A women who doesn't wear perfume has no future - Coco Chanel

Since the new year I have been writing in my Question and Answer Journal every day. The questions seem very simple but when you attempt answer them you find that they have hidden depth. 

Today's question was simple enough 'What is your favourite accessory?' but when I asked other members of my family I found that everyone had a definition of accessory. In the end I decided that accessories include bags, jewellery, belts, sun glasses, hats, scarves, gloves etc. My daughter (who rivals Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes) insists that shoes are accessories, but for me they are more functional so I did not include them in my definition of an accessory.

Even when I had decided what counts as an accessory I still couldn't answer the question. Usually I don't really bother with accessories, I am a very practical down to earth sort of person and I mostly think of clothes as functional more than fashionable. My handbag is important to me but it is a necessity rather than an accessory. I have a couple of other handbags in my wardrobe but I hardly ever change bags because it is far too complicated - on the other hand my daughter changes her handbag to suit her outfit. I have one or two necklaces that I like and sometimes I wear a broach but they are not exactly favourite accessories. When it comes to jewellery my wedding ring and my eternity ring are my most treasured possessions, but they are far to precious to be thought of as accessories. So having eliminated the other things, the choice was easy, my perfume is my favourite accessory.

If I asked Robbie the same question he would probably provide me with a very long list of favourites. It would not surprise me if a bag was close to the top of the list, Robbie loves man bags, rucksacks, briefcases, in fact he loves bags and wallets of all kinds.Then he would have to consider his cufflinks, he loves cufflinks and has lots of favourites among his large collection but if he had to select just one pair I think he would perhaps choose the Lego ones.

The Wrong Trousers

Believe it or not there was yet another chapter to the trouser saga! Just in case anyone reading this has not read my recent posts I will recap briefly. Some time before Christmas we agreed that Robbie needed a new suit so he did his research, which included several trips to Marks and Spencer - his favourite shop. He chose the suit that he wanted but our local M&S had no stock in the size he needed so it was necessary to order the items online. They sell the jackets and trousers separately and much to Robbie's annoyance they had the jacket that he wanted in stock, but the trousers were not available in his size. So we decided to order the jacket and wait for them to get more stock of the trousers. Christmas came and went and Robbie (who had been checking the website twice a day) had almost given up on ever getting the trousers. Then finally the great day came, they were in stock and Robbie placed his order, he knew what size he needed and he ordered exactly the same size as the trousers he already has. He collected his trousers on a Friday from M&S in Birmingham, but he got distracted when leaving work and he managed to leave his trousers on his desk. The trousers had to be 'rescued' the following day but when he tried them on he found that they didn't fit, they were a bit on the tight side. It didn't make sense, they were exactly the same size as the ones he already has that fit him perfectly. He ordered the next size and when they arrived he said they were much more comfortable so he wore them to work. 


Sadly that was not the end of the matter, he claimed they were too loose even with a belt and they kept slipping down. I don't want him to be arrested, so we will need to take the waist in a bit, next he said that they are too long and he is afraid of treading on them as he walks so we need to do something about the leg length too!  I am sick of the whole trouser issue and Robbie seemed deeply affronted that he may be a non standard fitting. Anyway after weeks of constant complaint about trousers I have come up with the perfect solution - a kilt! It would certainly turn a few heads!!

Enjoy the little things, for one day you make look back and realize they were the big things - Robert Brault

Today has been a day of noticing small things that I would usually be too busy to notice. To be strictly accurate something not quite so small nearly came to public notice this afternoon, but more about that later.



It was a nice morning, sunny but breezy, not a chilly breeze, a warm comfortable breeze. Robbie had missed his mouth and spilled coffee on his pale lemon coloured T-shirt yesterday, so I soaked it overnight and washed it out this morning. Robbie grumbled when I asked him to hang it out on the line, he was missing the tumble dryer, but having time to line dry clothes is one of the pleasures of Norfolk for me. Robbie spent the morning spotting ships (or perhaps they are called boats I am not sure) from the lounge window while I was fascinated by the t-shirt dancing in the breeze, it was dry within a couple of hours and so and it didn’t even need ironing!

