A Memory of Liverpool University Panto Week
My late wife and I, both went to Liverpool University and the Rag Week then, was called Panto Week and it was rounded off by a fancy dress ball called Panto Ball. I don’t know whether it’s still the same, but the aim of Panto Week was to raise money for various charities.
One year, the Panto Secretary was a girl, who wasn’t particularly liked. So that year, a male student, went to the Ball dressed in exactly the same elaborate and expensive ball-gown she’d hired for one of the other balls earlier in the year. She had fairly recognisable hair to say the least and an appropriate wig was secured. She was reported to be absolutely incandescent and even more so, when she found out that her look-alike had been danced with by something like fifty gallant engineers.
A Clever Name
I took this picture of a van from a bus, as I went towards the Angel.
damselinadress.co.uk
It always helps to have a good name for a business. www.damselinadress.co.uk is a good one!
Despite Help From Ed Milliband, Aquascutum Goes Bust!
Aquascutum has entered administration, as is reported here on the BBC today.
This is despite the publicity of Ed Milliband wearing one of their suits at his wedding last year. It must have been the colour!
Camden Road: A Destination Station on the North London Line
Obviously stations like Stratford and Richmond are destination stations on the North London line, where there is a lot to do and are ideal places to meet a friend or someone on business. Hampstead Heath station is probably another, but it is not really an interchange.
Today, I went to buy a new jacket and found myself at Camden Road station, which is being updated by the addition of lifts. I got the jacket and then proceeded to have a coffee in the restaurant under the station called the Meribel Brasserie & Coffee House. The coffee was very good and although they didn’t specifically do gluten-free, there were a few items on the menu, that were. For instance, their breakfast menu included scrambled eggs and smoked salmon at a reasonable £7, to include some accompaniments like tomatoes and a bit of salad. I checked the dinner menu with the Russian chef and I certainly wouldn’t starve there. He knew his stuff and even knew that skate were not kosher fish.
You certainly have a better choice of gluten-free food at Camden Road station, than in the whole of Eastfield.
I also drank my coffee on a pleasant terrace in the sun watching the traffic. Unfortunately,that unusual clothes shop, Swanky Modes, which used to be opposite has now gone. C always wondered, whether they actually sold any of their way out designs.
Is the UK Economy Getting A Little Better?
There has been a few positive articles this weekend, which indicate the economy is getting better.
For a start, the BBC is saying that UK retail sales are rising.
And Philip Wighton in yesterday’s Times says that clothing companies, like River Island, are moving manufacturing back to the UK, as this gives shorter lead times. Let’s hope others follow their example.
The Times also says that B & Q have brought in a new range of toilet seats called Tonic, that are selling way above expectations. Is this a business going up the pan?
This Awful Cold Weather
Yesterday and Wednesday as well, I hardly left the house, as it was so cold. Today, it’s no better with -1 at 06:00 and -3 at 09:00 forecast for tomorrow. And that -3 comes with fog. At least it gets sunny in the afternoonafternoon, but temperatures are just hovering above freezing. Ipswich isn’t any better with temperatures a couple of degrees colder. So I suspect that I’ll stay in bed as long as I can.
I remember a similar day some years ago, when C had plenty of work to do and wanted to get rid of me for the afternoon, so she found two pairs of thick tights and I wore those under my trousers.
I just about survived.
It’s funny how attitudes to practical transvestism have changed. A man would have never done this in the sixties, but now if needs must, men do.
In fact in the 1960s, Bobby Moore tried to sell Man-Tights and I can remember the adverts for them on trains on the London Underground.
I also remember a story from a friend, who was a very keen caver, who told me to keep warm, they generally wear several layers of tights. Once in the 1970s, a friend broke a leg badly. whilst caving in France and they had to carry him out all the way. But the worst bit, was removing his tights, as he didn’t want to go to a French hospital wearing them.
I have no choice today, as I live alone.
So it’s either go and freeze or stay at home and keep warm.
I think I’ll do the latter!
You really do miss your late partner for the smallest and silliest reasons!
Names on Clothing
I was standing in the queue in Waitrose, when a guy came up to stand behind me. He had this jumper on advertising a company called Franklin and Marshall in large letters. As one does, I was curious as to what the firm did, as I’ve seen quite a few jumpers like this. He then said it was just the name of the brand. When I asked how much they paid him, he just laughed.
I may well have a North Face quilted jacket, but the branding is more discrete.
A Dress For C!
C bought several of her summer dresses from Oasis. One particular pink halter neck dress appears in quite a few of the pictures, I have of her.
I have a feeling that this dress might well have ended up in her wardrobe.
A Dress for C!
One of the joys of living with C, was going shopping for clothes together. Often, she wouldn’t like a dress or I wouldn’t like a pair of trousers, but the other would say they would be fine. Usually, the decision was right.
So why is this dress so right for C?
Her arms and waist were her best features. her legs weren’t too bad either and although it would have been too short for her five years ago, with black tights, it certainly wouldn’t be now!
A Touch Of Luxury
I’m making sure that I don’t just have clean socks every day, but fresh new ones.
A New Pair Of Socks Every Day
How decadent!
The Second Hand Clothes Racket
The Times on Friday had an article obout gangs collecting second hand clothes and then selling them in Eastern Europe. But it’s not just here, that it happens! Here’s a story from Dubai of all places on a related theme.
When I get bags asking for clothing to be donated through my door, they go straight in the recycling bin. If I have any clothes to go to a good cause, I take them to the Oxfam shop on my way to the station.
The Anonymous Widower 