Cornwall; here we come - and go!

 Was I stiff and sore on Wednesday morning after my first swim in four months!  

I had planned to go for a walk and then have a good old rummage in Bedford; but only managed the rummage. I was exhausted by the time I'd done everything and couldn't wait to sit down and put my feet up. I must have walked miles just around town.  I walked to the Daycare Hospice shop on London Road; then back to the High Street where I visited Cancer Research, Oxfam and the Salvation Army charity shops. I bought new towels in Cancer Research they're very good quality; I'd bought 4 bath sheets there previously. I also bought a pair of jeans by Next in the same shop; to replace my boyfriend jeans which don't fit as I like around the bum. I bought a pink jumper in Oxfam as I possess very little in the way of pink clothing. I then went into and around the bus station area and visited Sue Ryder; Wood Green Animal Shelter, Keech Hospice and the RSPCA. I bought a brown cross body bag in the Wood Green Animal Shelter. Three of the charity shops had closed down permanently; Mercy in Action, Bedford Autism and the Independent charity shop (where I bought the cardigan I'm wearing below 2 years ago). We have a new YWCA shop which has yet to open. I'd also forgotten about the British Heart Foundation shop and the 3:16 charity shop; but had a bag of donations to take another day.  We're back to 10 charity shops in the town centre not 12 as before.  I was still looking for a denim shirt but hoped to find one in Cornwall.

Red jeans by Laura Ashley and navy jumper by Bon Marche. Boots bought online.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I wore my new to me Laura Ashley raincoat from Vinted. It was just the right weather for a raincoat; bright and not too cold. No rain was forecast either. With that in mind I hung washing out when I got home and made dinner. I was delighted to see the 'Great British Sewing Bee' was back for a new series on Wednesday evening. I'd also begun to watch a new series on Tuesday evening called 'All That Glitters' which is like the GBSB  in format but about making jewellery rather than clothes.

As we were going away on Saturday I didn't need to do too much shopping on Thursday. I went to Sharnbrook to buy kindling; to Aldi and to Lidl. After the shopping was put away I decided to go to Kempston and visit the Barnardo's and say hello to my old manager.  She'd asked me if I'd go and see what she had done to the shop since she took it over. First, I put a bulging black sack of donations in the car to drop at the 3:16 charity shop. It wasn't open and to judge by the pile of donations at the door hadn't opened on Monday when the non-essential shops were allowed to re-open. I took the donations to Wood Green Animal Shelter in Kempston instead; where I bought a handmade summer dress for 3.00. Barnardo's had been transformed and looked really fresh and inviting. I had a good look round; congratulated the manager and bought myself a lightweight polo neck top by Zara; which with my discount came to 2.80 - about the price of a posh coffee! I just wore jeans and a top and didn't bother with photos as you've seen it all before. On Friday I went for another swim and swam 38 lengths before I ran out of time. Next time I've promised myself I'll manage 40...

Well, we arrived in Cornwall on Saturday at about 6pm. We had stopped at Hilary's first (in Devon) in a record 3 hours and 20 mins; I was driving. It was so good to see her again; I hadn't seen her in 14 months. We had lunch with her and then set off for our holiday stay which was another 2 hour drive. We stayed at a farm in the bottom half of a cottage called 'Coachmans;' overlooking Praa Sands Bay.  You can see the cottage HERE. There was also a campsite (for caravans and tents) on the farm; there seemed to be one family camping when we arrived. Once we'd settled in we drove to Penzance about 7/8 miles away and picked up supplies at Morrisons. We had a wander around and had an Indian takeaway curry for dinner. I slept well but was woken rudely in the wee small hours (it was still dark) by the alarm on the radio going off! At first I thought it was a bird; but the insistent, perfectly rhythmic sound persuaded me otherwise.

The view from our window in Higher Pentreath, Cornwall looking down on Praa Sands Bay.

We went for a walk along Praa Sands; it's about a mile long I'd guess. I'm very sensibly wearing my walking boots...

On Sunday morning, after a walk along Praa Sands beach we went into Penzance again. It had a lovely sea swimming pool which I'd like to try and is a really nice town.  There were places open to eat but as it was a bit breezy with a definite chill in the air we didn't bother; plus there were lots of people in the queues. I think it's the first time post lockdowns I've seen so many people around.  In the afternoon, we visited St. Ives which was wonderful. Full of quirky streets, lanes, buildings and of course the wonderful light; which has and still does draw so many artists to the area. It was a cloudy day so we didn't see the magical light at its best:

Top left: looking down on St. Ives from the car park. We cheated and caught a local bus to and from the town - it's a very steep walk! Unfortunately, the Tate was closed but the building is quite distinctive (bottom left). There were two charity shops open and I bought a pair East jeans in the Cancer Research shop. On the way back we went to both Helston and Hayle for a look and paid a visit to Lidl in Helston to pick up more supplies. We made dinner in the cottage that evening.

