Sara's Recommendations. Books I enjoyed ….. December 2018

I read all the time and I always have a book on the go. I would say that I almost chain read books and I would panic if I had nothing on my 'to be read' pile

In December I read some particularly brilliant books. Having my birthday in November meant that I received book presents to treasure and vouchers to spend. My December reads were as follows:

• The Toymaker by Robert Dinsdale. This is a magical and special book about a vast and incredible toy shop. The Emporium is a whole world in itself where people can escape. The family who run the toy shop are not without their problems, but they take in Cathy as one of their own. This book touches on the horrors of war, the necessity for hope and the strength and fragility that can make up a family. If you loved Night Circus you will love the Toymakers.

• The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair. I found this a beautiful, tactile, aesthetic book filled with fascinating information about where colour comes from. I had no idea how complicated the world of colour was or how much work went into finding and producing colours. I have learnt how making colours have killed many over the years due to the methods of making them or the ingredients used. I have learnt that colour is not just the shades you see in paint and clothes and every day objects. It is nature and chemicals and hard work combined. Each colour has a rich and amazing history.

• Roofworld by Christopher Fowler. I have wanted to read this book for a long time and it did not disappoint. Rooftops fascinate me and I have often imagined a world up on the roofs. This book tells the story of an existence high above our heads. It tells of searching, power struggles, megalomania and how the search to find somewhere to escape to does not always work out. It describes the brutal lengths people will go to when they want power and the need to be very careful who you follow in life. This is another book that I couldn't put down.

• Past Tense by Lee Child. Jack Reacher, as always, at his finest. Probing, pushing, investigating, chancing his luck and charming or fighting his way through. As always Lee Child writes an intriguing story which you want to pursue to the end. Combining Reacher’s past and a twisted game of people hunting, this thriller takes you in many different directions, and with a few different sub plots, before you get to the end. I am always very happy to see the next Jack Reacher book is out, Lee Child is a brilliant writer and one of my most treasured books is my signed copy of “Never Go Back”. (Yes, I queued in WhSmiths to get it signed.)

• A Highland Christmas by MC Beaton. This light and fluffy mystery was a good Christmas read. Just like MC Beaton’s Agatha Raisin books this is a mystery without excessive violence set in lovely rural villages. It is easy to read and the crimes and clues are very well thought out.

Happy New Year to all my lovely readers and huge apologies for the lack of posts.  There will be some new posts coming very soon.

Sink or Swim........................ Learning to swim at 48.

I am 48 years old and cannot swim and that, to be honest, is just ridiculous. I have decided, therefore, that learning to swim is essential.

There are so many benefits to swimming; exercise being the main one. I know I need to up my level of physical exercise because, despite the fact that I rush around like a Duracell bunny and I walk a lot through necessity and for exercise, I don’t do any other specific exercise. Anyone who has read my piece about accidents will know that my one lesson to try and ride a bike ended quite badly.

Swimming is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise so is really good for your heart and lungs. It also works all your body and the support of the water makes it low impact. Obviously swimming is not free like walking, but it is relatively low cost. Technically it is free if someone pushes you in the river, but I don't recommend it.

I can honestly say that I am not that confident in the water so building my confidence has been the most important thing.

Now when I say that I am not very confident I mean that I expect to slip and drown in two inches of water. I am so used to being accident prone that I do rather expect to have a major fall, swallow half the pool, catch bubonic plague and lose a limb. So far this has not actually happened.

Lesson 1

After I had gingerly walked into knee high water and grabbed the handrail, the first thing to do was learn to breathe. Yes, that is what you just read; I had to learn to breathe. This is something we take for granted but it is hard to breathe underwater without consuming a gallon of chemically treated water that numerous other people have frequented. Taking a deep breath, bobbing under water and blowing bubbles out my nose was not as hard as I imagined and I did ok with a little practice.

The next step was bobbing about in the water getting acclimatised and trying to float. Now this should be easy but I was slightly reluctant to take my feet off the bottom. Holding on to the side and kicking was quite successful, and no, I don’t mean kicking passing swimmers, I mean kicking my legs. (Though it is tempting when they get in your way).

