Black and white and dread all over

Hullo! I thought being in lockdown would make me more productive, but it’s all so terribly draining*, isn’t it? So you haven't heard much from me, unless you also see my nonsense on Instagram. (Gluttons for punishment, some people...) I’ve still been getting up, putting makeup on, and dressing fairly nicely every day. I actually find the makeup really useful: even if I wake up feeling pretty blue, making myself have my shower and put on my slap prepares me for the working day ahead – and my poor team-mates who see me on Google hangouts each morning are probably grateful for the effort.

Last Thursday I wore this black-and-white 1960s top by Klopman. I got it with a matching skirt, new with old tags. Naturally I've kept the tags. I always think of this as 'too small', but while the waist on the skirt is a bit tight, the top's fine. I ought to make a different skirt to wear it with; I think a classic black pencil would be perfect – and I do need one of those.


Last week’s Seriously Fuck Casual Friday outfit was a real favourite of mine, an amazing 1960s dress with a teal, spring green, and olive print of enormous chrysanthemums. I don’t wear it very often but I should definitely get it out more. (It's yet another 'this won't fit... Oh!' item – I'm starting to suspect a small body image problem is at work.)

I wasn’t really in the mood for SFCF because the previous day a few magazines had been closed by my parent company, and I was concerned for the staff affected, and concerned also for the future of my own publications, but making the effort to dig out something special and put on my ‘face’ actually helped stop the sadness overwhelming me. This week has, so far, been much better. I’m just going to do the work I’ve got, and I’ll worry about the future when it gets here.

One positive in the future will be tomato plants! I potted up some seeds – tomatoes and aubergines, cornflowers, scarlet california poppies and mixed snapdragons, basil and coriander – and all of them are now sprouting. I ordered some more seeds from Suttons but apparently sellers are all getting overwhelmed right now. (Tip: if, like me, you’re going to need growbags, get them now while shops have them in, because in a few weeks when everyone wants one they won’t be available.) There’s something wonderful about getting out in the garden and seeing all the plants starting to spring back.

We'll all be like the plants – we'll all spring back from this.


*A number of friends have mentioned struggling to sleep right now – none of us can work out if it’s anxiety, or lack of exercise, or maybe even something like lack of natural light/vitamin D, but it seems to be a pretty universal experience. So a lot of us seem to be both weary and not sleeping.