"I left feeling full of energy & excited about trying new ideas"
Sue, 58 from Bath
2011 Post Archive
Amaze-ing Colour
5th May 2011
Perhaps it's to do with the weather - or maybe I'm just feeling a bit faded and jaded after the winter - but I'm suddenly very conscious of colour, particularly just how much natural colour there is all around us in the English landscape.
Now, I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to gardening, but I do love flowers. Last week we chanced to visit both Kew Gardens and Richmond Park whilst taking a break from cat-sitting our daughter and partner's two beautiful ginger cats (take a look at the "aaah" picture of them - see below).
Kew was brilliant! We hadn't realised there would be so much to see. My favourite was the waterlily house, a small conservatory which houses the most beautiful waterlily pond I've ever seen (see below). Delicate green leaves shaped like shallow cake tins with the prettiest purple, blue and peach flowers.
The other real eye-opener was the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park. We were lucky enough to be there on a day when there wasn't a cloud in an intensely blue sky. The Plantation is home to some spectacular collections of plants and flowering bushes including a blazing display of azaleas which must be second-to-none in the world (definitely a "wow!" picture - see below).
At this time of year, I'm conscious too of needing to do something to brighten up my own pale, sallow complexion. A couple of weeks ago, Tina and I took a break in between "Look Great, Feel Great!" sessions and had Marie at the Estee Lauder counter in Boots put a bit of colour back in our cheeks (or rather, in my cheeks; Tina's needed toning down). Seriously, Marie's a great make-up artiste and particularly skilled at working out just the right palette for each individual. She's well worth consulting, especially if you feel you're stuck in a rut with the same old look.
By the way, if you're looking to introduce a bit more colour in your life, come along to one of our summer lunch or supper club sessions starting in late June.They're all designed to help you achieve that summer glow - without having to lie around in the sun for hours, exposing yourself to nasty radiation. See you there!
Paris in Springtime
31st March 2011
Last week, we took advantage of a Guardian holiday offer and headed off to Paris for four days on Eurostar. Brilliant! The weather was wonderful (always helps) and we stayed in a truly delightful 3-star hotel on a quiet street just south enough of Montmartre to be away from the tourist throng. Those who know me well know I am a committed Francophile; indeed I live with this somewhat bizarre notion that I was French in a former life. Hence I do have a slight bias towards all things French (though that doesn't explain why I've spent several decades now trying to learn to speak the language properly).
However, I digress.
I used the break to do a little shopping in Paris, as you would, "little" being the operative word here. First, I had the other half in tow and his tolerance of the delights of retail therapy is remarkably limited; and secondly, the exchange rate remains frustratingly poor. So, it was just a quick visit to the main department stores on blvd Haussmann, both as stylish as ever. The top floor of Au Printemps is well worth a visit. The views of Paris are incredible. And I love that glass and steel domed roof at Galeries Lafayette - like looking through a kaleidoscope.
Digressing again, can I just add a vote of thanks to Galeries Lafayette for having great toilet facilities on practically every floor (well you need that as a tourist), and shame on you Au Printemps for having, literally, one set of loos for the entire store - and charging customers one euro 50 for the privilege of using them!!!
As ever, we found some great restaurants and discovered new delightful corners of this beautiful city (feel free to email me if you'd like more detail.
A bientot. (Oh - and I didn't come back completely empty-handed. I had to bring back several bars of great French chocolate, the choice over here being so severely limited. And yes, I do know it's still Lent before anyone reminds me!).
My London Trip
17th March 2011
Hello! Had a great few days in London the other week. I almost always enjoy visiting London. There's so much to do there and I seem to learn something new on every visit, sometimes in rather unexpected ways.
I used the underground quite a bit this last trip and was struck by the number of younger women doing their make-up on the tube. This intrigued me as I can't imagine doing this myself in a million years - for various reasons. First, I'd die of embarrassment; second, I'm not your typical multi-skilled woman so I'd never cope with holding the mirror in one hand and applying the mascara with the other; third, I don't understand how they can see what they're doing in the gloom of the tube (I'd emerge into daylight looking like a Miro painting); and fourth, one jolt of the train and I'd probably end up with the mascara tube stuck up my nose!
But one does learn from observing - or rather, craning my neck to see which products they're using.
I'd more or less decided this kind of behaviour wasn't appropriate for "my generation", however, when I came across an interesting piece in the Sunday Times Style mag about a 55-year old American woman, Jill Ruddock. The former MD of an investment bank, Jill believes that far from just giving up when we turn 50, we actually need to "power on", as she says, because there's a lot of years ahead. (According to the Institute of Ageing, if you're a healthy woman at 50, you're likely to live til you're 96!). So, there's no knowing what I might try my hand at.
However, for the time being, I'm feeling so "powered on" that I've not had time to get round to reading her book, The Second Half of Your Life (Vermilion £13). I'll let you know when I do.
Latest Articles
Amaze-ing Colour
Paris in Springtime
My London Trip