Hello folks? I hope all is well with you. I, for one have put the trauma of my non-holiday behind me and the week has been so busy with the day job that it's almost as if it didn't happen. Except for the gaping hole in our bank balance, that is - the hotel have agreed to honour the booking if we go to Amsterdam in the next six months. As for KLM - apart from an acknowledgement of my initial message, I have heard nothing from them about a refund or compensation for all the money we lost from the activities we booked online.

Now that those of us who aren't suffering from Covid are out and about and things are back to 'normal', we have to dig out our clothes and accesories - putting a clean shirt or top over trackie bottoms or PJ's won't cut it any more. Everyone's body shape has altered - sitting in front of a screen at home all day cries out for snacking on comfort food - cheese on toast, crisps, and beans on toast staving off the underlying anxiety of dealing with an unwelcome microscopic enemy that has the capacity to make life altering changes. Legs need exfoliating, and new diets are beginning all around us.
Of course, some sickening people decided to go the other way and exercise and go for long runs and actually lost weight and emerged from the chrysalis of lockdown looking their best (three guesses where I belong!!).

Whatever we have done with ourselves, life is cranking up again and it's time to review the contents of our closets - get rid of the deadwood, and begin anew. I'm on a newly begun diet - and hope to shop my own closet soon, so I'm putting off the charity shop run. But, a little retail therapy never hurt anyone, it's nice to pick up a few little bits and bobs to cheer us up, and why not? 

I read an article written by Jess Cartner-Morley, the fashion editor of the Guardian -the other day. In it she writes that we're back to a long lost time "where you’re going to walk into a room, and people you have never met are going to start to form an opinion of you before you’ve said a word."

There is a collective feeling that we can't take anything for granted anymore, and perhaps that's as good a reason as any to get dressed to the nines and go out to work of a morning, and put on our party frocks and dance the night away while we still can.
I predict that party jewellery is going to get bigger and shinier - people on a panic stricken diet don't go out and buy clothes - they pick up jewellery that is larger than life to show off their personalities while they wait for the blessed weight loss to kick in. However, we spend a lot of our lives in work-wear and still need something to carry us through the day.

​This week's necklace is for a day when you want to look business-like yet understated, when a statement piece would be too in-your-face, and yet gives you that feel good factor. If you feel good, you exude confidence and that's what it's all about.

The pendant is of variscite set in silver and came from Bali - a mystic topaz sits at the top and a little triangular peridot dangles from the other end. I put it with luscious grape like amethyst nuggets separated by tiny seed pearls, punctuated every so often with oval abalone beads that reflect the light. I love abalone, don't you? A little box clasp set with a peridot finishes this beautiful piece which will go with loads of outfits in your closet.

That's me for this week, folks. I hope you enjoyed the read. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx

Hello people, how are you today? Last week we thought spring was here, the daffodils were out and life was looking rosy. Seven days later, there are flurries of snow and we are plunged into mid-winter all over again.  

By the way, can you see the 'holes' in the bush to the left of the photograph? We have a number of sparrows nesting in that bush and those are the windows they have made to get in and out of the greenery to be able to get in and out before the cat can get at them - I see them coming out of that bush every day to the nuts we have hung on the branches of a tree opposite.

I had a week off work, and we were meant to be in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we didn't actually leave Birmingham Airport - our flight was stood down at the very last minute, after we'd checked in and were due to board. We were then herded into the Arrivals hall, made to pick up our luggage and get back in line to book onto another flight.
The flight that they offered us was the red eye to Amsterdam, the next day - this would have meant that we went home, and got back to the airport at 330 am. Having stood in queues for the best part of six hours, we declined the offer and got a taxi back home. The winner? Wilfred the cat got to come home from the cattery three days early! 
I was sick and tired of the whole thing by the end of the day, and it will be a cold day in hell before I venture into making plans for another holiday - I have now the unpleasant task of recovering all the money spent on the various activities I had booked in advance - jazz concert tickets, bus tickets to the Keukenhof Gardens, etc, etc. 

Oh well, that's that I suppose, except that the hotel insists that they will not refund us, but give us a voucher to stay with them at any time in the next six months - I guess that cold day in hell will come, after all! We licked our wounds for a couple of days and eventually ventured out into Coventry, to an exhibition we had wanted to get to for a while.

