Didn’t we have a lovely day!

The day we went to Worthing!  

Smug is the word that first comes to mind.  We took a risk having heard the dire weather forecast for a fog drenched November Sunday, and jumped into the car and headed south through dense fog.  All the way we were rather sceptical of ‘The Chief’s’ promise that he was convinced the weather would be brighter on the other side of the South Downs.

To his relief, as we cautiously approached the top of the hill still shrouded in thick fog, we were suddenly blinded by the intense sun  through the remaining sheet of fog, then it was blue sky all the way to the beach!  

It was like stepping into a different country and we had a fabulous day, walking along the promenade amongst happy smiling faces, to the great little Café des Artistes on Worthing seafront (www.coastworthing.co.uk)

There was a free table at the front of the decking, right on the beach and there we enjoyed a delicious  light lunch in the glorious sunshine, so warm we had to take our coats off! 

It was just such a shame that ‘Mini Darling’ decided she had too much work to catch up with and wasn’t able to come with us.  We didn’t really want to send her a photo of this utterly contrasting climate to the one she was suffering at home, where she couldn’t even see the end of the garden!

It's hereditary!

Quietly watching the remembrance service at the Albert Hall, the RAF began their descent into the arena and as soon as I heard their rousing music, I had the overwhelming urge to jump up and begin marching erectly around the lounge, just as Mummy used to do. 

Always loyal to the memory of her time as a WRAF officer, it was difficult to curb her enthusiasm, it must be hereditary.  If so, the next stage will be finding myself breaking into song in shops and open spaces when I hear a Christmas carol and I now have to look forward to being hushed by my girls, as this uncontrollable sensation takes hold of me!

I wonder if it will embarrass them more than my guilty habit of setting off all the mechanical santa, reindeer etc, which temptingly gaze at me from the Christmas shelves!

How dare they dictate what we should aspire to?

I was outraged to open the pages of the Daily Telegraph newspaper this morning to see the image of a very glamorous looking lady posing next to the headline meet the 80-year-old supermodel. 

Great to keep your poise, looks, health and charm to such a grand age, but do not try to fool us that this photo is actually reality.  Technology has been working overtime to portray Carmen Dell’Orefice as a perfect example of how to manage the years.  You just need to look at the perfectly smooth hands, then compare them to real photos of her, with the normal raised veins and colouring to be expected as time marches along and where did she borrow that neck from?  

Photo: fashion.telegraph.co.uk

The fact is that she is a beautiful woman and looks tremendous for her age.  There are many other photos which have shown how stunning she is, but acknowledged the signs of ageing are there and we can admire how well she has defended them.  The first photo has just smoothed over and filled in at least thirty years of her life, this picture shows a vibrant lady with a story to tell.

It is not only the youth who suffer terrible self-doubts about their image due to the over use of photo shop techniques and similar, it affects the other end of the age scale too and can only be damaging in trying to make it appear that beauty can only be found in perfection. 

I’m the first one to agree that everyone should make the very best of what they have, for their own self-esteem.  I think it is about time there was more of a campaign to embrace the character of people and admire how individuals want to face the world, not churn out images which editors and the likes think we should admire.  How dare they dictate what we should aspire to?