Borrowing a pool noodle was a brilliant move and I soon gained confidence as I progressed. By the end of the first lesson I could float on my back with the noodle and even do a little bit of front floating and leg kicking without holding on to the side Not bad for a first lesson even if I do say so myself.

Lesson 2

I was raring to go with my second lesson and had borrowed a pool noodle from my daughter who no longer uses it. Clearly I had to draw a face on one end, it is compulsory.

As I cannot possibly open my eyes underwater...... who can; my swimming instructor bought me some fabulous goggles. They made so much difference. Being able to see underwater totally boosted my confidence and I cannot wait until I can swim along under water.

After a few minutes of breathing practice I threw myself (literally) into swimming with the pool noodle. Having gained the confidence to launch myself forward to start swimming and managing to keep the kicking going enough, I was soon propelling myself across the pool. With a bit more floating practice and by tucking the noodle under my arms, I found myself actually swimming using my arms and legs to get across the pool. I managed 6 widths (don’t laugh) and back so was quite impressed with myself.

Lesson 3

We were at a different pool for my third lesson and it was slightly more slippery underfoot. This threw me a little to start with, but sheer pigheadedness allowed me to keep practicing. I was very proud of how much swimming I was achieving and also how far and fast I could go. 

I was rather impulsive and decided to try swimming without the noodle. Stupidly I launched myself forward but forgot to breathe so then took in water and forgot to use my arms and legs..... Unbelievable!!! Luckily my knight in shining armour was in the pool with me for rescue purposes so I didn’t drown. I did attempt this twice more but clearly need more practice before getting rid of my trusty pink pool noodle. (Let’s call him Eric).

Now the problem with having a pool noodle is that it restricts which swimming sessions you can go to so I really need to practice breathing and swimming simultaneously. I do find sinking and flailing around easier but it is not a long term solution and not conducive to safe swimming practices.

I couldn’t go swimming this week and won’t be able to next weekend so I am hoping to go mid-week. I am determined to learn to swim properly as I really enjoy it when I get going. Having to use a floatation device is not a problem for me, I don't care what people think, but I do care about getting in people's way when they are swimming and I am being a bit of a doughnut. I think learning properly will be good for the other swimmers as well as myself.

Now I may be being a little presumptive but I think I can hear the sound of the 2020 Olympic swimming team calling me, I must dash and check my phone J 

 

Eric the pool noodle 

My Co-ordinated Clothes Life

Colour co-ordination is the key to my style, if I am co-ordinated I feel together, if that makes sense. If I look good I feel good and this is not as shallow as it seems. It’s all about boosting your self-confidence and projecting an image of self-assurance and positivity.

I do often wish I was the kind of person who can throw on any clothes, look and feel great and not worry about the way they look. So often people who don’t plan their outfit look relaxed and one hundred percent sorted despite making no effort in their choice of clothes apart from making sure they’re comfortable. Each to their own I say, good luck to them.

I’ve put together some of my more co-ordinated looks to show how I like to dress. Most of my clothes are charity shop bargains, as are my bags. You can look good on a budget by finding what kind of pieces suit you and working with what you have. Whether it is browsing in the charity shops or regular high street shopping it is best to know what suits you in colour and style and what pieces you already own. If you like to wear outfits that match it is a good idea to consider whether you own anything to go with what you are buying before you make the purchase. Obviously if it is the most fabulous dress you have ever seen at a knock down price, you will need to adapt what you have to work with it. 😉

Some of the outfits featured include a Jasper Conran jacket, a French Connection dress, a Wallis dress and clothes from Mexx and Topshop. All are second-hand bargains and cost under £7 pounds.

I find that colour with colour works nicely (as long as the shades are carefully chosen), as does a colour and a neutral. I do not like to wear too many colours at once but bright colours with a neutral can look fabulous. A neutral outfit with a bright jacket and/or bag can give that pop of colour that really brings an outfit out.  I am not comfortable mixing patterns, though mixed colours within a pattern is fine. Some people can mix patterns and it looks amazing, others do not pull it off at all.  There is a fine line between deliberate clashes that work and a lazy mess. I like to wear a pattern with plain, it tends to accentuate the pattern rather than hide it.

