Goodbye August

Did you think I've deserted you?  Life has been too hectic to think about blogging but as I'm having a relaxing Bank Holiday Monday at home, it's time for a catch up.

August has been manic....my head has been full of our pending office closure and my pending redundancy, looking for a job in London (& failing dismally), combined with more fun stuff than usual.  This summer has been fantastic.  The coming weeks are going to be even more manic and I may just combust!

So....where did I leave you last time?  My lovely dream flat in London I think.  Since then, I had a visiting Mother & her friend.  We went to Pride.  I wasn't overly impressed this year - it was ok I guess but the theme (Pride & Prejudice) meant there just wasn't enough dressing up.  I always love to see the emergency services start the parade off (brings a tear to my eye it does) and obviously Michael Jackson loving jazz hands man.

The next week brought a spur of the moment decision to go to Vintage at Goodwood (nice one Sam!).  Goodwood has won best day out of the year so far and despite the rain, I loved it.  Not totally sure about the northern soul lessons but they were harmless!  Also not sure about the Radiohead mix in the Soul Casino but I'll even let that dj off....but just this once.  Plenty of beautiful people in beautiful clothes.  Highlights of the day - the Soul Casino, unexpected lovely toilets, and that guinness & chocolate cake!

Bored yet?  Last week was The Chords up in London.  I used to love The Chords (and probably always will....on vinyl) but, although they played well, I just couldn't get into it.  Very male-heavy crowd and a bit of a weird atmosphere.....or maybe I imagined it.  I left after "British way of Life" and caught the VERY SLOW, VERY DRUNK late train back to Brighton.

....which brings us up to this weekend.  Bank Holiday weekend in Brighton is a weekend I look forward to all year.  A chance to see people I only see occasionally, a chance to put a dress or two on (not at once), and a chance to be around well-dressed folk.  I always get nostalgic for my Lambretta, Sneakers in the 80s, Hayling Island weekends away and all that jazz.  I think next year calls for getting away a bit more on bank holidays.  I may even invest in a little tartan suitcase & duffel bag like I once had.....just for old times sake!

Hens, Stags - be gone with you!

Warning - Grumpy Old Woman blog coming up!

As lovely as summer in Brighton is, it brings with it train after train of hen & stag parties.  They're everywhere, cluttering up our pubs and our restaurants, and bothering the likes of me who would rather they were hurded, like cattle, back onto the train they came from, as soon as they reach Brighton.  They can keep their inappropriate clothing and their beer guts (and that's just the women!) or save it for Croydon Uncovered (Sky Channel 11).  How any of these people ever found someone who would marry them in the first place is beyond me.

If I were to get married, I'd have a civilised affair beforehand.  Perhaps a nice quiet meal somewhere or a bit of pottery painting (ok so that was a joke).  If any one of my friends thought a night out dressed in penis-embellished t-shirts was "fun", they would be gone, quick as a flash. 

Yesterday was generally a bad day for "people I don't want to associate with - EVER" in Brighton.  Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was parents having one last night out before they are trapped indoors for the summer holidays with their kids, who knows?  Either way, I felt positively upper class around them and, occasionally slim!!!

As much as I will miss Brighton when I move back to London, I won't be missing these hideous creatures.  I don't think there's much call for hen & stag nights in Bar Italia etc.  Here's hoping there's not anyway.

I will leave you with this lovely sentence I heard yesterday from one of these hideous creatures.......addressed to a bus queue of primarily pensioners and people with children "Oi, bleeding hell, are you looking up my f@cking skirt or something?".  Says it all.  Over and out.

Streets paved with Gold.....allegedly

Big changes happening in my world....changes that have been forced upon me......but good all the same (I think).

Last Friday we got the (not so) unexpected news that our office will be closing down at the end of September.  Rather than sit in a corner sobbing, I'm going to take my severance money and my laptop, and move on to the next phase in my life.  I'll be very sorry to leave this place as it really is the best place I've ever worked (and probably ever will) but what will be, will be, and as I always say in times like this....no-one has died.

So that news has prompted me to think about all things financial.  Brighton salaries are generally rubbish.  I can no longer work for £25k and moreso, I refuse to!  My current salary is rare and one I will never get again in Brighton....or at least at the moment.  So.....after a lot of soul-searching, I've made the decision to move back to North London.  This wasn't an easy one - I'll miss the sea, I'll miss my flat, I'll miss the Laines - but needs must.  I don't want to struggle for money anymore and the only way I can avoid that is working for decent money in the smoke.  I'm only going knowing that I can come back to visit friends at weekends or on days off....and am only 50 mins away.