The monument to the Charter granted to Helston by King John in 1201; a game of bowls was in progress on the green behind.

Lots of street  names in Cornwall are unique - I'd never heard of an 'ope' - had you? Another interesting thing was the street names and signs were also written in the Cornish language. Cornwall is known as Kernow and has its own flag called the St. Piran's flag.

On Monday, we went back to Penzance for a good old rummage. I bought a skirt and the perfect sized tin for my solid shampoo and conditioner bars.  We visited about 7 charity shops and then decided to go to Redruth and have a rummage there. In Redruth I bought a ring and a felt hair doodad; which with the addition of a cunningly placed safety pin I can transform into a brooch. Not much to say about Redruth except it was at the heart of the Cornish tin mining industry; as shown by this statue of a 'tinner' in the town centre. The town looked a little neglected and worse for wear, I thought. Lots of empty premises.

In the evening in search of dinner we went to Marazion. We were too late for pub/restaurant food which had stopped serving at six so had takeaway fish and chips instead. They were delicious and well appreciated as by then we were absolutely starving. Marazion was a wonderful place and we made plans to go back and explore further. It's where you can walk  out onto the causeway (just visible in the photo below) to Mount St. Michael.

On Tuesday, I had booked a visit to a National Trust garden called Glendurgan which wasn't too far from Falmouth. It was a beautiful day; warm and sunny and the temperature ranged between 14 and 16 degrees. Glendurgan garden was created by Alfred and Sarah Fox in the 1820s. The garden was set into hilly woodland and at this time of the year there were rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas and lots I don't know the names of. There was very little labelling which I find annoying as I love to know the names of trees and plants.

The garden had a large collection of wonderful trees and a fabulous maze.

The gardens were carpeted everywhere with bluebells and primroses and eventually led down to the tiny fishing hamlet called Durgan; on the Helford River.

We had our first Cornish cream tea here sitting in the sun. I didn't take photos as 1) it didn't last long and 2) it was all in paper bags - it was takeaway only. It was delicious; the scones were made on the premises daily and the jam was made from local produce and from a local supplier. What can I say about the clotted cream except that it was thick, creamy and topped with a yellowish crust. It sounds disgusting but was the opposite! I eat my scones with the jam first and add the cream afterwards - the Cornish way. OH adds the cream first and then the jam; the Devon way. We then set out for Falmouth where we had a rummage. I finally found myself a denim shirt!

Top left; this was once a theatre; the harbour at Falmouth and I don't know the significance of the sheep mosaic which was repeated on all 4 sides of a cup shaped structure; couldn't find out anything about it - but I liked it. We sat in the sun on a bench and ate a Cornish ice cream before returning home. We went for another walk along Praa Sands after making and eating dinner. More people had arrived at the campsite in their camper vans but there were no people camping in tents. We had a chat with a couple who keep their camper van on the site until September and drive up every weekend to it.

On Wednesday, we paid another visit to Marazion and had a good walk around and stopped for a coffee. This quaint building was Marazion's Town Hall.

 A lovely collection of painted pebbles. It became a bit of a craze during the lockdowns, I believe.

Wednesday's outfit. I forgot to bring my tripod with me so had to rely on asking OH to take photos of outfits - when I remembered! Everything charity shopped except the bag from Vinted and the jacket; present from my daughter.

 After our exploration of Marazion I'd booked us another garden visit to Trengwainton Gardens near Penzance, in the afternoon. There was a house but it's not open to the public. You can see it below:

The gardens were very pleasant but apart from the absence of hills the planting was very similar to the garden at Glendurgan. Lots of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas and many, many magnolia trees with the blossoms dropping by the second. My little one at home had only started to open when we left. There was a formal terrace which I expect has a herbaceous border later on in the year. OH was sitting in the small summer house type thing at the end of the terrace. It was a beautifully sunny day with the temperature peaking at about 17 degrees; but it was not to last.