  

I find that picking out one colour of a patterned dress and teaming it with a cardigan or jacket, shoes and bag that contrast, can work really well. Last year I bought some of the George at Asda patterned, flowery, summer dresses. They are a kind of sleeveless pencil dress style in various flowery patterns and colours. The example below is where I have picked the aqua in the dress as the accent colour. I have teamed it with an aqua bag, aqua cardigan and navy blue shoes to compliment the navy background of the dress. As you can see there is also yellow in the dress and I have a yellow satchel that matches it very well. I can team this with a navy cardigan or jacket and navy shoes. It shows that you can change the look of an outfit by varying your accessories.

The next outfit works well and was totally accidental. The Mexx dress was a charity shop bargain last year and the satchel was an irresistible purchase from what I call The Heart Foundation Boutique. The dark brown/nearly black and red satchel clearly compliments the red and black of the dress. Teamed with a pair of black shoes or boots and a black jacket, this outfit really works. I did buy a similar colour Apricot dress in Launceston while on holiday last week and Bob the mannequin has grudgingly agreed to model it for me...... sort of. The black, burgundy and cream will work fabulously with the satchel as it is the same shade of burgundy red in both dresses and the satchel.

 

This looked is based on my favourite dress. It is a brilliant orange “flippy” Topshop dress which I bought second hand in Somerset earlier in the year. I call it a flippy dress because of the shape of the skirt, though I am sure there is a professional term for it. I accessorize with creamy nude shoes, and my double sided orange/nude bag for a fabulously co-ordinated look. The double sided bag is one of my few new purchases and was £10 when I bought it about four years ago. You can wear the main bag as orange or nude colour and the small bag inside is orange too.

  

My black, grey and orange French Connection dress combines brilliantly with my orange Jasper Conran jacket and black accessories. It looks like it is made to go together but it was two individual purchases in a charity shop sale. (an unbelievable couple of bargains as it was less than £10 for the two pieces.) The black satchel was £2 in a charity shop in Launceston. Yes, another satchel, I am really into them. I love the style of a satchel and they are easy to use.  I could also accentuate the grey in the dress if I teamed it with my grey bag and can wear it with black boots or shoes.

Now my mysteron dress, thus named because the pattern reminds me of Captain Scarlett and the Mysterons, is also a less formal style than some of my other dresses. This black and white dress from Next (via Oxfam Boutique) has a slight sixties vibe about it and teams well with black boots and pale tights. A black bag and black jacket could work with this dress but it also it looks good with a burst of colour from my orange jacket.

My final look is a casual black Topshop dress accessorized with my grey Jones of New York bag (a gift from my cousin and his wife) and black, lace up, slightly glittery pumps from Miss KG at TK Maxx. I did throw on my denim jacket for this look but soon took it off due to the heat.

Denim is worth mentioning as something which goes with most outfits. My dark denim jacket can be thrown over most things without seeming un-coordinated. This is the same for jeans, they do go with anything apart from other denim. I think denim and denim should only be worn together if you want to look like members of the 90’s Irish pop band, Bewitched. It may have worked for them but it wont work for your average women in the street.

I believe you should wear whatever you want, but I like my clothes to match and enjoy putting outfits together. My advice is to put your outfit together the night before you want to wear it as you will only be running around before work throwing on the wrong things. 🙂

   

All photographs in my blog pieces are copyright to myself, Sara Williams. 

I just like to make an entrance.... the falls and mishaps of a blonde.

It is a known fact among my family and friends that I have an amazing inability to remain upright, and no I don’t drink alcohol at all. My tendency to fall over makes me wonder if I am channelling the spirits of Laurel and Hardy or whether I am just clumsy.