I've been in Brighton for 10 years now and for most of those 10 years I've said I will never move back to London....ever.  Oh how things change.  I guess things over the past year have made me like the place again (or least parts of it) - I loved doing Lipgloss in Chalk Farm (albeit with a very short shelf life), I loved going to South East London for illicit meetings, and I've fallen in love with Soho again.  So...rather than dreading this move.....I'm looking forward to it....and only wish I could go now rather than have to wait until October.  At least I'll have Summer in Brighton and all that goes with it, and when it gets colder and less appealing, I'll be off...MacBook in hand.

I'm looking forward to being a North London girl again so will be trawling the property websites for a 1 bedroom flat in Highgate, Crouch End, Tufnell Park, Archway.  I'm very choosy though and won't be living in some kebab-shop infested street above a laundrette or anything of the sort.  I will, of course, have to find a job first but I'm hopeful.  If nothing else, I'm resourceful and can market myself quite well when needed.

Any job offers or flat offers gratefully received.  See you in Bar Italia x

Rockabilly Rebel

Fear not trusty blog followers, I have returned.  I can imagine how frantic you've been, wondering if I've ever recovered from Carnaby Street.  I have indeed but have had a stressful week hence my disappearance!

The weekend has been a real mix of old things which you know are my favourite things!!!!  Saturday was an afternoon of rockabilly loveliness in Gardner Street, organised by Mark of The Dorset.  Lots of pretty well-dressed things that unfortunately I didn't get pictures of but tattoos a plenty and lovely make-up on show.  If I wasn't afraid of pain and didn't look stupid in bright red lipstick, I'd be into that scene myself.  Instead, I'll stick with my 60s stuff and watch from the sidelines.

They had a 50s hairdresser cutting hair for free...and very nice it was too.  I realised that a good 50s haircut can do wonders for the men of Brighton & suggest lots of them get down to his salon like NOW!  I wonder what he could do for me with my unruly curly hair that either makes me look like Shirley Temple or Ken Dodd....neither of which is a good look!  Pity Brighton & Hove Council refused the let Hot Rods park up in Gardner Street (that'll be the Green Party for you no doubt!) but a very nice time was had by all & much vodka & pimms was consumed in the sun.  Sunburnt?  Moi?

Sunshine on a rainy day

It's been a beautiful sunny day in Brighton today.  The sea looked extra blue from my office window & the Pavilion Gardens were packed.  I've felt uneasy today though - from a mixture of having bad dreams last night, reading FB updates on June's funeral yesterday and hearing news of mass shootings in Cumbria.

I know the bad dreams probably came from the Cumbria news.  It brought back very bad memories of the Hungerford massacre in 1987.  I lived and worked very close to that pretty little town and had driven through that very same high street on my scooter just a day before.  I was at work when it happened and news came through from a colleague's wife who was trapped in her house just a stone's throw away from Michael Ryan who was going mental with a shotgun.  That day was one of the scariest ever, knowing that had he turned right instead of left out of Savernake Forest, Marlborough would have been in the news for all all the wrong reasons and not Hungerford, and things could have been very different for me and everyone I knew back then.  I did actually know someone who got shot but luckily survived - I imagine his bad dreams are a million times worse than mine.

On a much nicer, happier note - I met up with Kristin for lunch at The Dorset.  I forgot about dieting again and scoffed on nachos with chorizo - a million calories and fat content through the roof but I needed it today perhaps.  Lovely to catch up with Kristin regarding important things such as Manchester nightlife and the fact that the male species up there are just about as useless as they are down here.

Thanks to Facebook, I saw this lovely afternoon advertised today.  I'd like to see what someone could do with my curly mass of hair in the way of a 1950s style!  A definite must and a chance to take lots of lovely photos of no doubt lots of lovely people!

and finally.......the teenage skanky squatters have gone - removed it would seem as all their badly handmade banners have gone and the beer bottles binned.  Maybe they've found a better establishment - we'll never know!

Squatters Rights

I've turned into a NIMBY and I don't like it!  Squatters have taken over a run down house in my usually pretty, quiet road.  I'm fairly sure that it was used by some hardcore drug users previously so I guess squatters are a step up from that.

I've seen these squatters coming back from the Co-op with carrier bags full of alcohol and Pot Noodles (probably).  At one point, two of them were asleep on a urine-stained mattress in the front yard.  The upstairs window is kept open with used beer bottles.  There's unfortunately a poor little toddler living there amongst the chaos too I think.

Over the past couple of days, handmade banners have appeared - "Save my Squat", "Too Many Empty Houses in Brighton" blah blah blah and while I sympathise with their situation and agree about the housing situation, I think that if they want a property, they need to take a bit more care of it - you know what I mean, a bit of Cillit Banging, booze bottle recycling, that sort of it.  And maybe respect their neighbours a bit more.

