Back home - the washing tree

Drinks before dinner

Dorothy's view of Alghero

My Aunt's Holiday Survival Pack...

A bottle of brandy, a double pack of bacon, a Melton Mowbray pork pie, a big jar of mayonnaise, one pack digestive biscuits, a tub of butter, a pepper mill full of pepper, lo-salt, oatcakes, tea-bags, tin of powdered mustard, powdered milk, and six small bottles of tonic. Pack all in suitcase for consumption in Italy!

Sun sea my Auntie and me

Today I am going to Sardegna with my fabulous(and wonderfully eccentric) Auntie Kate. She is the best octagenerian - with vivid red hair and ideas to match. She has music in her blood and crazy ideas in her head. Many of her ideas become reality which is something I really admire about her. Who else would up-sticks at her age and work with Crisis at Christmas for a week, taking a taxi from the Midlands to London packed full of musical instruments, as she doesn't have a car. We are also being joined for the week by her old school-friend Dorothy - an ex nurse with a gentle artistic talent which expresses itself in detailed drawings and pictures. I'll tell you all about our trip when I get home....it's sure to be full of tales!

YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST GO AND SEE...

The Tim Walker photography exhibition at The Design Museum in London. You are lost in a magical world for a couple of hours. I went to see the exhibition with a friend the other day and we were just amazed....I've always loved Tim Walker's work, but being something of a fashion-novice I didn't realise all those shoots I'd loved were his. The pictures have a fairy-tale like quality coupled with a faded elegance that is simply lovely. Click here to see more of his work. What do you think - are you as transported as me?!

PUPPINI SISTERS - MILLINERY MODELS

One of the fun things about making hats is that you get to work with stars of the stage and screen. Two Christmas's ago I made some headpieces for the fabulous Puppini Sisters. Their quirky Andrews Sisters style has really captured the imagination of their fans. They're a crazy mix of Julie Andrews and Deeta Von Teese! I'm sure you'll know what I mean! Click here to see them in their sparkly headgear meeting a familiar VIP!