlude music in between.  They seemed to be having a great time!

Hope you are well.

x

TARDIS Tuesday- Oswin Oswald

Last TARDIS Tuesday was a bit of a unloved one!  Thank you to Ivana and Vix for their nice comments! This week, I am keeping my colour scheme from last week's Sarah Jane cosplay and passing it onto Oswin Oswald.  This was Clara Oswald played by Jenna Coleman's very first appearance in Doctor Who, back in series 6, in the guise of Oswin Oswald.  Here's a short Youtube video showing her character's first appearance: 

And here are a series of stills showing her outfit

Image borrowed from
https://www.reddit.com/r/doctorwho/comments/ch7suw/for_everyone_who_loves_clara_oswin_oswald_and_who/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2cQPFUcHg

https://silvermarmoset.tumblr.com/post/170466432024/clara-oswalds-wardrobe-the-eleventh-doctor-years

Image from
http://promotedancing.com/sqjjb.asp?iid=52125658&cid=25 

I HAVE worn this outfit on here before but I CANNOT find it anywhere in my links! I reckon it's been at least 3 years since I wore it on here.

Here's my 2024 iteration.

It's pretty much identical to whenever I last wore it except that I think I may have worn a different belt.

I adore this dress which I bought second hand from Zara, but for the fact it is so short on me with my longer legs.  I would wear it with leggings in public.

My trainers come from River Island as do Clara's but for the fact, mine have some weird cut outs at the side- CUT OUT TRAINERS????? The socks came from eBay.  I added the belt which was from Primark. I don't have all the items she has on her belt, but you might see I added a whisk on the left hand photo!!!


By the way, I inadvertently cosplayed another TV character with this outfit.  Below is Zooey Deschanel from TV programme, New Girl and my dress happens to be the same model that she is wearing! 

https://www.reddit.com/r/findfashion/comments/o459ds/looking_for_a_red_dress_similar_to_the_one/

By the way, since the Swing Seat is out, I couldn't resist trying to recreate the hammock photo from the pictures above! This took a few attempts as I had to rearrange my skirt quite a few times

I really love red and it is a colour that comes back repeatedly into Clara's wardrobe! Stay tuned for more red next week!

What do you think of this outfit?

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- The woman who lived

Hello there!

Today's TARDIS Tuesday has featured 3 times here.  IN 2020, 2019 and 2018.  It's had a 4 year hiatus so it was nice to welcome it back last week. I think this is a nice, smart, work look.

It was worn by Clara Oswald, my favourite Who character, back in an episode called The Woman Who lived.  Sadly, it gets very little screen time which is a great shame as it's so cute!

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-10-24/the-woman-who-lived/ 

My last two pics come from the Doctor Who exhibition, where I actually got to see the Screen worn costume!

Since I last wore it, it has received 2 upgrades

You might recall, that when I wore it here in 2019, although the skirt was riding up a little bit, it seemed a bit too short for my longer legs.  I saw that Topshop did a Tall version of this skirt so I went a size up AND got the tall version which I think makes it a much more respectable length which works better for my height.

I do love the chorister look of this jumper and blouse combination plus the little eagle necklace.

The final item which is different is that I had the screen accurate (but a low heeled version) shoes this time which I have worn before for a different Clara cosplay that features them too!  They're pretty smart and I like them a lot! I am glad I wore this look last week as it would have been way too warm for the weather we have had this week or so!

Did anyone watch the two new Doctor Who episodes?  

Spoilers coming if you didn't so look away or stop reading if you don't want to know. I enjoyed them but I have to say, musically, the denouement of the Devil's Chord episode was rather disappointing.  Maestro said you had to be a genius to work out the chord that was needed to vanquish them.

Well, let me tell you, that a C major chord is the most basic harmony you can play and my year 5 children could have guessed that, so that was a really disappointing, easy chord to have picked. They could have chosen a really interesting crunchy chord, something Wagnerian.  In addition, when the piano teacher at the start played the Tritone, well, composers and players had used that chord before that lots in music so it wasn't really a lost chord. It was a well-known chord. But it was a fun episode and had some really cool moments!