Daniel Lismore is a 37 year old artist who has been dubbed the 'most eccentrically dressed man in Britain' by Vogue magazine. Brought up in Coventry, he ended up in London where he worked as a photographer and model. He is known for living his life as art by wearing elaborate and extravagant ensembles that combine haute couture with vintage fabrics, found objects, chainmail, ethnic jewellery, millinery and more, in an expression of eccentric, creative energy. Inspired by art in all its forms. 

We went along, well ok, Michael was dragged along because I was intrigued by his style and the jewellery he was wearing, not knowing what to expect. Wham! We were confronted by several rooms of eight foot high figurines, all with his face, wearing the most elaborate costumes, a lot of them with a political message to them. I then read that he had been inspired by the Terracotta Army of Xian, which I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of years ago.  

This exhibition plays homage to Daniel Lismore's earliest inspiration - the Chinese Terracotta Army. Much like the warriors of the Terracotta Army, each one of Lismore's sculptures is unique, but together they form a united cohort, standing in solidarity in a regimented fashion.
These sculptures are some of Lismore's most embellished works, comprising metals, jewels, armour, chainmail and more. Lismore incorporates the idea of clothing as armour into his sculptures as a symbol of protection. He was the first person to wear armour to Parliament since it was made illegal by Oliver Cromwell. 
In his 2019 TED Talk My Life as a Work of Art, Lismore says
"Picture yourself in a giant jewellery box with all the beautiful things that you have ever seen in your life. Then imagine that your body is a canvas, and on that canvas you have a mission to create a masterpiece using the content of your giant jewellery box. Once you've created your masterpiece you might think 'Wow, I created that, this is who I am today'.
​Then you would pick up your house keys walk out the door into the real world, maybe take public transport into the centre of your town. Possibly walk along the streets or even go shopping.
Well, that's my life every day. When I walk out the door, these artworks are me. I am art."

​I guess all of us who like nice clothes, and wear make up and jewellery are doing just that, to some extent.

He is known for living his life as art by wearing elaborate and extravagant ensembles that combine haute couture with vintage fabrics, found objects, chainmail, ethnic jewellery, millinery and more, in an expression of eccentric, creative energy. Inspired by art in all its forms, history and his travels, Lismore seems to combine and amalgamate multiple inspirations from around the world into vibrant expressions of cultural appreciation.

The one on the left is Michael my hubby, who was made to stand there to show perspective. I love the use of jewellery beetle wings, masai necklaces, Afghan jewellery, pearls, Miao neckpieces, boomerangs, Balinese jewellery, and feathers, among many other elements to embellish the outfits.

We left the exhibition with a sense of awe - the creativity of people never ceases to amaze. We rounded the corner and went into another room at the gallery - and couldn't have found anything more diametrically opposite to what had just excited our senses!!

Well, at least that brought a smile to our faces and we drove back in a suddenly sunshiny afternoon, feeling that we had been somewhere interesting. 

I've finally decided what I'm going to make next and have sent off for beads and crystals. I also have a beaded necklace to complete - I misjudged the number of beads I required and had to send for more before I went to India, but haven't picked that piece back up yet.

That's me for this week, folks. Have a fabulous week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. 
Until then
​xx

Hello everyone, how are you today? Spring is here and the daffodils are out in the garden, my camellia bush is blooming and the sun is shining, resulting in an immediate uplift to everyones outlook! It feels like we might be able to cope with almost anything if the weather meets us halfway. 

I usually make an extremely colourful necklace around this time, and this year is no different. This one has a handmade pendant from Nepal, and I picked out all the beads I had in my stash to mirror the colours of the pendant.

I've used turquoise, coral, carved yak bone, lapis, lava and resin beads to concoct a colourful piece worthy of its name. 

We're off to the Keukenhof gardens soon - that time of year is here! Every day the sun shines brings the tulip bulbs closer to putting on a show for us, and I can't wait to take hundreds of photographs. I'll share a load of them with you on these pages as soon as I'm back.

That's all I have for you folks, have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place,
Until then
​xx

Hello and good day, people, hope you're all doing just fine today. This week has had some of the best news I've heard in a long time with Naznin Zaghari-Radcliffe being released and back with her family. In the middle of all the terrible news from the Ukraine, this was like a little ray of sunshine. 

I thought I'd start with something simple but pretty this year. I have a few pieces of jewellery planned in a little notebook from 2021 and I made a start with the first one. It is made with little amethyst nugget beads, alternating with seed pearls, with a few diamante beads thrown in for good measure, all held together with the most beautiful diamante clasp. 