After our visit to Trengwainton (we had arrived early and were allowed in) we had time to visit another place we both wanted to see; Land's End. It was the first time we paid for parking; we'd noticed that wherever we had been there were no parking charges; this was unusual but was clearly Covid-19 related and we were quite happy at not having to pay parking fees! Until that is, Land's End, where we paid 5.00. I didn't complain after our free parking run lasting several days. Land's End was horribly commercialised with most of the 'attractions' closed due to Covid-19. We walked along the coastal path (left) almost to the bay at Sennen Cove (right). About a 2 mile walk.

It was quite difficult to eat out whilst we were in Cornwall because of the need to mostly pre-book and to eat outside. The evenings were quite chilly and not conducive to al fresco dining so we cooked at the cottage mostly. We woke up on Thursday morning to bright sun but gale force winds which continued throughout the day. Our plan was to visit Truro; Cornwall's county town and the only city in Cornwall and centre of administration; and where we also had a bit of a rummage.  I bought a pair of green summer shoes. Truro has a wonderful cathedral but we didn't venture inside.

In the afternoon we drove on to St. Austell town centre.  Once the area was the heart of the china clay industry producing 50% of the world's supply by 1910. The china clay mining left huge deposits of waste which formed peaks and became known as the 'Cornish Alps. We saw some of these driving in.  It would have been great to have visited Charlestown; which was a small town developed specifically for the china clay industry with mine etc; and still had a working harbour but you know what put paid to that. 

I wore this; everything charity shopped. Trousers by M&S, top by Primarni and cardigan as before. Boots by M&S; local FB buy and sell page. 

All jewellery charity shopped.

The bright sunshine but very strong winds continued on Friday. OH wanted to buy gifts for work colleagues so we decided to revisit Penzance in the morning.

The sea was rough!  That's St. Michael's Mount again in the distance. You can see Penzance harbour in the top photo. We walked around the town and found a lovely park with a memorial garden. The other plan was to visit Porthleven which was only a few miles down the road from where we were staying. I'm so glad we did. A lovely little fishing port which still operates a fishing fleet. And as an added bonus on our exploratory walk; we found a community charity shop where we both bought some stuff. There was a box of handmade felt and wool brooches for 25p each so I bought 4!

Porthleven Harbour.

This building is Porthleven Town Hall. Cornwall has some quirky town halls! I liked how the metal bar had been corroded by the salt, sea and wind into layers like the rocks surrounding the harbour. From Porthleven it was a short drive to The Lizard; the southernmost point in the UK. Renowned for its flora and fauna The Lizard has nothing to do with lizards - although they are plentiful in the area - but a corruption of the original Cornish name.

The Lizard.

I wore this outfit. Everything charity shopped except the cross body bag from Vinted.

That was our Cornwall adventure. We had a great time and OH had a really nice break from work but it was slightly strange in that it was difficult to do anything spontaneous such as visiting galleries or museums as most places were shut. It was also difficult to eat out; which is one of the things I enjoy a lot on holiday.  However, these things were out of our control thanks to the pandemic, so not worth stressing about. It was very nice to get home after an uneventful drive back. I started to put away my winter pjs, skirts, trousers and coats when I got back. I won't get the summer stuff out yet; I have enough transitional wear to last a good few weeks unless the weather turns really hot. On Sunday, for the first time in many months I wore shoes and not socks and boots!

It was back to Barnardo's on Monday. I caught the bus in as the car wasn't behaving itself. It turned out it needed a new water pump so OH took it into the garage for me as he still was on holiday; and he picked me up afterwards. I bought this colourful tunic in the community charity shop in Porthleven; it's by Tu and I wore it with navy blue leggings (retail), polo neck top also by Tu; charity shopped and charity shopped boots. Having bought a fair bit in the charity shops in Cornwall; I bought nothing in Barnardo's except a couple of books...

All jewellery charity shopped.

After I'd volunteered  at Barnardo's I went into to town to run some errands. I picked up 3 more Fred Vargas books that I'd reserved online from the library. I went into the library and  collected the books from the reservation section; they had already been electronically checked out. It was just in, pick up, and go!

    

In the evening I went for my 2nd vaccine so I am now fully vaccinated. I must say it feels very good but I won't be doing anything stupid and going to any big crowd events. I will be carrying on pretty much as I have, so far.

Tuesday's foodbank outfit. Busy, busy, busy.