TARDIS Tuesday- The Bells of Saint John's

 I THINK I did a closet cosplay version of this (just featuring the top half) a few years ago, but apart from that, today's TARDIS Tuesday hasn't featured here since January 2018!

Image borrowed from Bimbampop.com

Image borrowed from Doctor Who TV.

This is probably one of Clara's most cosplayed looks. It's from her first episode as official companion and it's very easy to replicate!

It's an Urban Outfitters-heavy outfit with the dress, cardigan AND necklace all coming from there.

A Barbour Duralinen jacket and some All Saints Jules boots complete the look

And here's to the FINAL complete look!

First things first, this dress is SO comfy to wear. It's light and soft! 

If you remember my version of this from 6 years ago, in my new home, you might think the colours have reversed. Yes, for my dress was originally grey! Urban Outfitters made this dress in grey as well as burgundy and many Clara fans have dyed it with Dylon Tulip dye.

I acquired the dress some 6 years ago and the dye soon after and....

there they remained.

Until, step forward, Clara cosplayer extraordinaire Rosie (who has the best Clara collection out there!) and offered to dye it for me! So I sent her the dress and dye and salt plus a spare Clara top I had and she did it for me! I very much like this dress in the burgundy!

I added the same grey cardigan as Clara into this picture. Funny fact- I have had this cardigan just as long but I have never managed to find it for any photos I've worn as it's always hiding!! Again, it is comfy, soft and stretchy.

The necklace was a eBay China find- in years of yore, you could find them really easily!

My final item of note is the Barbour jacket.   I have the same jacket in a tan shade and it's a really nice, breathable light jacket as one might expect from a high-end brand like Barbour.  I like wearing this in the Spring!

And that's the outfit! 

I was back at school today after enjoying my half term.

What did I do apart from the waffle about my dad's I shared last week?

Well...

The Wednesday, I woke rather late and I headed off to the train station to make my way to Basildon to meet my friend M for a craft workshop. I went with 2 bags of vintage clothes and my bike to see if I could interest the local vintage shop in any of my pieces for sale (but grrrr, they were unexpectedly shut). Luckily, I met my friend en-route and was able to store the bags and my bike at her house. 

When we arrived in Basildon, we went to a great cafe for lunch, M's treat for my imminent birthday. I had a delicious bacon, tomato and cheese omelette with fries and generous side salad plus a chocolate milkshake!

We walked across the 'road' to the Craft Shed, a great family business which specialises in pottery painting, foam clay and all sorts of other workshops! 

It's a great space with loads of different things to do and run by a great lady, Claire and her partner.

My friend M has been there to do glass crafts as well as pottery loves it.

We were there to take part in a 'make your own clay critter' workshop.

You were given a supply of clay, shown ideas and basics of how to make your critters and then given free reign to do what you wanted!

It was so enjoyable and chilled. There were 6 of us doing the workshop and we all enjoyed seeing what each other had made.

I ended up making 3 little critters, M made 2.  Included in our £20 workshop cost is also a return visit to paint the hardened model plus it will then be glazed and we come back and collect it.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon catching up with M and even better, I discovered that Claire and I had gone to high school together- we were in the same windband, even though she was 2 years younger than me!

I will post more about this when my models are complete but it was a SUPERB place to go and I thoroughly recommend it. So reasonable too!

When I got home, I began my school reports and managed to get 7 classes done before going to bed at 1am!

The next day, I woke fairly late and then headed to the train station to get the train to Lara's as we were going to play flute trios.

Had a lovely time with her and I, although we mainly ate food and chatted with ONE flute trio, plus a game of Bananagrams and then I headed home for more reports. Again, up till 1pm.

On Friday morning, I woke up and completed the rest of my reports and then tidied and hoovered the house, plus cleaning the ensuite before packing to go to Mum's. Again, I got on that train and changed to get to hers.  As it was now rush hour, I cycled to Mum's from the station which was quite satisfying to do. At Mum's, after a cup of tea and a chat, we had a delicious dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese (delicious!) and a chocolate eclair for dessert.  We spent the evening watching TV and chatting and playing with her cats and then headed to bed.