Isn't that pretty? There are seven strands of beads in this necklace and the effect is wild and regal, the necklace drapes like a dream around your neck in a careless manner so you never have to worry about twisting and untwisting it.

While you're here, let me show you some pictures from Bangalore - from my 'home away from home,' the Bangalore Club - established in 1868 by Englishmen who wanted a little piece of home in a hot and hostile land. There were dress codes, regular dinner dances, horses, dogs and courtship of the little 'mem-sahibs' who came out regularly on the fishing fleets, looking for men in uniform to marry. Winston Churchill was a member once, and when he left India he left behind a debt of 13 Indian rupees, which was eventually written off - the reminder letter for this debt still sits in a glass fronted cabinet in the clubhouse.
Indians were allowed to become members in 1945, once Independance was achieved - but the dress codes, dinner dances, racquet games and little courtships - they continue. My parents were members before I was born and I became one as soon as I was 21, which is when dependant members could apply for membership. Today there is a waiting list of over 20 years to join the Club - there are many other clubs in Bangalore, but this one is 'The' Bangalore Club. One can only buy food and drink by signing a bill, on presentation of a photo card issued to each member, and guests have to be signed in and paid for. 
The central clubhouse is a sprawling Raj bungalow, painted blue ever since I can remember. 

We grew up here - mom used to drop us off before she went to work in the school holidays and pick us up on the way back.  We swam, went to the library and ate chicken sandwiches, ice cream and crisps by the pool, until it was time to go home, dog tired, straight to bed.  Children weren't allowed in the main clubhouse of course, so it always feels like an illicit treat when I go in there now.

That's my final instalment of my last holiday pictures - I was told by a friend long ago that the only way to live was to always have a holiday in the pipeline - accordingly, we have a short visit to Amsterdam planned soon - it is only an hour and a quarter away and I do want to revisit the Keukenhof gardens when the tulips are out - my last trip was in 1985 and I want to go again. 

That's me for this post, folks. Have a great week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. 
Until then
​xx

Hello everyone, how have you been? It's great to sit down and chat with you today. I've had a week of catching up at work, picking up the pieces of everything I let drop when I went on holiday and trying to do four things at once. I'm sure it will settle into a well oiled hum soon rather than a cacophony of shrieking noises coming at me from all directions, once I've got my bearings and regained my equilibrium. 

In the meantime, I've almost enjoyed jet lag as it has helped me to go to bed early and wake up at a reasonable hour - I've been working to Indian time - the insomnia I usually suffer from has temporarily disappeared and I'm doing my best to learn new habits. 

While I was in India, I saw a beautiful, colourful necklace and I knew immediately I wanted it for my Caprilicious ladies. It is very colourful with drops of glass beads, pearls and agate nuggets, dangling from elements made of kundan work - this is a specialist traditional form of north Indian gemstone jewellery that originated in Mughal times. In the original pieces, they used uncut diamonds, set in gold, with gold and silver foil burnished into the sockets of the settings so that the diamonds glowed.
The necklace I picked up is of course, made of glass, set in exactly the same way by artisans who have painstakingly copied the beautiful Mughal jewellery. The backs of each piece are covered with red and green lotus flowers and other floral embellishments in enamel, this work is called Mina-kari. It is found almost exclusively in the north of India, the city of Jaipur being the centre for the setting of both Kundan and Mina kari or Mina work. 

I see it being worn with a simple dress - to weddings and garden parties in the summer and of course to formal events at Christmas time. There will be no requirement for any other embellishments or ornamentation and the wearer will be the only person in the room in such a beautiful piece of jewellery. 

That's me for now, folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx

Hello folks, how are you? I'm glad to report that I'm back safe and sound, dodging Covid bullets all the way. I had more PCR tests than I have for the last two years of the pandemic as I also travelled to Goa while I was in India, and required another PCR to get back to Bangalore. In a way it was quite nice to know that everyone on the flight had been tested and didn't pose a risk, although my nasal mucosa paid the price from all the swabs I was required to take.

As usual, I took some of my jewellery with me and people were so fed up that they  shopped as if their life depended on it - I came back with very little - there are a few ladies there who love to wear the kind of jewellery I like to make - large, colourful and a definite statement; and they picked up the majority of my embroidered necklaces, leaving me to carry back just a few unlucky pieces that didn't find their forever homes. 

The place where I grew up has undergone so many changes that I didn’t recognise areas that I once knew like the back of my hand. It has expanded and swollen like a major waterway, the population explosion that has occurred as a result of its once fabulous weather,  envied by so many, has clogged and choked it so that it is no longer safe to go for a walk; one has to drive to a park or quiet area, of which there are very few left.