I fancied some pink on Tuesday. The skirt by Kushi was bought from Vinted; the pink jumper by Next from Oxfam.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I went swimming in the afternoon. I wore my fitbit watch and set it to the right pool length; 50 metres. When I got out of the pool it said I had swam 58 laps and just under 3 km! I hadn't; I'd swam 38 laps of 50 metres which is 1.9 km. Another thing with the fitbit watch is that when I go walking I also set the Samsung walking app on my phone; I then compare it to my fitbit watch. The fitbit watch records my walking as about 0.4km less than the Samsung app. Technology; it's supposed to make life easier not confuse us!

 

More lockdown restriction easings...

On Wednesday, I went for a 5.3 mile walk in the morning. It was the same walk I'll be leading in June and I wanted to get the route fixed in my head. It was a cooler day than Tuesday which was 23.5 degrees in Bedford, but still sunny in the afternoon and pleasant. I didn't even bother with a jacket.

 Top by George, trousers by M&S both charity shopped. Shoes bought in an Irish charity shop and all jewellery was from a charity shop except my Labradorite ring; a birthday present many years ago from my mum and brother.

I drove to Edgeware in the afternoon to pick something up and I spent the rest of the day making dinner and catching up with blogland. 

As our lockdown easing took effect from 29th March I had made plans to visit my cousin Marian in London on Thursday. By the time I arrived at her house at Thursday lunchtime, the sun was out and it was very pleasant sitting in her garden.  I gave her my rhubarb plant as I had no ground space for it and it won't thrive in a pot. We had a lovely lunch and caught up with each other's news; of which there wasn't much thanks to the lockdown. It was wonderful to see her and the family. She's hoping to come with me to Ireland in the summer and stay for longer than the last time; we may still have to quarantine on arrival or maybe, because we will have have had both doses of the vaccine by then we won't. Anyway, that's all in the future and we must live in the present especially now...

I wore this outfit which was all bought from charity shops. The boots were bought online and I thought they'd bring out the deep red in the kimono jacket. Both the trousers (M&S) and the jacket (home made) came from Barnardo's and I bought the paisley top in a charity shop in either St. Neots or Hitchin, I seem to recall.

All jewellery was charity shopped.

I'd been re-reading some Angus Wilson books which I enjoyed immensely and on Wednesday evening started a book by Fred Vargas - who is a woman. I had never read anything by this author before and was sorry I hadn't. A French detective series set in Paris with a very likeable chief character. I shall be scouring the charity shops when they re-open looking for more in this series.

As I was in London on Thursday that meant I had to do the weekly shop on Friday. Everywhere I went (Lidl, Aldi and Sainsbury's) it was very busy but no queues- thank goodness. The farm shops weren't open as it was Good Friday; a bank holiday in the UK but luckily I didn't need anything. I thought I would pick up some kindling on Saturday from Sharnbrook as there was enough to be going on with. It was still quite chilly in the evenings and we were still lighting the fire. It seemed this week we had both summer and winter weather 23 degrees on Tuesday with Friday a grey and chilly 7 degrees. I wore thick tights under this outfit and a half slip under the skirt. I can't see me swapping my wardrobe over until at least the end of April...

 

Everything charity shopped except the boots bought in Sainsbury's sale. Top by M&S; skirt by LC and jacket by River Island; a real bargain at 50p from Barnardo's.

All jewellery charity shopped.

We went to my daughter's for dinner on Friday sitting in the garden. They have a fire pit so it wasn't as cold as it might have been.  We hadn't been there since Christmas Day. It was very nice not to have cook, but both OH and I would be busy with cooking and food preparation on Sunday; as all 3 of my brothers were coming for a barbeque. I hadn't seen two of them since early November and one not since summer last year. 

As it was Easter weekend I bought the grandsons and OH an Easter egg each; I treated myself to one as no one has bought me an Easter egg ever! It was delicious and I ate it over the Easter weekend with great relish.

I bought this black dress about three years ago in a charity shop and the kimono was a 1.00 rail buy from the Bedford Daycare Hospice shop; bought when my sister-in law was staying with me back in October 2020. Tights; charity shopped a very long time ago and boots as before.

Saturday was another cloudy and chilly day at 7 degrees again. I went to Sharnbrook for kindling and logs and picked up the youngest grandson; who was going to stay overnight. He was back to playing basketball on Sunday; as outdoor sports could recommence as part of the easing of lockdown restrictions. 

All jewellery charity shopped.

