Retro-style Fujifilm X20 camera

Meet George.

Please excuse the ropy photo; I had to take it on my iPhone - elsewhere on this page you can see what he's capable of, and it's much better quality! George is a Fujifilm X20, and has a name because when I was thinking of buying this model of camera, it was not cheap and so I vowed if I did buy it, I would love it and pet it and call it George. In the end I did buy it, because I’d had some extra work that would cover the cost and I didn’t want to lug a D-SLR all the way to Myanmar. Mr Robot (who has his own photo blog called Gettins Images) took his SLR, tripod, lots of lenses and masses of other kit, and I just couldn’t face carrying all that.

New hair toy = updo success!

No photos for this as I haven't snapped the back of my head yet, but I got a new Thing for my hair yesterday. I've moaned on and on about my straight hair, and last year had a bit of a revelation when my friend, SF writer Ankaret Wells, who is my guru for all things hair, felt mine and said it felt like Asian hair, despite the colour. Perhaps I did inherit something from my mystery ancestresses after all. Anyway, this changed my whole approach to my hair, and I decided to look at vintage pictures of Asian ladies and see how they did theirs. My final inspiration was seeing the chic cabin crew for Singapore Air, whose general uniform and look has been in places since the 1960s. I've been veering towards a late 50s/early 60s look for daywear. It's smart for the office, yet also quite chic, you can still get clothes in good condition at relatively affordable prices, and the reduced emphasis on the waist means they're more likely to fit, and suit, my apple body type.

The Bletchley Circle, s2, eps1 &2 (spoiler-free)

 Have you been watching the new series of The Bletchley Circle? I’m still not completely sure what to make of the programme, but I am enjoying it. Here's a spoiler-free writeup and some spoiler-free photos for the first two episodes for you.

The Book of Good Needlework

Vintage needlework and knitting books are among the things I treasure most, so when I saw this beauty in Oxfam’s window on Monday, it had to be mine. MINE! My mother-in-law gave me some money for Christmas, so I am considering this book a present from her.

God Emperor of Didcot, Toby Frost [books]

The beefy, brainless, hapless hero of Space Captain Smith returns!

In God Emperor of Didcot the antlike, fascist Ghasts and their allies, the Edenite religious fundamentalists, have captured the planet of Didcot 4, otherwise known as Urn, where sixty percent of the British Space Empire's tea is grown. Drinking tea is essential to the production of moral fibre, which boosts the efficacy of combat troops. As the Empire is already fighting a war with the Ghasts on one front, Smith and his team (Predator-esque alien Suruk the Slayer and renegade sexbot-turned-pilot Polly Carveth) are sent in to sort things out and remove the puppet religious fanatic installed as planetary ruler. The hippie object of Smith's affections, Rhianna Mitchell, is already in place on Urn... disguised as a schoolgirl.

Mediaeval home-from-home

Mr Robot in the Mediaeval hall

My husband had to work over Christmas, so we didn't get to see any relatives (though we did have friends over for roast goose and much feasting on Boxing Day). Because of that, this week we dragged his mother off to Herefordshire for a break.

DOA [film]

Drunk women will be the least of Frank's problems

 You may have heard of the remake of the 1950 film DOA, which was released in the late 1980s starring Harrison Ford. (Harrison Phwoard!) I don't know whether it's because of the remake, but I'd never felt especially inclined to watch the original. Well, that was a mistake! DOA has a simple premise: Frank Bigelow, a businessman, discovers he's been poisoned, and in the few days he has left alive, tries to find out who has murdered him, and why.

GOOD news for lovers of old-school perfume!

Amazingly, for once I've got some GOOD news for anyone who loves older perfumes. Guerlain Mitsouko, my absolute favourite perfume, and the one that got me into perfume in the first place (mainly because I was so upset at its reformulation, and so went exploring other options) has been tweaked and apparently the current iteration is very good. I've read it on two different, respected perfume blogs and plan to look into it for myself.

State of the vintage wardrobe / New Year's Resolution

I started this blog back in 2010, back when it struck me that I didn't have to be young and thin and pretty to enjoy vintage clothing, that I could have it every day if I wanted. Each January since, I've done a little post charting how my wardrobe has developed (2011, 2012, 2013), and last year I did note that it didn't seem to be developing in any particular direction. That's pretty much continued this year, I feel – though nowadays I do get people asking if what I'm wearing is vintage (usually when it's not!), so perhaps I can't see the wood for the trees.