People from all over India flocked to Bangalore and settled here; you hear a cacophony of polyglot voices around you and when you talk to their owners they all say they ‘come from Bangalore’ . I think to myself- you come from Bangalore as much as I come from Nuneaton 🙂🙂- the genteel old Bangalore doesn’t exist any more and the new one is brash, loud and strange.

The chauffeur drives me to Commercial Street, an old shopping area in the centre of the city. It has received a recent facelift and is well tarmacked with a spanking new kerb - but none of the old shops exist - they’ve all been sold up as their original owners either retired or passed on, and each one has been demolished and turned into 3 storey mini malls from which their heirs collect rent, or having made a packet from the sale have retired to other parts to spend their money.

I pass streets where I have little pleasurable frissons of flashbacks- there, I met  someone special who shall remain nameless, and there, I used to have breakfast with my friends before going to work in the nearby government hospital - so many ‘theres’ and so many happenings - little pinpricks of memories that make me feel all warm and cozy inside, like bubbles from a glass of champagne. So many good times, so many fun times- just the memories of them all haunting me like well ordered ghosts that fade only to reveal the next one as I drive by.

Am I growing old? Who knows- perhaps it’s just that I have the time to sit and stare while everyone else is bustling around getting from one place to the next, dodging the traffic, picking up children from school and generally going about their lives. 
Maybe I was like that once- I wish I had spent more time looking- if only I had known that I’d spend years and years away from home - I shake myself- ‘ don’t be so bloody maudlin, woman,’ I tell myself. It may just be a romantic dream - where I only recall the nice things that happened to me as I was growing up.

I took a little trip to Goa, staying at the most wonderful Taj Aguada Beach Hotel with my sister. We sat by the sea and chatted away to our hearts content - time flew and before we knew it it was time to pack our belongings and leave. Here are some pictures of Goa - I wish I had more time to spend there.

I was given another 60th birthday party, courtesy of my sister in law, even though the next one isn't too far away. Who am I to argue? There was a cake, and champagne, a musician, dancing and fairy lights, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Loads of the invitees wore Caprilicious, which was a major compliment. 
Everyone was so fed up with being restricted that hair was let down all over the place and consequently, my '60th' will be well remembered for a long time.

There were more parties, and  I met girlfriends for lunch and we got drunk and behaved badly, laughing and joking, remembering our schoolday escapades. Fortunately it was a week day and we had the restaurant to ourselves, apart from a few scandalised young girls who were having a decorous chaperoned lunch. Two of my friends had brought their daughters along, and it was left to them to pour their mothers into their cars and escort them home.

I spent loads of time in the Bangalore Club, which is my home-away-from-home, meeting friends, sitting out on the lawn at night and using the library during the daytime, borrowing books to read by the pool with a cold drink in hand.
A week of home quarantine at the beginning of the holiday gave me loads of time to spend with my mother, who was then happy to let me go out into the world and spend time with other folk. It was so lovely to see her, although she is now 94 and frail, her brain is as sharp as a tack - consequently we squabbled and chipped away at each other as if she was in her 60s and I was young again. If I hadn't seen for myself how frail she has become, I wouldn't have believed it.

It was soon time to come home again - it is so hard when your heart belongs in two places that saying goodbye to either tears you apart. I should be an expert at it, having done it for most of my life, but it never gets easier. Hubby was waiting at home with roses and champagne - I did call him every day and we had long conversations but it must have been hard for him, alone during two of the worst storms this winter with no one to talk to - aww!! Violins, anyone?

Before I go, Caprilicious is on a virtual show on Instagram on a site called handmade_hour  on the 5th and 6th of March. I made ten slides up for it on Canva at 3am while I was suffering from jet lag. If you have a minute, please look up all the handmade artists who will be taking part in the show and show us some love.

Well, that's me for this week, folks. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place, 
Until then
​xx

Hello people, how are you? As this blog post is published,  I will most likely be waiting in line for my PCR test to come back in Bangalore airport, or if I'm very lucky, on my way into town towards home quarantine for a week before I can get out and enjoy meeting people for a couple of weeks. I go with major trepidation, mixed with excitement at the thought of seeing my family. The prospect of catching the awful bug does not fill me with joy, as you can imagine. A landmark trial from Imperial College, London  indicates that exposure to a single nasal droplet is sufficient to become infected with Covid-19. I am not keen to catch the damn thing, and even less keen to spread it to a 94 year old mother - just imagine the shame of it, if I'm instrumental in finishing her off!! Eep! It doesn't bear thinking about - needless to say I shall be extremely careful.

