Capture the Castle

Where did the summer go?  September always seems to arrive sooner that I anticipate.  I've had a few weeks (well-deserved) time off work, and Chris and I headed to the coast of West Wales for a few days.  On the list of things to do was a trip to Cilgerran Castle.  It wasn't too far from our friend's caravan where we were staying, so we headed there armed only with a small picnic rather than medieval weaponry.

A Seaside Stay in Croyde

At the start of August some friends from London invited us to stay with them in Devon for the weekend at an Airbnb they'd rented.  I know - Devon again!  It was my third trip this year.  It was a different area of Devon again though, this time the North Devon coast.  Our base was the beautiful bay of Croyde.  Our journey was slow thanks to Friday motorway traffic, but nothing compared to what our London friends had to endure, it took them the best part of 8 hours, and they have a 4 month old baby and a dog...  Still, this is the beautiful sight that greeted us all when we eventually arrived.

Old, With Tags

My obsession with vintage workwear continues.  You might remember the fabulous his-and-hers chore jackets that Chris and I bought from a car boot sale.  I'm not seeking this kind of thing out, it just seems to find me!  A recent chance conversation with some regular sellers at our local car boot sale led to being able to visit their Aladdin's cave (warehouse), and I came away with some gems.  The latest additions to my collection are a pair of "deadstock" (still with tags on) housecoats or aprons.  Firstly is this fabulous 1960s mini length little housecoat, in eye-popping colours and a sweet daisy print, with ric-rac on the pockets.  This one had no brand label, the tag was a plain paper one with 'Wx' (W for women?  And x for large or freesize?) printed on it.  Price £1.47 and 1/2p.  That's equivalent to £28.23 of purchasing power today.  I read in the Mary Quant exhibition that a Bazaar shop assistant earned under £7 a week.  I wore this jazzy number for a day of chores around the house, including scraping wallpaper, sewing, cleaning, and picking some tiny but tasty plums from the trees in our front garden.  I especially like the exaggerated sleeves, they stick out to give an American football player silhouette.

Forest Escape

A day after my graduation, Chris and I packed up his car (I am still car-less) and we drove west into the Brechfa forest area of West Wales.  I had booked a stay in a cottage on a textile farm, with no Wi-Fi, and only accessible by a very long and very bumpy farm track.  Something different!

  

The Fervors of July

This year is really hurtling along for me.  In the past three weeks I've been to Devon on a hen weekend, to London on a work trip - oh, and I graduated from my PhD!

The trip to Devon was fun.  I'd never been on a full 'hen weekend' before and was slightly nervous about whether I would survive the pace of activity and also survive being with nine other people for an entire weekend.  We stayed at Berridon Farm, in two of their cabins.  It is in a beautiful countryside spot, with five cabins in total spaced out in a large field.  The first evening we made use of the farm's outside pizza oven, which was fun.  We were lucky to have dry and warm weather, though in the evenings the temperature plummeted pretty quickly so my vintage dresses were swapped for thermals, jumpers and as many blankets as I could find.  As it's a working farm, the field has pens of animals at the far side.  We had fresh eggs for our breakfast the next morning, a real treat. 

Working Tourist

The last month has been very busy work-wise, which is why I was so behind in posting about my Devon adventures.  I've traveled a little bit for work, and the bonus has been squeezing in a bit of tourism!  First up, there was a National Trust double whammy.  I was speaking at a conference in Brighton, and staying with one of my sisters.  It made sense for me to drive (she's out in the Sussex countryside) so I thought that I'd make use of the National Trust membership to have some interesting stop-offs both there and on the way back.

On the way down, it was a decently warm and sunny day, so I stopped to see the gardens at Hinton Ampner.  Even though it was a Thursday, it was rather busy.  Lots of older couples, and families with young babies.  The gardens are big enough that you can find a quiet spot away from the masses, and I'd brought a picnic lunch to enjoy.

Overbeck's Gardens

I promise this is the last installment of the Devon trip!  We didn't end up leaving Burgh Island until a little later than anticipated, due to the tides.  Once we were back on the mainland, I'd set my heart on a visit further down the coast to Overbeck's sub-tropical gardens.  Salcombe is a lovely area of Devon.  It's alongside the Kingsbridge Estuary, that's dotted with little sandy bays.  We were lucky to have a sunny (but not that warm) day to explore the gardens and the surrounding area.  The view that you're greeted with as you step down onto the terrace of Overbeck's takes your breath away.