Robbie’s excitement about ship spotting gets a bit exhausting after a while, so I left him with his binoculars and wandered down to the garden gate to look out across the sea. The sky seems to stretch on forever and the power of the sea can’t be ignored even on a fairly calm August morning, but then as I looked down at the rough grass by the gate and I spotted a ladybird scurrying about doing whatever ladybirds do. It reminded me to appreciate the beauty in small things as well as the more obvious things.

After lunch we went to North Walsham in search of razor blades for Robbie. Until now he has worn shorts, but he decided that jeans were the order of the day for a trip to North Walsham. He was dressed and ready to go when he discovered that he had not packed his belt. I thought it would be OK but as soon as we started walking around it became clear that it was only a question of time before his jeans fell down, he kept stopping to hoist them up, but it did no good. We had to buy a new belt to preserve his modesty. Ok I know modesty is not a word that most people would associate with Robbie, but you know what I mean. Even in North Walsham he found time for a bit of bus spotting – he never gives up!!


Robbie took a lovely moody picture of the sea as he walked along the coast path this evening, being here overlooking the beach really makes me appreciate the beauty of the world around me.

Belt and Braces

I am fairly used to eccentric fashion sense, after all Robbie is more 'unique' than most when it comes to fashion sense, but Sam seems to have a sense if the ridiculous too. Apparently black skinny jeans are the latest 'must have' fashion item and according to Sam they must be worn with skinny braces. He bought a pair several weeks ago and I was unable to suppress a chuckle when he proudly appeared in the the lounge wearing skinny jeans, trendy shirt, skinny braces and a belt! I have heard the phrase belt and braces many times, but until now I have never seen the reality!

Over Dressed

Robbie went to a gig last night, to see a group called Be Your Own Pet, he has seen them before so he must have thought it worth the effort of going to the gig. He tends to like loud and tuneless music, there are a few groups that we both like, but generally if I like it he doesn't and vice versa. I picked him up at the station at midnight and he could hardly walk, his legs were killing him because of all that standing around. He insists that he is not too old to go to gigs, but I do worry about him, his legs hurt and his ears play him up for days afterwards, I can't understand why anyone would do that for pleasure!

Just when I was thinking that I was on a winning streak with Sam and his school shoes he found a new issue for me to worry about. He was obviously acting as Robbie's understudy this morning, still flitting around in his PJ's fifteen minutes before we needed to leave the house. He finally appeared in the lounge fully dressed, in fact he was a little too fully dressed, he had his uniform black trousers, white shirt, tie black blazer and lurid green belt! I insisted that the belt had to go but he was adamant that it would be fine, after another verbal spat I won and the belt was reluctantly returned to his bedroom to be reunited with his jeans. By the time I dropped him at school he managed to look approximately tidy and he was very reluctantly wearing his new school shoes. I wonder what new challenge he will manage to come up with tomorrow!

Family Ties - and Shirts!

On Saturday afternoon when Robbie's headache was less troublesome he said he needed to go to town to buy a belt. I was busy decorating the lounge so he had to go on his own - not always a good idea because he gets carried away when clothes shopping!

I thought no more about the shopping trip until this morning when he rather sheepishly told me that he couldn't find a suitable belt, but he had accidentally bought two shirts and two ties. The concept of accidental shopping is new to me, but one of the shirts certainly looked like an accident. I couldn't help asking if he was aiming for the 'used car salesman look' or if he intended to wear it with green wellies! The other shirt was fine, but the ties were somewhat alarming, one was not too bad but the other was a striking green creation that would not have looked out of place on a leprechaun. When I was a little girl my grandmother used to say "never trust a man in green trousers". I dread to think how she would have reacted to Robbie's tie.

The Burgess tie collection is now quite extensive, there are one or two more sober specimens, but on the whole his ties are best described as memorable. It takes a certain courage to combine colours in the way that Robbie does, but that is part of his own unique style.