Saturday morning, I was woken about 6am by persistent scratching at the door by Rowan. Sigh!

Mum made us a tea and we read for a bit and then showered and ate porridge.

As the weather looked very pleasant, we headed down to the seafront to have a walk.  We saw some beautiful Turnstones and Sandlings which made the trip really rather special (I will post about them) and then headed back.

At which point, CBC called to say he was back to school.

Mum dropped me at the station and I met CBC back at another station. He headed home to have a much-needed shower and snooze and then we headed out to get some lunch.

A quick look in Holland Barratts and a charity shop (I resisted even though there were some Marco Tozzi beautiful leather boots in my size, brand new!)) and then headed home.

Sunday, we woke VERY late and spent most of the day doing school work and feeling generally glad to have each other back and equally depressed at the prospect of school!

And that's my half term!

xx

dfdfdfd

TARDIS Tuesday - Nightmare in Silver

Hello! Welcome to another edition of TARDIS Tuesday.

After 2 weeks of Classic Who, I thought I'd return to contemporary Doctor Who and revisit an old favourite Clara Oswald outfit.

Image borrowed from The Doctor Who site

It featured in one of Jenna Coleman's early episodes 

I'm staggered to discover the last time I shared this outfit in November 2020. Can it really be more than 3 years?!?!?!

I wore this outfit for my Stepmum's birthday lunch.  We went to a pub in a village called Eynsford. It was nice food but we had to wait such a loooong time for it to arrive.  There was also a lot of young children in there. They behaved well but it was quite noisy! It was lovely to see my Dad, Stepmum, Sister and her boyfriend only a few weeks after we last saw them and next weekend, my sister and her boyfriend are coming to stay- CBC and he after going to watch De Peche Mode and meanwhile, she and I are going to go out together in London!

This outfit features 3 screen accurate items (the same as last time)- the skirt (from Urban Outfitters) although I've sized up on it, plus the All Saints Axelle jacket. The third item is the Luftwaffer Hat badge which is attached to the jacket.

The jumper is almost identical to the original one from French brand, Sessun (100% Merino wool) but this alternative one is from Boden.  It was a lovely jumper to wear on a cold day as the merino is thin but warm.

My boots are from Clarks (bought new from Ashford Designer outlet) and have a cosy fleecy lining- also good for  a cold day.

Had a perfectly lovely Saturday performing a Haydn symphony no.80 and Mozart's 18th Piano concerto with pianist, John Reid. The wonderful conductor was Tom Seligman who was our former conductor of KCO but he's moved to Germany now. He came back for a few days and asked a few of us to form a small orchestra for the day. Oh how I have MISSED him!  He's such a special conductor and having been conducted by him for over 20 years in various forms plus a good 10 years of him conducting every concert, it just felt right! 

Felt a bit of a twit though. On Saturday morning, I got up, made us porridge, did all the washing up from previous nights, made us sandwiches and then had to hurry CBC.  We were really last minute.  We jumped out the car at the station and the ticket office was shut! I had to try and use the machine. CBC, from the platform called me, and I realised the train was on the platform!  I ran as fast as I could, but had to cross the bridge.  The doors shut and the train departed...with CBC on it and me running shouting, "WAIT, WAIT!" as I ran down.  I couldn't believe it and I was having absolute panicky hysterics about being late for the rehearsal and CBC deserting me!!! Some people on the platform told me  to relax as there was another one in 20 minutes but I said, "My husband is on that and I have his ticket!"  I called CBC who told me I should have just got on the train without buying a ticket and thought I was coming! We had a heated discussion and he agreed to get off at the next more main station to wait for me.  After all that, we made it to the rehearsal on time. Google maps journey planner is overly cautious in terms of timings (and our Central and Victoria line came immediately.  Felt pretty silly about my hysterical reaction but I was always on edge after trying to hurry up CBC to not be at the station at the last minute and  when I'm late, it's one of the things that gets me super anxious and stressed.  Ah well, all's well that ends well. 

xx