Spread A Little Happiness

With so many people at home with nothing to do I've found a lot of ex work colleagues have been going through old photos and putting them on Facebook. So I've been looking at all the old pictures from the 80s as a holiday rep and its bringing back so many lovely memories and faces and I'm enjoying remembering those great times being overseas, young and thin!

Even in these strange times I have tried to act as normally as possible. Dressing as I would normally etc. I think I saw it on tv the other week, suggesting that it made you feel better if you don't just slouch around in pyjamas, not for a moment I was suggesting you do! So I would wear your dresses when the weather permits and share a bit of brightness!

My niece has sent me a six minute video of a chick hatching out in an incubator they have, I'm not sure which is better this poor little thing finally breaking it's way out after over 12 hours or my 2 year old nephew's wide eyes as he watches.

I put make-up on - it is my armour for work and makes video calls bearable! A fairly smart top, then leggings or jogging bottoms underneath and no-one is any the wiser!

In case anyone has missed them, SRB is doing a short lockdown diary for the Sunday Times which includes him recording a poem - it's a small lovely thing that cheers me up a bit each week. Latest one is here: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/simon-russell-beale-my-lockdown-journal-7jtz9f08b

Behind a paywall unfortunately.

peggs and theatreian , you're so sweet, both of you. :)
I promise I don't slouch around in PJs - I do get dressed for work every morning, especially as the nature of my job calls for many meetings - but it will, admittedly, usually be jeans and a T-shirt rather than a dress. I spend my days hunched over a laptop, and I share a flat with 3 other people with no living room, so somehow it makes little sense to wear something really lovely just for a walk to heat up my lunch during the 'break' (whatever that even is when you are working from home). But I do occasionally make more of an effort when I go to the shops, or for a long walk, just for the sake of it. However, the crisp shirts and the long, layered tulle dresses and glitter shoes will have to wait for when the theatres reopen. (Yes, I occasionally choose to go as a princess! On other days I'll go to the theatre in my Docs and jeans, depending on the mood. Maybe it's the fun of choosing and deciding that I really miss.)

I do find it fascinating how liberating I've been finding life without make-up, though. I'm not very high maintenance as is, but truth be told I don't miss the foundation and concealer routine. (I do sometimes add a touch of lipstick for the Tesco-trip, though - just for the fun of it, when I'm in a colourful mood.)

peggysue , I am not that old (or so I choose to believe) but I *love* vinyl! The last ex and I started a little collection, and when we broke up he took the record player and we divided the records (it was a fair division, and I got to keep most of my favourites!). I made a decision to re-start the habit of purchasing vinyls just a few months before I found out I was moving to England, so that didn't last long (my small collection is now with my parents, who have zero interest in records, or music). But as soon as I settle somewhere on a more long-term, more-space basis, I plan on restarting that hobby.

Feel free to share the duds list, I always find those fun! (Mine are on CDs mostly, due to the time when they were purchased... But my twin sister and I sure made some strange choices that now make me question why on earth we'd spend money on those!) 

 

My amplifier broke down years ago and I never got around to replacing it, but when I had my central heating replaced a couple of years ago I took the opportunity to get a new amp and a couple of speaker stands, bought a new belt for the turntable, and reassembled my HiFi so I could start using it again. So many singles to play. So many times I thought "Why did I ever like this?"

One thing I love about singles on vinyl that nothing else replicates is the messages cut into the runout area by the recording engineer. Little scraps of personality captured forever between the grooves. Nobody scratches their mark into a digital download.