I spent the week preparing for my holiday, getting clothes together and tying off loose ends at work. Packing is always a last minute exercise and I've just got my suitcases weighed and ready to go tomorrow morning. I still have bits and bobs to throw into my hand luggage and then I'm leaving on a jet plane, leaving my lovely hubby behind for a few weeks.

This week, I took delivery of a string of rough nuggets of amber - to my mind, amber is a mystical substance, known since at least 320BC, and is the fossilized resins from extinct coniferous tree trunks. Trees usually release a form of resin to make their trunks resistant to the attacks of parasites and insects. These resins also heal internal damage, keeping the tree healthy and safe. Over time, the resin evolves as an organic fossil which we now call Amber. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree mass, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material, trapped as inclusions. Amber can be coloured from yellow to a dark brown/ green. 
The most valued form of amber is one that still has traces of the organic life which at one point was trapped in the tree trunk. Being light and buoyant, amber floats in water and is found on seashores, especially the ones in Northern Europe. Amber is commonly found on the beach after a storm. 
In the Baltic regions, several glaciers destroyed resin-bearing trees. When buried, the resin in these trees fossilized as amber. It takes many many years for a piece of amber to be formed and I had read somewhere that when lit using a match, one can prove that the substance is truly amber rather than a synthetic imitation made of plastic if it burns without an odour. It can also be dissolved using alcohol and chloroform, but as I don't have the latter and wouldn't waste the former on such an errand, I pulled off a tiny piece from one of the nuggets, held it with tweezers and lit it with a match - and hooray! it burned with a gentle flame, minimal smoke and disappeared when the flame died down. This is certainly not plastic.

To bring some bright colour into the piece I added a flower made of blue dyed howlite, electroformed into the shape of a flower, and added some simple lapis beads to the back of the necklace for comfort. The piece is light, belying its chunkiness, and I love it.

Well that's me for now, folks. I will be imprisoned in my mother's house all of next week, so I shan't have much to say. I'll catch up with you when I get back from India, at the end of the first week in March.
​Until then, stay safe and keep warm
xx

Hello folks, how's tricks? I hope all of you have been as snug as a bug in a rug during the cold spell. The nights are growing shorter and soon spring will be here. At least that's what I tell myself every time I feel despondent about winter in January/February. Looking forward, that's the best survival trick I know - have you any others? I'd love to hear them.
​I'm busy tying up loose ends in preparation for my holiday in India in February - I fly out on the 3rd and am both excited and anxious. Obviously all the anxiety stems from this plague that has taken over the world, and all the restrictions and tests that I will have to undergo before I can get to my mother's home - there are reams of paperwork to be filled and I'm looking at long queues, flying in a mask and seven days home quarantine when I get there. But hey! it will be worth it to see my mother after two years and catch up with old friends, though I'll have to be very careful not to catch the nasty bug, or I'll have problems getting back home at the end of 3 weeks. I haven't yet thought about packing and presents for the family as yet - that will have to be next week as I'm working this weekend.

This week, I made a beetles wing necklace to order. One of my Caprilicious ladies bought one from me and gave it away to her boyfriends mother when she said she liked it. I was then requested to make another and bring it with me to India. 
​I love those beetle wings - the colours are gorgeous, and totally natural, the necklace is light and easy to wear, and is a converastion starter as not many people have them. Even if it's just a pair of earrings, I think that a beetle wing piece is essential in the trinket box of the true jewellery afficionado. 

The wings rustle as you move and are a brown/black on the back - I remember someone asking me for 'green paint' to colour the backs of the wings and I had to explain that the colour is totally natural and not painted on. I have made quite a few pieces with the wings in the past.
​A pair of earrings is also travelling to India with me, bought and paid for during my last visit and the new owner has been ever so patient as it has been two years since I was there.
I also get asked if beetles are caught and their wings pulled off - no insects are harmed in the making of beetle wing jewellery. The wings fall off at the end of the beetles natural life and are collected by the vendors in Indonesia. If you'd like to know more about these gorgeous creatures, have a read here, this is a previous blog post with loads of information about them.