The Last Day of Glorious 39

More time travel again today, as I try and catch up with writing about adventures that occurred a whole month ago!  The day before my 40th birthday, and our arrival on Burgh Island, we had travelled down to Devon to break up the journey.  After our stop at the Killerton Estate, we headed to our accommodation for the night, Beyond Escapes.  I quite often pick up cheap deals on luxury self-catering because people tend to want to stay for at least a long weekend.  When there's the odd night going spare, I swoop in and get a greatly reduced deal.

It was very modern (not my usual thing), but it was exceptionally spacious (two bedrooms, three bathrooms!), well equipped, and on a quiet site in the pretty countryside from which you could just about glimpse the sea.  The rain moved in that evening, so we stayed in and stayed cosy.  The bath had coloured lights around the bottom, which was quite fun, and Chris cooked a lovely birthday-eve dinner for me.

Burgh Island

As promised, here are more photos from my Burgh Island Birthday Bonanza experience!  Better late than never.  The weather forecast was shocking, but miraculously as we drove ever closer to the village of Bigbury on Sea, the sky started to brighten.  As befits an island steeped in mystery, even arriving feels a little mysterious - there's poor mobile signal in Bigbury, so they ask you to phone from a village up the road to get the code to the gated garage.  We stopped to do so, and also did a classy getting-changed-in-a-car-park maneuver into our especially chosen "arrival outfits".  I rang the hotel and carefully noted the gate code in my Art Deco notebook, before we got back in the car and carried on our way.  As we turned the corner of the winding country lanes and saw the island for the first time, the view took my breath away.

Killerton Estate

I am playing catch-up with my blog posts, but it's always better to start at the beginning.  Before our visit to Burgh Island I booked another night in Devon, to extend the trip.  I wanted to renew our National Trust membership as a birthday present to myself, so on the drive down from Wales we broke the journey with a stop at Killerton.  This 18th century property, that was given to the National Trust by the Acland family in 1944, offers a little more than your standard grand house and garden experience, as it houses a fashion exhibition.  Far better than a motorway service station!

The Mermaid Pool

Last week I turned 40 years old in style, by spending my birthday with my husband at the incredible Art Deco extravaganza that is Burgh Island hotel.  Originally a resort for the rich and famous, the iconic hotel is situated on its own private island.  It certainly was a decadent beginning to my next decade  - start as you mean to go on!  I will be sharing my experience in full detail but before I can do that, I have hundreds of photos to wade through.

In the meantime then, I wanted to share my first outfit on the island.  This was my "arrival outfit", which also included a jacket, hat and bag, that I removed for our first stroll around the island.  I'm glad I took the hat off.  The wind was quite strong uphill and Chris nearly lost his hat a few times!

We retreated therefore to this charming, secretive little cove, reached by a wooden staircase (I was pleased it's not reached by a rickety 'Jacob's ladder' as described in Christie's novel, 'Evil Under the Sun').  At the bottom is the 'Mermaid Pool', a natural pool filled with seawater and surrounded by high rocks.  There's a pontoon moored in the middle that you can swim out to.  I would have loved to, but sea temperatures in May are decidedly chilly, so I thought I'd avert pneumonia and give it a miss.

By Full Tilt River and Switchback Sea

It was a drizzly, misty Monday morning at the estuary in Laugharne, West Wales.  There's a short walk from the sleepy town that loops past the castle, along the estuary to Dylan Thomas's writing shed, and then his former residence, The Boathouse.  It's the same route we take on every visit, sometimes reversing it for variety.  We stopped at the writing shed first.  It always amuses me how the first line of the text displayed on the information panel outside is "This is not the Boathouse", because tourists were getting confused.  There are also lots of signs along the narrow winding lane warning "Go back now!" and "No turning space ahead" because a few people had tried to drive along it and ended up getting their cars stuck.

Birthdays: Beechenhurst and Barry Island

It's all about the birthdays!  I've just begun a whole 11 days off work.  Yesterday was Chris's birthday, and I am turning 40 years old next week.  Two of my oldest friends have already reached this milestone in the last six months, and we've been having a few little celebrations.  Our last meet up was a boozy one, so we felt we should try something wholesome and outdoorsy next.  We ended up having a treetop adventure!