Before this weekend (more of that later), my most spectacular fall was at the 2016 orthodontic show at the Excel Centre in London. I was walking towards a stand to speak to some guys I knew through work and I totally overlooked the edge of the stand. To be fair it was neither low nor high so not totally my stupidity; one minute I was walking and the next I  found myself face down on the carpet having totally misjudged my step. I do have to admit that I went down with a terrible bang and everyone on the stand rushed over to see if I was ok. As I got up I was asked if I was hurt and, in typical Sara style, replied “I just like to make an entrance.”  To be honest I was totally fine apart from a small bruise on my arm. My ego, mind you, was rather dented.

Another memorable moment occurred coming into the concourse of Guildford railway station after work one day. As always work had over run and I was hurrying so I didn’t miss the train. To save time I pulled my ticket holder out of my bag as I walked in and unwittingly pulled out an individually wrapped tampon at the same time. It flew in a dramatic yet graceful arc across the concourse to land at the feet of a group of young men. I swooped down, picked it up while muttering “excuse me”, and scuttled off to the platform to hide on the train. (Stop laughing!)

Of course Guildford station was also the scene of my trip and run incident on the dodgy paving slabs. Every day I would walk out the station past the men waiting with the minibuses to take people to the big firms on the industrial estate. One day, and I can only blame the dodgy paving slabs for this, I tripped. I did that thing that comedians joke about where you trip and then run to disguise it. The only difference being that I had no choice, the momentum of the trip made me run a few steps.  One of the men did ask if I was ok so my reply was “I just like to be entertaining”.

Yes, we are seeing a pattern emerge. I do something stupid and disguise it with a supposedly humorous quip. It is better than going into a state of total embarrassment and crying or spontaneously combusting or whatever reaction other people have.

Anyway, back to my inability to stay upright. I have slipped over in a shop on carpet with absolutely nothing to fall on. This is a feat that Harold Lloyd would have had to practice for hours to perfect.....I really should have been a star of the silent screen.

There have been at least three times I can think of that I have fallen over in the street for no discernable reason. No ice, no snow, no rain or trip hazards, just me ending up far more horizontally than I would have chosen in an outdoor setting. Though I have skidded on ice and fallen on it too, but that goes without saying I suppose.

Ironically I managed seven weeks on crutches and special shoes after a double foot operation last year and I didn’t fall or slide or trip once. It has been suggested to me that may have been because I was not charging around like the proverbial bull in a china shop at warp speed, but I am not so sure.

Now a long time ago I used to be a waitress and never dropped a thing. However, things just leap out my hands at the drop of a hat these days. So far I have been lucky on the occasions that I have to carry a loaded tea tray into the boss and his visitors at work. So far I managed not to trip over and throw a tea tray full of coffee, sugar, milk and biscuits over any of the distinguished people that have come for meetings, but I do have rather a look of Mrs Overall about me when I carry a tea tray.

My luck has not been so good in Cafe Nero. A couple of years back I carried a latte on a tray upstairs at Nero’s and, as I went to put it on a low table my bag swung, knocked the cup and it went flying. This somehow resulted in a large amount of coffee spilling down INSIDE my boot. What are the odds? I was lucky that they cleaned it up and gave me another one, but I am not sure they really believe I won’t do it again. I would like to blame the low table, gravity and the shape of the latte mug, but there is probably no point, we all know why it happened.

People have laughed at my fear of going on the down escalators but stop and think for a minute...... what could go wrong? A woman who has a history of falling over and about as much grace as a Meccano giraffe going on a fast moving electrical staircase travelling downwards. I think that’s an episode of Casualty right there.

Of course I started my career as a potential stunt girl at a very young age. When I was just under a year old I escaped and was seen walking off the top stair straight into the air like a cartoon character. As in every good cartoon, I didn’t walk in the air, I fell. I had no injuries and was fine...... and no, I didn’t bang my head. J

Something I manage to do occasionally is to hit myself in the face; yes, truly ridiculous. This has happened with a coat hanger on several occasions and I am really not sure how. I have also managed it just with my hand too. I think it comes from rushing around and doing too many things at once rather than being a total fool. Sheer carelessness is as good a reason as any for forgetting cupboard doors have been left open and walking into them. This is a classic Sara cooking scenario and I should just close the doors.

