Frump to Fab 2019 - Here We Go Again

lessonlearned

Making cracking progress with the sort out. I'm on a roll. I am really enjoying it, listening to music whilst I work my through it all.

Going to have a break now for lunch and a rest. I won't finish today but I think I can manage bit more after I've rested my back for a while.

Definitely need to book a massage. :rotfl:

maman

It's this article in the T" Section of today's Times LL.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/times2/uk-high-streets-deserve-a-makeover-5gjzfshqn

You probably won't be able to read it all as it needs a subscription.

I'd love to hear from you Maddie. Oxwich and the Gower coast in general is very close to my heart.:)

lessonlearned

Thanks for the link Maman.....actually I am allowed to read 2 free articles a week without paying a subscription. Unfortunately I usually forget. :rotfl:
I still like to buy the Sunday Times though.

Yes The Strand is lovely........part of the The Cathedral Quarter and an area called Friar Gate. It is no longer the main shopping area, that moved to a a mall where you find the usual boring old chains. Don't care for it much, the shops are the usual same old, same old but there is a nice cinema and entertainment complex.

The cathedral quarter is much nicer, mainly Georgian architecture with several little streets, mostly pedestrianised and comprising individual shops, small businesses, bars and restaurants, the three museums, the Anglican Cathedral and the big Catholic Church, a couple of smart hotels.

Credit where it's due our city fathers have really pulled out the stops and done a fantastic job. At one stage you could hardly walk through the Strand without being covered in pigeon poo and as the article says, so many shops were boarded up.

I particularly like the fact that the shop fronts are now much more in keeping with the architecture. No garish signage allowed. I was in the cathedral quarter only last tucking into a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant. .

Anyway I can smell my lunch is ready.......low fat sausages and leeks with a carbonara sauce. Starting the carb reduction ready to resume my WW plan next week. Shift that last half stone.

Might call it a day now with the sorting.....do a bit of handsewing whilst I have a rest.

chanie

I love reading about where everyone lives. Other than being in Winchester for University, I have only ever lived in London. My current job has given me the opportunity to travel across the UK and I’ve enjoyed seeing other parts of the country. I have a couple of observations:
1) commuting sucks. People I’ve met in other cities tell me they live about 1/2 hour from work. That’s a dream for most Londoners. Commuting is stressful.
2) rivers - I love those cities with rivers that are easily accessible from the town centre. In London, most people can’t afford to live near the Thames so forget its there. Whenever I visit a new city I’m always delighted and jealous when I see a river close by.
3) although London is diverse and amazing, it’s slightly surreal. Very few people can afford to live in Central London, so it’s full of tourists. There is something comforting about seeing everyday people as opposed to tourists.

Don’t get me wrong, I love London, but I have been enjoying exploring other parts of the country.

Skibunny40

Just catching up on this thread and had to comment about the blog "A Tray of Bliss". It's written by a woman called Mimi who, when I lived in Australia, was a member of an Aussie subscription only forum I belonged to. She used to be an amazing poster, writing about how to make the best of life on limited funds. If I remember correctly, she had a severely disabled son & amongst all her brilliant recipes and style tips, she would talk about the fights she was going through to ensure the best for her son as well as the rest of her family.

I stopped subscribing to the forum when I moved back to the UK years ago (and found MSE!) but missed Mimi's posts, so I'm thrilled to realise she has a blog. It truly is an incredibly small world - and proves living our best lives is an international concept!

Wednesday2000

I was supposed to go out to Shoreditch today but the friend I was meeting is ill so I'm not doing anything.:(

chanie wrote: »

I love reading about where everyone lives. Other than being in Winchester for University, I have only ever lived in London. My current job has given me the opportunity to travel across the UK and I’ve enjoyed seeing other parts of the country. I have a couple of observations:
1) commuting sucks. People I’ve met in other cities tell me they live about 1/2 hour from work. That’s a dream for most Londoners. Commuting is stressful.
2) rivers - I love those cities with rivers that are easily accessible from the town centre. In London, most people can’t afford to live near the Thames so forget its there. Whenever I visit a new city I’m always delighted and jealous when I see a river close by.
3) although London is diverse and amazing, it’s slightly surreal. Very few people can afford to live in Central London, so it’s full of tourists. There is something comforting about seeing everyday people as opposed to tourists.