My friend Victoria lives ion the edge of the Forest of Dean, so Kelly and I drove across to meet her at Beechenhurst visitor centre.  There's a lovely 'sculpture trail' through the forest that I remember going to frequently as a child with my parents and younger brother.  However, we were after something a bit more strenuous, and had booked onto a treetop 'high ropes' adventure.  We've never done anything like this before, and booked onto the smaller course, as a taster.  On arrival, the others queuing for the 'junior' adventure seemed to be aged about seven years old.  Victoria was a little embarrassed and in a move to try and save face, told the assistant that she'd originally booked on with her children, but that they were ill and couldn't come.  The assistant cheerfully replied "Oh, do you want me to see if there's space for you on the adult course?  It's only down the road!".  There was space, and to Victoria's dismay, Kelly and I enthusiastically said 'yes' and we headed down the road to the full-on 'Go Ape!' adventure.  I didn't quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be immense fun, absolutely amazing, and well worth every penny.  The staff were fantastic, the forest-setting was enchanting, and the hours flew by.  It was a bit nerve-wracking at times, but by the end even Victoria was flinging herself down zip-wires with zeal.  Sometimes you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone.  It was a bonding experience too, and our new collective mantra is "40 and fearless!".  We really needed the big pub meal we had afterwards, what an appetite we'd worked up!

There I go, down the zip wire!

Fashion Revolution Week 2019: Vintage Repro Ethics

Have you ever wondered who made your clothes, how much they’re paid, and what their lives are like?  That's exactly what Fashion Revolution asks us to do for one week each year, seeking greater transparency and accountability in the supply chain of clothing manufacture.  A fairer, safer, and fashion industry is the aim.

"Our clothes have gone on a long journey before they hit store shelves, passing through the hands of cotton farmers, spinners, weavers, dyers, sewers and others. Approximately 75 million people work to make our clothes. 80% of them are women between the ages of 18 and 35.  However, the majority of the people who makes clothes for the global market live in poverty, unable to afford life’s basic necessities. Many are subject to exploitation; verbal and physical abuse, working in unsafe and dirty conditions, with very little pay." (Fashion Revolution, 2019)

The issues are just as pertinent in the vintage reproduction ("repro") fashion industry, but I wonder if the sector is actually less transparent than even the high street.  From my experiences over the last few years in emailing, tweeting and phoning vintage repro brands about their ethics, I have had wildly varying responses.  On Instagram over the last week, I asked a different vintage repro brand each day, "Who made my clothes?".  Here are the results.

House of Foxy

Wearing the House of Foxy "whirlaway skirt"

The Joy of Crimplene

I see people on social media breaking out the broderie anglaise and proclaiming that it's the weather for straw bags and even sandals.  Well, it may look a little like Spring here with the blossom on the trees and a few days of lovely sunshine, but that wind chill reminds you very quickly that we're in Wales.  Ten days ago we had snow! 

There's always a tension to balance at this time of year between ditching the winter clothes in favour of something a bit lighter, and not freezing when you step outside.  The dress I'm wearing here has turned out to be the perfect dress for Spring.  It's a lovely shade of blue, and even though it's short-sleeved, because it's made of Crimplene it's actually warm.  Washes and dries like a dream.  Before these photos, I ate a clementine and managed to squirt juice down the front of this dress.  I was convinced I'd ruined it, with a really obvious yellow stain right on my lap.  But, a quick scrub with a wet-wipe, and ta-da!  It came out straight away.  I'm actually sold on Crimplene and am on the look out for more dresses in zingy Spring colours.

When it warms up enough, I plan to wear this dress with some beautiful blossom-print tights and a cream jacket.  Until then, a big coat, thick tights and boots are a necessity.

The Good Life

The PhD is totally done and dusted.  My corrections were so minor, that I completed them and had them signed off within a week of the viva.  I now have something called "free time" and it's marvelous!  One of the things that I'm enjoying is being able to spend time in the garden.  It was very fortuitous then that at a car boot sale in West Wales, my husband found some deadstock (still with tags on) 1950s' chore jackets.  Perfect for wearing whilst gardening.  For these photos, I embraced a look that wouldn't have looked out of place on the character Barbara from the British TV series 'The Good Life'. 