Back to specific incidents, I have had a few moments worthy of a comedy sketch.  The curtain in my bedroom used to be on a tension rod and this is why it was a bad idea. Picture a hot night, sleeping naked and I wake up to a wasp the size of an obese hornet dive bombing me. Why do they do that? I jumped out of bed, grabbed my fly swat and went in hot pursuit round the bedroom. It ended up, after many attempts to escape, sitting on the curtain. Forgetting the fragility of my window dressing I swatted the wasp. The curtain, attached to the tension rod, came crashing down leaving me totally naked in front of the window. The result of this fiasco was that the wasp finally went out of the window and I dived for my dressing gown hoping that I had not scared too many of my neighbours. It was early so I like to think there were no witnesses and my curtain is now up on a proper curtain rod. 

An incident that could only have been choreographed by Norman Wisdom was the day the tomatoes made a bid for freedom. I am making a salad so have got out all the salad veg, the chopping board and salad bowl. As I pull open the drawer to get a knife I catch the punnet of baby tomatoes with my arm. The tomatoes scatter across the floor and, as I bend down to pick up the tomatoes I crack my head on the cutlery drawer which, of course, is still open. I did clear everything up and I did get my salad, but how funny it would have been to watch and what a typical silent movie slapstick scene.

I have decorated a lot in the past which clearly couldn't go without incident. Trying to paint the hall, stairs and landing with a long handled brush, standing on a slippery plastic dust sheet....... well it is a miracle I am in one piece. The rickety old wooden step ladder I used to use to decorate finally managed to get it's revenge when I was painting a ceiling in my old house. One minute I was painting the ceiling, the next I was falling ( I can see a pattern here.)  Luckily I only had a small container of paint so the disaster of the  incident was not as monumental as it could have been. All I will say is that there was paint to clear up, yes I had a bruise and yes the ladder was replaced.

Now last weekend I managed to have a proper accident. The lovely man in my life was trying to teach me to ride a bike and for my first time I think I did well. I was staying upright (miracle) and cycling. I was doing well until I somehow managed to cycle into a fence, bend my arm back behind me and go into shock. Luckily I only seem to have hurt the muscles in my arm and I have quite a few grazes and bruises. I was well looked after as I really had gone into shock. (My body does seem to like extreme reactions.) It is a mystery how I crashed into the fence because I was cycling, looking ahead and going in a straight line before veering off into a fence for no reason known to me or anyone else for that matter.

It is amazing how people react when they see you have an accident. With the bike accident my lovely man was amazing, however, not everyone is.  I have had people rush to help, I have had people laugh and people totally ignore the fact that I have fallen. For example, I have slipped on the concrete steps at the station and only stopped a major fall by grabbing the banister. Of all the people going up and down those stairs, only one person asked if I was ok.

Clearly I know that I need to be more careful but I still do silly things. My desk at work is quite large and I am quite short, so to reach something at the back, I need to stand up. However, on a daily basis I try to reach too far and my chair starts to slip (yes it’s on an anti slip mat). I actually suggested to my boss that he might want to put a camera in my office as he could make £250 on You’ve Been Framed when I actually slip off my chair. Alternatively I could be sensible, but is that really going to happen? 

I am sure I will think of other examples of Sara slapstick as soon as I have posted this piece but maybe my mind has blocked them out due to the level of embarrassment. My family and friends will probably remind me of incidents that I have totally forgotten, but I think you get the picture; basically I really do need to be more careful.

 

Surely I can't fall over in here?

The secret inner contents of a woman's bag.

A women’s handbag is a private and mysterious world where everything is personal and important to the owner of the bag. It is a place where no man dares to go.

I thought today, however, that I would share the inner most secret contents of my handbag. Now to be honest mine is not the most interesting or exciting bag, the contents are more practical. In contrast I will also show you the undiscovered delights which lurk in my daughter-in-law’s handbag. Gillian has a fascinating selection of things that she feels are essential to carry around with her.