I know what I'm talking about as regards squats you know!  I havn't always been the clean cut lady I am now.  I've stayed in squats (lots of them) - good & bad, and was even going to live in one once.  Good:  A 3 storey Victorian House in Eversholt Street, NW1, with a working bathroom & kitchen on each floor, and electric (provided of course by a friendly fixer).  Bad:  Drug infested hovels in Kennington/Brixton where people came & went, taking everyone's belongings with them.

I don't know if it happens much these days but in the 90s, there were stories all the time of long-term squatters being allowed to keep their squatted properties as the owners had died, given up or gone mad!  I'm positive that this was only because they made these places their own little homes, looked after them and treated them in a way in which anyone would be proud.

Blimey this was a bit serious today.  I might go and have a word with the squatting kids - tidy up or go away!  I really don't want their mess ruining my pretty road.

Tomorrow's blog will hopefully be prettier!

Chillis, Scarves & Plans for the weekend

I'd like to say it was steaming hot in Brighton today but I think steaming is probably a bit overboard.  It is warm though and I left my coat at home this morning for the first time in ages.  The office is hot & sticky and I thought that rather than complain, I'd make good use of it.  I'm going to start with growing chillis from a little set that was on Amazon today - a bargain price of £5.74.   Let's see what happens.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001JU85NO/ref=oss_product

I had a little package delivered from ebay today.  Always an exciting moment in my life.  I truly am easily pleased.  I buy these things and then think about what I can wear them with later but I'm sure this will come in useful somewhere!

Tomorrow after my well needed haircut, I'll be dropping by the St Ann's Wells festival.  St Ann's is one of my favourite places in Brighton and 2 mins from my house.  Last year I was responsible for booking all the acts on the music stage, sorting out their backline needs and generally persuading them they didn't need to get paid!!!!!  Dolly is coming dressed as a ladybird - I'm not!  Am hoping to partake in a therapy, a cupcake, and a glass of the fizzy stuff.  If you're on Facebook, here's the event link:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=127825530565960&index=1

Happy weekend everyone!

Fabric lovely Fabric

I wish I had sewing skills but unfortunately I even failed my CSE textiles exam as I spilt orange juice on my half finished school blouse and gave up. I'm currently living vicariously on the sewing front through a work friend who also doubles up as my dressmaker. She's already made a lovely polka dot dress & hipster skirt, and I think a candy stripe summer top is up next.

So...today we went for a rummage round the fabric shops down the Laines. Too much linen could have ruined my day but I coped admirably!

One of her next creations is going to be a gorgeous little gingham dress with a peter pan collar. Here's a link to her own blog - http://louise-designs.blogspot.com/.

And not really connected but I saw this on the way back to work and love it! It was in the window of one of my favourite shops in Brighton - here's a link: www.pussyhomeboutique.co.uk.

Other ramblings today - at least 18 degrees out today so why have I seen people in scarves & hats? Dress appropriately folks - it's the other extreme from flip-flops in Winter!

I saw a link to what could be an interesting film coming out soon - keep your eye on it: www.northernsoulfilm.com.


Last night I ventured into Second Life as my avatar Willow Sveiss - I have the weirdest boobs and white go go boots that keep disappearing into the ether but I'll work on that! I've been checking out The Twisted Wheel club where they play 60s stuff. I've learnt to dance and strutted my stuff with a load of people dressed as bananas. If anyone is in there took please add me!


And finally, this was the first band I ever saw at the tender age of 15 or something - Chippenham Gold-diggers. A band that was a big part of my teenage years......many a night was locked away in my bedroom being all "teenage" and singing along to Glory Boys like it meant the world. Time have moved on but Secret Affair are still around & I'll be down the front still singing along to Glory Boys at the Concorde on 29 May.

Initial ramblings

I wrote a diary from the age of 7 until 42. I guess I'm sort of missing the opportunity to write my thoughts down so here we are. Don't expect any blogging on my lovelife (or lack of it) or personal life but do expect blogging on random thrilling things such as what I ate for lunch, what particularly lovely vintage dress I found today (with photographic evidence) or where I've been that's worth documenting!

It feels like Summer has hit Brighton today - evidence of this is the whitest of white legs in those unpleasant cropped trousers that make you look shorter than you are.....capri pants if you're fashionable - unpleasant cropped trousers if you're not. Linen is showing it's ugly face on the streets of Brighton - this worries me greatly and as I've said elsewhere, summer will not be pretty if there's much more of it about!

Still raving about "Worried about the Boy" which was on BBC2 last night. Great soundtrack and makes me wish I'd been part of that new romo movement - instead I was a little mod, singing along in my bedroom to "Glory Boys" and wearing my Gran's two-pieces.

Cath's recommended website of the day: www.retrotogo.com

My first blog is done. Whether it gets more exciting is yet to be seen!