I was so excited about Sunday. It was a lovely sunny day but chilly. I went out for a quick urban walk of 3.85 miles quite early.  We did the housework in the morning; then I made salads, coleslaw and potato salad and got things ready for a BBQ. OH had also made a curry the day before. I picked up my two brothers from Kettering and Julian arrived from London. It was so good to see them all. We ate and drank plenty sitting in the garden until it got too cold then I took two of the brothers home. Neither of them drive but Julian does. As per usual I forgot to take photos, so I can't show you the outfit I wore of an animal print matching top and skirt that I bought at the start of the current lockdown; from the 'Re-Fashion' site.

On Easter Monday it decided to snow! It snowed steadily for about 30 minutes; a constant, light fall of snow which didn't settle, luckily. I had planned to go for a walk with my daughter and we walked 5 miles together in the morning. In the afternoon OH and I went to visit the garden nursery where we bought plants from in the first lockdown back in March 2020. We used to ring and place an order; OH would go and pick the order up at the gates. This time we were able to wander around in the greenhouses and along rows and rows of plants. Heaven! I bought three Anemones and a Nepeta plant and a half price ceramic plant pot. We then went to OH's happy place; B&M's garden centre (!) where we bought two reduced Lupins and three Senetti plants; which were planted in the new plant pot as soon as we got home. I had also ordered some Sweet Peas from an online garden plant company and they should arrive by mid May at the latest ready for planting. We both enjoyed the scent so much last summer and being able to cut bunches of sweet peas for the house.

This is how the garden is looking at the moment. Not much colour as not a lot has bloomed. I live in the middle of a town and only have limited space to grow things...

This is the front garden space - a few feet behind the front wall.

This is what the newly painted front of the house looks like. Palest grey masonry; muted olive woodwork; front door and gate painted in black. I put window film on our front windows for more privacy as we live on a busy street. I had the windows cleaned by a window cleaner my next door neighbour knows. It's very hard to find window cleaners these days who are prepared to climb ladders and do domestic properties. 

One day, I will replace the glass in the front door which is original to the house built in 1906; with stained glass. I have bought some doorstep paint and will get around to repainting the steps at some point soon.

 

And the back of the house. By painting the back wall it seems to have opened up the space more.

It was back to the food bank on Tuesday. We had a surprise visitor. The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire paid us a visit and presented us with a plaque from the local community - how nice.

Trousers by New Look bought from 'Vinted; jumper by Divided; charity shopped. Faux polo underneath bought online as were the boots.

All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings which were donated by my daughter.

I wore a coatigan and gloves over this at the foodbank; it was 5 degrees outside and about the same inside. There were several photos taken of us beside the Food Bank van. I went into town when I got back and ran some errands; then it was home to clean out the fire, do some washing and make dinner. I also caught up with blogs and blogland.

During the lockdown I have tried to stick to my normal routine. On Wednesdays, I nearly always go for a walk. In normal times I'd walk with my walking group, but on my own mostly in lockdown. I walked 8 miles in sunny but very cold 6 degrees. I wished I'd worn a cardigan on top of this outfit for extra warmth. Everything charity shopped. Boots by Vanilla Moon; jeans by Next and tunic by Wallis.

All jewellery charity shopped.

When I do go back to leading walks with the Ramblers I now have 3 new routes that I can lead which should take me up until the autumn at least. Then I'll need to find some more...

 I stayed and had a cup of tea at my daughter's house; and some rice crispy cakes my grandson had made.  I had parked my car on the estate she lives on as it's a place I start a lot of my walks from. And it's very convenient for a post walk cuppa!

I didn't get to sit down on Thursday until it was time to eat my dinner at around 6.30pm! I did the shopping in the morning; unpacked it and put it away.  I also bought quite a few bedding plants; Busy Lizzies; Geraniums; Sweet Peas, Osteospermums and some trailing Begonias for the hanging baskets. Then I went into Barnardo's from 12.30 to 4.30 pm to help get it ready for opening. There was plenty to do and we were all looking forward to the opening; but also slightly dreading all the donations we were bound to get. Where were we going to put them all?

Everything charity shopped; dress by Gallery and bought in a Co. Longford charity shop; polo top underneath from John Lewis and boots both from Barnardos. Tights by Snag; bought online. I think they have discontinued this orange colour; I waited nearly three months for this colour to arrive and it seems to be no longer on their website.

All jewellery charity shopped. 

It was warmer on Thursday at 12 degrees but pretty cloudy for most of the day. OH came home with Aquilegia plants and French Marigolds; that'll keep him busy over the weekend planting up all the latest purchases! I'd also ordered some garden plant labels which arrived. We buy plants and after they've bloomed and die back we then can't remember what they are. Their labels often blow away if they have any to start with. Currently, I'm not sure what has happened to the Stocks I bought last year from the nursery and spent quite a bit of money on. I labelled all the plants I could  with the new labels, so this doesn't happen again. I have a horrible feeling the Stocks were dug up and thrown away as dead plants; I hope I'm wrong.