That's all I have time for this week, folks. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then,
​xx

Hello folks, how are you doing today. I had decided earlier on in the month that I wouldn't make any intricate jewellery - my trip to India looms and work is pretty busy. It seemed about the right time to take a break and chill out. However, I didn't reckon with the creative urge that leads me by the nose. I sudden;y felt the urgent need to pick up a needle and do something with it. The minute I picked it up and threaded it, I knew what I was going to make, and here it is on today's blog post.

Named after the German botanist Leonard Fuchs, this beautiful plant is a native of the Caribbean and needs dappled sunlight and cool air to grow in - I first saw it when I moved to the UK, although why one cannot grow it in India where the temperature and climate is surely closer to the Caribbean than the UK, I do not know. It is a beautiful flower, with colourful sepals and gorgeous stamens dangling from it. Fuchsia pink is called 'Rani' or Queen's pink in India, Rani being the term for Queen in most Indian languages.
I found a length of Shibori silk ribbon, dyed in chocolate brown and fuchsia - edible colour, like a Turkish Delight! I devised a cuff bracelet with a light aluminium frame to help to keep it's shape and a lining of maroon Ultra suede. I wanted to brighten the chocolate brown a bit so I added an orange Swarovski crystal and a few teardrop shaped elements, and filled the rest of the space with chartreuse, or lime green seed beads that reflect the light as their centres are lined with silver.
To brighten it even further, an edging of fuchsia pink beads was added and the resulting confection in fuchsia and chartreuse, set off with the lightest touch of bright orange makes a lovely, summery bracelet.

One more week and I'm on a flight to India! Things are not going to be easy, what with all the rules and regulations, anxiety about Covid and quarantine at the other end. The government in the UK may have decided to favour the economy over health, but in my opinion, there's a long way to go as yet, and it behoves us all to be careful. 
Just now, it would seem that I will have to spend a week at  home in quarantine once I get to India, and then will have two weeks to meet friends and family, of whom I have many. A trip to Goa that my sister booked for us has become non viable and we had to cancel - but hey! I shall roll the blows and see how things go.

That's all I have for you this week, folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx

Hello my friends, it's lovely to catch up with you today. Having locked hubby away indoors for the better part of two years, we decided to risk it all and go down to London for a weekend to celebrate my lovely man's birthday. I plan a trip to India shortly to visit my mother and family, and had begun to feel quite guilty about leaving him alone at home in the UK. I thought I'd pre-treat him and as Covid seemed to be waning in August 2021, booked a load of treats for him. However, Omicron had other ideas and ramped up the rates of infection until it was touch and go - would they let us go? And if they did let us go, should we go? Would that be taking an unnecessary risk? Eventually I told Mike of my plans and left it to him to decide. 

We went to The Playhouse theatre that has been converted into The KitKat Club, with all the decadence of 1920s Berlin and was absolutely amazing. One of our favourite movies Cabaret, was converted into a musical play in a fabulous production.
There were visual stimuli and delights all around us. They had near naked dancers, writhing and dancing all over the stage, between members of the audience and beckoning us from balconies. We were told, "The secrets of the Kit Kat Club should stay in the Kit Kat Club." A sticker was placed over our camera lenses, but not before I managed to sneak a picture of the stage. I reccommend this show - if you can get tickets - they are as rare as hen's teeth. The show ends in November 2022, so there's plenty of time.

The next day, Harrods was spookily empty and we wandered around looking at ways to squander our money - perhaps a diamond bracelet? Perhaps something from the food hall? No? A spot of lunch, then? We had lunch at Juliettes Bistro and later on a glass of champagne at the Baccarat Bar in Harrods, and escaped quickly before we could actually find something that tempted us.

It rained all day but Mike was keen to smoke his annual ceremonial Cuban cigar. I people watched and caught sight of these Chinese children looking at the process of lighting up, totally bemused. I took permission from their mother and clicked these photographs.

And then to dinner at Ken Lo's Memories of China and onto The Nightjar, a jazz bar in Shoreditch. 

And then I had to take a couple of days off to recover. If it hadn't been a special birthday, I wouldn't have made such a major effort to create an exciting weekend. I'm glad to report that hubby enjoyed himself., and we came back safe and sound.
I would have enjoyed it too, had I not been constantly on edge about the Omicron situation. Everyone had to take lateral flow tests to the shows we went to, but we took a train and there were quite a few folk not wearing masks in the carriages which thankfully were mercifully only half  full.

None of my beads came out to play this week, sadly.  I've heard them call out to me, but have steadfastly averted my gaze. I shall have time this weekend and will pick up my pliers again at that point. 
That's me for this week folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx