A quick look around London shops. . . . . . .

Here I am, kinda visiting London again, but virtually!

Looking back to start on more Irish posts only to find English posts from

May which I've never posted! It's hard to keep up when traveling.

I only used my iPhone that day in town so photos are not the best.

Get off the Underground at Knightsbridge. . . . . . . 

. . . . . and you'll be on the doorstep of world famous Harrods which currently is
 'under wraps' while getting a face lift.

Those of us who thought phone boxes were history are wrong!

The ever mind-blowing Harrods' Food Hall - where a pound of good cheese is a week's paycheck for some!

 Portrait print tote bags from Simone Rocha. At $300.00 plus I'll continuing toting 

my Aldi's and Trader Joe's 99 cent shopping bags!

I won't even tell you the price tags on these!

NEW.  Really? 

I just knew someone would come up with an idea for my old trench coat!
Talk about from riches to rags!

Pretty dresses for pretty little rich girlies!

Selfridges, always the lovely department store.

I checked the hair salon and asked the price of a shampoo and blowout thinking

I'd fly home with non frizzed, shiny, clean hair. "Yes, they could take a 'walk-in' for

 140 pounds sterling." I almost fell over!

I excused myself to the elegant receptionist already with non-frizzed, shiny hair,
and I crept out to share the news with Bob. . . . . . and we went merrily on our way

to the exit!

Poor Mr. Selfridge, he must be turning in his grave.

And then there is ZARA. . . . . . . I'm usually excited, never disappointed,

 and always find something fashionable and affordable.
I bought a black and white striped tee with PARIS appliqued on the front!

London for shopping is wonderful if you're rich and perhaps famous - I didn't qualify!!!

From the window seat. . . . . . .

Arriving in London, 7:30 AM ~ Saturday, May 4, 2019 

A surprise view of the River Thames, Westminster, London Eye, and more,

on the way to Heathrow Airport.

The trinket dish. . . . . . .

Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral.

London's famous sightseeing venues. . . . . . . all joined together on a 

sweet little china trinket dish from Anthropologie. 
Dainty, delicate and so useful. 
See my precious Queen Victoria ring in its new home when not on my finger.
How adorable is this!

Do you have friends or family who know exactly what gift will make your heart sing?
Thank you dearest friend Mary Ann, you always pick the perfect gifts. 
They bring a smile and much happiness.

Sunday used to be a day of rest. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . and actually today, this Sunday, I'm planning one of those for a change. 

Whether it will happen I'm not certain, things have a way of creeping up unexpectedly.

I still have the cough I brought home from Europe and don't yet feel really well.

Last night's terrible London attacks have been so upsetting yet again.

Today I don't want to hear any news. I may just stay here in the guest room away

 from all the sadness of the world.

 As cowardly as it sounds, today I am burying my head in the sand. 

Help for cheese-aholics!

If I had more display space, I'd be a true collector of antique/vintage cheese keepers!

As it is, I only have this one, and yes, it's really huge!

I'm using it here to familiarize you with an item I really love and make good use of,

Harrods CHEESE PAPER.

Let's face it, if you've ever shopped at Harrods you know there's a lot of very

 posh stuff, much of which is way out of my price range, and won't fit in a suitcase

easily anyway. You can hear Bob's sigh of relief I'm sure!

However, in the fabulous Food Hall, there can be found little kitchen treasures

which will tuck in easily and don't break the bank.

I found this when visiting Harrods in London last year and immediately 

grabbed a couple of packs. It comes ten sheets to a pack for £4.95

 (about 60 cents/50p per sheet) and does a fabulous job keeping cheese fresh.

 As we're often told, cheese doesn't keep well in plastic wrap, whereas this

 heavy paper with what appears to be a shiny waxed inside, keeps cut cheese

blocks or wedges in perfect condition for several weeks. Especially useful if you

 buy at places such as Costco where the portions are huge and last quite a while

 (even for cheese-aholics like me!), such as this really good

 Spanish Manchego I buy there, along with Cheddar and Asiago.

I'm on my last pack of paper now and definitely want more.

I won't be shopping in the city of London again any time soon, however 

I will have a layover at Heathrow on the return from Kenya so I'll be checking

 out the small Harrods airport shop, if I can reach it, in hopes they sell it there!

Do you love cheese. . . . . and a great bread to go with it?

Any other tips on storing cheese - or eating it - always welcomed!

For Your Eyes Only . . . . . . . . . .

Harrods, London. Most beautiful and amazing department store in the entire world!

Most recent visit there for me was June last year. While Bob looked around the elegant 

Men's Department, granddaughter Jasmin and I took the escalator to the Lingerie

Department. . . . . . just for a peek at what has to be the most stunning collection

of underwear anywhere.

Remember that snippet of sage advice Mother gave us regarding private

 matters best not shared, or skeletons in the cupboard?

Dearest daughter ~ "Never air your dirty laundry in public".

With pretty things like these who would feel embarrassed sharing or airing with

 the entire world!

I think these beautiful panties are so far removed from the ugly knickers

 early generations of women were offered.

 With the quality silk, exquisite appliquéd lace, and even the tiny satin covered

 buttons, it seems a shame to hide them. I do recall I couldn't afford them! 