I was able to get up at my leisure on Friday. I needed to pick more coal from the Sharnbrook farm shop. My plan was to go for a walk from Milton Ernest which isn't too far from the farm shop, but it began to rain on the way back and in fact rained off and on for the rest of the day. Instead, I took my car to be washed at the attended automatic car wash. The car was filthy and covered in bird poo which had dried on - even I was ashamed to look at it any longer! I find those automatic car washes frankly terrifying and only go to them as a last resort. I'm convinced the steel bar is going to come crashing through the windscreen and crush me to death... I also need to hoover the inside of the car which will mean a trip to Sainsbury's garage at some point over the weekend to use their facilities. We can't park outside our house  and do it as we live on a street with double yellow lines.  I spent the afternoon pottering around and finally settled down to read my latest book 'A Spell in Winter' by Helen Dunmore. Updated to say I'm on a Helen Dunmore reading spree at the moment; I had at least 6 books of hers on the bookshelves and to date have read 4 of them so far.

Saturday was another day of rain showers. We are off to Cornwall next week and I've been praying the weather will have improved by then. The forecast was looking fine for that week so keep your fingers crossed for us. We're going to stay in a rented cottage at Praa Sands which is halfway between Penzance and Helston, I believe. What I'm wearing here is very appropriate as it's a Seasalt of Cornwall dress; called the 'Mill Pool' dress! I wore this denim waistcoat for added warmth and opaques from M&S. Everything found in a charity shop except the boots which my daughter gave me. She was going to have a sort out of her wardrobe when I was there on Wednesday; more boots might be coming my way!

All jewellery charity shopped.

Although all our non-essential shops will be open on 12th April as part of our easing of lockdown restrictions; I had been trawling Vinted in the week. I bought a few summer items; a couple of skirts and a couple of summer jackets...two of the items arrived at the parcel shop on Saturday afternoon. I went into to town to collect them. It was horribly cold out.

Sunday was brighter but still cold. I went for 9 mile walk along the river to Cardington and back along the opposite side of the river. It was lovely to see the river being used again for rowing and kayaking.

On Monday I returned to my 'normal' weekly routine. My first proper shift at Barnardo's since before Christmas. We weren't as busy as we thought and we had quite a lot of donations but we weren't overwhelmed. I met our new manager and spent the morning hanging and tagging donations and getting them out on the shop rails.

Lace jacket by Roman; bought from Vinted, top no label; trousers by F&F; boots by Vanilla Moon. All charity shopped.

All jewellery charity shopped.
When I got back from the charity shop I had a few errands to run in town including getting my eyebrows done! I last had them done just before Christmas and I haven't touched them since. I never pluck them but get them waxed and tinted; usually once a month. I collected a prescription, went to the bank and the cash point and picked up bread and milk. Town was the busiest I'd seen it in a long time. I hung out the washing when I got home and made a soup from yesterday's left over chicken. Then I caught up with blogland after cleaning out and lighting the fire.

I was sad to read on Monday that my favourite bookshop in London is moving to Bath in May this year. No more popping into Persephone Books in Lamb's Conduit street when I'm in London and treating myself to a book or two. Still, they do have mail order and I'll have to make a trip to Bath one day to see the new shop...

Tuesday was a glorious Spring day. It was warm in the sun and the sun shone all day. I was at the foodbank in the morning doing the usual. I walked back from the foodbank; then I went for my first swim since before Christmas; it was wonderful! I managed 35 laps in the time I had. I've slowed down a bit as I could manage 40 laps in 55 minutes but I'm sure I'll be back up to speed with another couple of swims. I also realised when I got out of the pool that I could have worn my Fitbit in the water; as it's waterproof up to a depth of 50 feet. Never mind, next time!

Dress bought from Vinted, top underneath and tights charity shopped. Boots bought online.

All jewellery charity shopped.

After my swim I walked into town to collect another two Vinted parcels; a Laura Ashley striped coat and a summer skirt. I hung out a load of washing when I got home and it actually dried on the line. I love the smell of line dried clothes. 

I've begun to pack for Cornwall and am praying the weather gods will be kind to us. I'll have lots to tell you in my next post. Until then, stay as lovely as you are!