Now I will say that my bag is organised, I change it a few times a week to co-ordinate with my outfits and clear it out whenever I change it. Yes, sad, I know. Receipts either need to be filed for checking against my bank account, kept as I paid in cash and they may be needed, or cash and they won’t be needed. (They go straight in the recycling bin.) I also clear my Filofax out a couple of times a week as there is no point having an organisation system that is in a state of disorganisation.

The 3 main bags I am using for work are 3 satchels that I got this year. One was given to me, one was from a charity shop and one was a bargain in the sales. I do have other lovely bags but they are my main ones for right now.

The contents of my bag on the day I wrote this are as follows:

·         My ochre Malden Filofax;  which also contains propelling and ordinary pencils, a selection of post it notes, a photo of my lovely children, a Donor card, my blog cards, Philofaxy blog cards and chameleon Upholstery cards.

·         My navy blue spotty Paperchase pencil case; which also contains spare propelling pencil leads, a pencil sharpener, my favourite pen, and my Welsh pen.

·         My sunglass case; which contains my prescription sunglasses, a glasses cleaning cloth and a mini cleaning spray.

·         My blue M2 Filofax wallet; this contains my shopping list, mini pen, reward cards, bank cards and paper money ( if I am really lucky).

·         My pink unicorn coin purse; this contains my loose change.

·         My phone.

·         Home keys and work keys.

·         Tissues.

·         A make up bag; which contains lip gloss, comb, mirror, floss and eye drops.

·         I also carry migraine tablets, anti car sickness tablets and an asthma inhaler.

·         I always carry a mini spray deodorant and a Charlie Pink spray too.

                                                   

I do also carry an extra little bag on work days containing an Eco water bottle, an Eco coffee cup for takeaway coffee, an umbrella and my lunch. I also always carry a fold up shopping bag at all times.

Now my daughter-in-law carries a far more interesting array of belongings with her than me and has been known in the past to pull some weird and wonderful things out of her bag. Examples are: a potato, clothes pegs, spare clean socks and a tin of tuna.

When I took the photographs for this piece Gillian had in fact two bags. One was a handbag and the other an over spill

bag. I have, therefore, split the lists into two. The photos are just a mixture of the contents of both bags.

Gillian’s main bag contains: ( In the order they came out)

·         A purse.

·         A hairbrush.

·         Glasses.

·         Sunglasses.

·         Make up dregs and new makeup.

·         Ibuprofen and paracetamol.

·         Rescue remedy.

·         Adrian Mole the Wilderness Years cassette 1.

·         A loose 50p.

·         Pellegere Woods hand book

·         Answers to Welsh language test.

·         A pen.

·         Adrian Mole The cappuccino Years cassette 1.

·         2 sets of headphones.

·         Half a phone charger.

·         6 hairgrips.

·         Antihistamines. 

·         Tissues.

·         Receipts.

·         2 random keys of unknown origin.

·         A deodorant.

·         A loose 2p.

Gillian’s overspill bag contains: ( In the order they came out)

·         Glasses case.

·         Beetroot seeds.

·         Squash sees.

·         Spring onion seeds.

·         2 notebooks.

·         Phone case.

·         Moisturiser – expired.

·         2 hairclips.

·         Five Get into Trouble cassette

·         Pine nuts and pumpkin seeds snack.

·         Five Go Adventuring Again cassette.... unravelled.

·         Third Year at Mallory Towers cassette.

·         Pair of clean socks.

·         Five Go off in a Caravan cassette 2.

·         Perfume.

·         4 2^nd class stamps.

·         Glasses.

·         AAA battery.

Gill's purse ....probably full of receipts?

I do believe that Gillian's bag, though slightly disorganised in approach, does show a sense of being ready for anything and also a fun side too. All the various cassettes to listen to in the car are fabulous.

My bag is structured and organised but does not show my fun side. I think this is because I do like to be ultra organised and it is important to me to be able to access what I need when I am out.

ISSUES WITH EMAIL UPDATES

Hi lovely people. If anyone has signed up for the email notifications and not received them for the last two posts, can you please let me know at

saraorange69@gmail.com 

Thank you. xxx