Chore jackets were the kind of thing worn by factory workers.  I've seen vintage photos of workers in factories, where they're wearing smart shirts and ties, with a chore jacket or apron over the top as protection.  Sometimes there were matching trousers.  The style of jacket originated from France in the late 19th century where it was a common workers jacket.  It makes sense, with its large pockets and relaxed fit for ease of movement.  The jacket I'm wearing is by a brand called 'Harpoon', which is apparently still going today, making workwear and uniforms.  I added a new-to-me vintage headscarf (also from the car boot sale that morning).

The Fresh Air of Freedom

It's been a long journey to the fresh air of freedom, but I am delighted to be able to tell you that I passed my PhD viva this week!  I am now Dr. Sarah!!

Sewing a 1960s A-Line Dress: Butterick 5155

It's been a little quiet on the sewing front, but I finally finished a project that was started a year ago.  I have needed a bit of sewing therapy in between revising for my viva exam, which is fast approaching.  

The pattern is Butterick 5155 from 1969.  The short a-line dress has three necklines and three sleeve variations to choose from. I chose view B's scoop neckline with view A's flared sleeves.  The fabric I chose was a vintage bed sheet with a lovely daffodil print, bought for £2. This dress was meant to be a 'toile', with a view to using nicer fabric if I liked how it turned out.

Country Lady

It was Saint David's Day here in Wales on Friday, so to acknowledge our country's patron saint we had an outing to St Fagans National History Museum.  It's one of my favourite museums, with such a large site that you can have a very different experience each time you return.  The site centres around a 16th century 'castle' and gardens, and the grounds are filled with historic buildings that have been relocated from around Wales.  The museum had opened a new gallery space since our last visit, so we spent most of our time in the 'Life is...' section.  It focuses on ordinary objects, from clothing and mining lamps to farm tools.  I, of course, became absorbed in the clothing - everything from antique mourning clothes to 20th century wedding gowns, and clothing brands historically made in Wales, such as Burberry and Laura Ashley.

I chose a classic British country lady look for the day, wearing my vintage riding jacket with a new-to-me wool skirt purchased from Ebay recently.  I was initially trying to copy a look I saw in Harper's Bazaar, but inevitably the look went off on a tangent.  It was a practical, comfy outfit, and with a chill in the air I was kept cosy too.  A tweed jacket and skirt is pretty classic, not era specific and I thought, a 'safe', non-outlandish outfit.  The hat is a charity shop buy that I've worn quite a bit over the winter.  It is by British milliner Peter Bettley, who started work in the 1950s.  I think the brand is still going, but is now run by his daughter.  The addition of the hat seemed to attract attention though, coupled with the presence also of my hat-wearing husband.

Not long ago I wrote about What happens when you wear a hat, in which I said "nothing happens".  I hadn't counted on the curiosity of tourists in a large outdoor attraction at half-term on a national day of celebration.  People did stare, children did point.  At least we had good hats on I suppose.  I hope that we added to the entertainment on people's day out.

Afternoon Tea at Dyffryn Gardens

This year I celebrated Valentine's Day with afternoon tea with my mum, and sister Louise at a beautiful country house run by the National Trust.  I previously shared some photographs from Dyffryn back in January 2017, on a particularly murky and misty day.  There couldn't have been more contrast!  Our visit was in glorious sunshine, with a riot of Spring flowers.

Dyffryn Gardens surround a beautiful late Victorian (1892) mansion.  Throughout the year, visitors are able to wander around the grounds, and also tour part of the house.  There are ongoing renovations to the building itself, as the house was acquired after a failed attempt to turn it into a luxury hotel (in which many original features were destroyed, leaving the house an empty shell).

There is a magnificent large glass house in the gardens, that was filled with pots and pots of cheery Spring flowers, from crocus to cyclamen.  Outside, crocus carpeted the slopes of the garden.  If you've seen the new Mary Poppins film, it was like the end scene where everyone is singing and frollocking in the flowers.

For a limited number of special events throughout the year such as Valentine's Day, you can book an afternoon tea in the morning room of the house.  As a setting for afternoon tea, it couldn't be a more perfect setting.  It was served in the 'morning room', the centre room in the ground floor overlooking the gardens.  A sunny room with a gorgeous bird print wallpaper, and the tables laid out with vintage tablecloths and china.  It was an exceptional setting.  Our table was set back a little from the blinding sun in the window, so I think I had the best seat in the house.