Yes, these I'd love to peg to an outdoor washing line and let blow in the breeze,

 and I wouldn't give a hoot if the neighbors could see.

Lingerie fabrics have come so far in recent years.

Remember the decades of corsets and girdles, tight and terrible with

 lacing and boning? Well they were a bit before my time, although in the

 '60's I do remember lightweight pull-on girdles, perhaps the early version

 of those 'slimming' garments which seem to have made a comeback.

Girls, ladies - rather you than me - if I can't hold it in myself I refuse to be
 encased like a sausage.

I do enjoy breathing!

This is my pre-Valentine's Day post. After viewing underwear ads enticing

 men to buy tiny red garments for their ladies, along with a box of chocolates
 and long-stemmed red roses. . . . . I decided to show you my photos of these
 pretty undies from London.

So, Happy Valentine's Day - hope someone special remembers 
you with something lovely this coming weekend.
Personally, red undies aren't my favorite, but I love flowers and chocolate!

Childhood Memories. . . . . . . . . . . .

As a much-needed change from ice and wildlife, today's post is about my childhood. Growing up in England following WWII was so different from today - perhaps you'll enjoy hearing bits of it now and then. We're trying to find more history on Bob's paternal grandparents who were from Ireland - we're hoping to visit there soon - digging into a family's history is always interesting.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953. I was nine and can recall some of the celebration in our town. Each neighborhood had a block party on the streets with long tables laden with homemade cakes and such, lots of bunting was waving in the Spring breeze, and it was sunny and warm. I'd never been to London but later that same year I was taken to the city to visit an aunt and uncle. Their neighbor had a daughter and we became friends for a few days. Although she obviously was much younger than me I remember us having fun and her name was Jacqueline. I vaguely recall this visit to the famous Trafalgar Square, a large public space with Lord Nelson's Column at it's center, a well known tourist attraction in central London.

I recently learned that feeding the famous feral pigeons, a flock of 35,000 at their peak, was banned by the city in 2003 as they had become a health hazard. As you can see from this one old, stained photo I found tucked away, we girls were obviously enjoying ourselves helping with the feeding - and yes, I'm still feeding birds here at the cottage eons later!

My mum, an accomplished dressmaker, made my beautiful coat for the big city trip. I remember the fabric was a deep petrel blue wool with a waffled texture. Although you can't see it well, the brooch on my coat was a coronation souvenir, a miniature metal book which opened to expose a pullout folder of tiny photos of The Queen on that special day. How I wish I still had it. Note our footwear, the same basic, comfortable Clarks leather T-strap, with a crepe rubber sole that every girl and boy in England wore in those days. Funny to think how limited the choices for footwear and clothing were back then compared to the massive amount of stuff kids have to pick from now. It was definitely much easier to get dressed in those days with so little to choose from!

via Wikipedia

Clarks popular 'Joyance'  T-bar children's sandals for girls and boys - launched

 in 1933 and in production until 1972.

A couple of years later, I remember taking a school trip to London - most likely still wearing Clarks sandals! This educational visit included a Thames River trip to Runnymede near Windsor Castle where King John signed the historic 'great charter', the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215. I wish so much I had photos from that London visit. These days with us photographing just about everything, it makes me realize how few we took back then with those little box film cameras! Hopefully our memories will keep going for some time yet - meanwhile don't forget to write family histories down, and put names and dates on the backs of your photos for the future generations of your family. They will thank you for that.

This post really came about due to things mentioned by two blogging friends last week - childhood photos, and what we British children wore when growing up - including Clarks sandals for both girls and boys, and those awful baggy elastic waist knickers we girls had to wear under our dresses and school uniform skirts. Remember, most girls never wore jeans or trousers in the early fifties in the UK, but I recall seeing American girls in the movies wearing trousers  - I'm guessing good legs were definitely a plus at that time. At age 12 I became the proud owner of my first 'two-wheeler', a shiny black bicycle to peddle back and forth to school in the Winter uniform of navy gym slip, blazer, and the always necessary 'mac' (raincoat), or green and white striped dresses in Summer - no slacks, pants, leggings in those days. BUT, it was around then girls started wearing plaid 'trews' - slim fitted ankle length trousers often in Scottish tartans - followed soon by the first casual jeans, mostly colored denim, blue jeans arrived later. 

I truly think casual life changed once girls could toss aside those skirts and silly knickers (of course we did eventually get to wear much cuter knickers!!!) pull on our trousers or jeans, hop on our bikes. . . . . . and experience a bit more freedom at long last! 

Theatre in London. . . . . . . . .

Two very special London theatres - quite different - were not far from our hotel on the Thames River. 

During our one full city day we walked over 12 miles and were able to see both. 

We took the tour of The Globe, it was fascinating. 

Built entirely of English oak, the colorful interior was 

quite opposite to its rather austere exterior. 

Sitting and looking up at "the heavens" painted with clouds 

and sky, I noted the trap door through which actors 

could be lowered using a harness. 

The Globe is the only thatched building that has been 

permitted to be built in London since the 

Great Fire of London in 1666.

The museum area inside the theatre was interesting also.

Go here to read more about Shakespeare's 

Globe Theatre in London.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Globe

For more details on the Royal National Theatre go here - 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_National_Theatre