Don’t get me wrong, I love London, but I have been enjoying exploring other parts of the country.

I was saying the other day that I grew up in South London and I used to feel like I knew almost every person in the area from school and college. Now I hardly ever see anyone I recognise. I live in East London now but still visit South London. It seems like most people grow up and move away. It does feel very impersonal living in London now. It did used to feel much more of a community.

When I went into London the other day to meet people I got lost as it was a bit of Hackney I hadn't been to and I kept asking people on the street if they knew and they all said they were visiting London or they had just moved there from a different country so nobody knew the way!:rotfl:

savingfortomorrow

I learned a long time ago commuting is terrible. It is time that you can read listen to music but not really relax. It robs you of true free time. I've committed up to 3 hours each way, but generally about an hour and a half in the past. I try and limit it to 40 minutes on a good road. The longer the commute the more weight I gain as I try and save free time by eating convience meals and takeaways.

Life is short but feels unfulfilled cimmuting. I've done it over terrible roads with hairpin bends, crossed mountains. I learned that the time spending in the car is useless and not relaxing. There is no money that will make me work further than 45 minutes because when I factor in wear and tear, fuel and weight gain, it's not worth it for me anymore.

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies.

I couldn't agree more SFT. It's just dead time, tiring too. And I found the same about weight gain. TBH it is another reason, the main reason actually, why I decided not to go back to work selling new build houses, especially as I wouldn't have had one designated site but would be sent anywhere. I just couldn't face the commute.

I have worked hard to lose weight. I know I would really struggle not to regain weight working on site, with no proper breaks, just grabbing food on the run and on top of that commuting a minimum of two hours a day. As you say it's just not worth it. My health and well being are my priority now.

Commuting by train might be better - if you get a seat - but even so I would still find it a tiresome chore.

Had a good day yesterday, decided to take a day off. Picked up some nice bargains from the chazzers, two jackets, a skirt and a cardigan and then managed to pick up some yellow stickered bits from Sainsbury's. Had a look at the knitwear in Sainsbury's but nothing jumped out at me.

Fabwise........Have lost 1lb this week. .

Back to more sorting and reorganising today, a bit of batch cooking. Just generally pottering about.

Have a good day y'all.

maman

I wouldn't say I enjoyed commuting as such but I did find that my drive to and from work (about 45 minutes/hour each way depending on traffic ) allowed me to switch my head on and off from work mode. It also got easier when I didn't need to rush off for childcare so I only rarely had take work home during the week. It made for much longer days but when I got home it was my time.:)

I had a great evening out dancing last night. This was a ball rather than just one of our weekly classes or social dances. I wore my short (ish) Phase Eight black lace dress (CS bargain:D) as it has a lovely swirly skirt. A woman came up and introduced herself (friend of a friend who couldn't be there) and said she'd been told to look out for a tall, slim blonde. How flattering!!;)

I've not yet got that grey look to my complexion that often comes with winter. I've been using my Clinique brush (more for attention than results I think). So far I'm just making up my eyes and lips (although I did put on a bit of blusher last night) which is my usual summer look. I think perhaps like tights, I'll hang on for as long as possible before I start back on foundation.

I'm pottering today too LL. I'll make us a nice dinner and possibly add to the CS bag.:D

Wednesday2000

I have three nights out to look forward to this week!:A

I am meeting someone in South London to go for drinks and to a vegan cafe. Then at the weekend I am going to the coast for a concert and also to another vegan cafe with my hubbie. We are staying in a seafront hotel. Then on Saturday we are going to see a film (Angel has Fallen) and another vegan cafe!

I am going to wear my favourite navy dotty dress on Tuesday with black boots and tights.

Friday I am going to wear a short black skirt, black jumper and tights and Skechers in the daytime and then the skirt with a diamante trim vest top and boots at night.

I'm not sure what to wear Saturday night for the film.

maman wrote: »

A woman came up and introduced herself (friend of a friend who couldn't be there) and said she'd been told to look out for a tall, slim blonde. How flattering!!;)

That is flattering!:T