Smugness

There is nothing like a trawl through the Daily Mail to cheer you up. A paper full of sniping at rich and poor alike. The paper has no fewer than 6 Facebook groups dedicated to taking the mickey of said daily. My favourite is their current obsession with Zac Goldsmith. Take a peek at this latest article on his supposed womanising ways.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=406989&in_page_id=1879

It all makes me glad of my blissful unexposed lifestyle. Who cares what I'm doing or what I'm wearing. I can potter about at the allotment, shop for a client and make a loaf or two without a second thought. I actually am really not interested in the life of Mr Goldsmith but the surmising and commentary on him is fascinating because it is so sniffy and pompous. It seems the Daily Mail are hellbent on destroying people's marriages whilst equally condemning those who stray/divorce.

I'm sure Zac Goldsmith's only vice is being a bit of a posh, rich cheesecloth loving homemade bread maker who encourages people to think about the environment.

I don't listen to the wealthy and loaded - it's to easy to preach when you've got a health bank balance. Far harder to strive for better things while balancing the household budget. I, as a poor cheesecloth loving homemade bread maker can't be bothered to tell people what to do unless it concerns their wardrobe and shopping habits - then I'm particularly bossy and come across as a bit Daily Mail.

Channeling the land girls

Gordon Bennett this allotment thing is quite a task. Trust bloody Jamie to make it seem all chipper and a good lark. All I did today was mark out the plot with sticks and string - hardly taxing.

Granted, the sunshine and fresh air was a tonic in itself. And yes there was allotment bon aimee - lots of hellos and name introductions - so quite a community feel. I was suitably attired in hunters, a nice gentry jacket and some old Miu Miu sunnies. All in all it felt good but the sight of old carpets and tons of brambles with nothing but hands and grit to move them is quite a feat. Hubbie and I have drawn lots on shift work. Gone are my ideas of Margo head scarves - more like Amy Winehouse putting out the bins!

It is making a shopping session on Oxford Street with a client looking like a walk in the park. If you see a bossy stylist with what looks like a bramble attached in a random fashion - you'll know its me.

The new florals v the new vegtables

The deed is done! I am now the proud owner of an allotment thanks to Gary the Ranger.
The thought and reality of it all is truly daunting but thanks to Jamie and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, plus armed with organic allotment book by Susan Berger - I am up for it!

The potential is there, not just for producing vegetables and fruit but having a bolt hole. Somewhere to escape to and be immersed in digging and toiling. Let's face it I haven't got a Cotswold number nor a dream place in France. So allotment it is.

What with blubbing at Hugh's chicken programme on Channel 4, reading Jamie and Susan I've completely forgotten about my day job. To get back on track I'm off to the Design Museum to a talk on Thursday night billed as a 'topical discussion relating to the fashion industry'.

Paper round better alternative?

I thought having a baby one year, followed by a wedding the next was enough. Hell no....two months before our first anniversary we'd moved lock, stock and barrel from Bristol to London. Three years of non stop STRESSors.

Financially it has all taken its toll and that's before petrol went up to a million squid for a droplet. Normally at this time of year I would be planning my spring/summer wardrobe. Oh yes before the March magazines make it in to the house for evening of flicking and picking with the full weight of the collections, I'd normally be on cruise control. I will still be looking at trends, thinking which translates best into 2008 and a women's everyday needs. I will be checking the shops stock from high street to high fashion stores but I am really going to have to be inventive this year with my alterations and dying. If see someone dressed head to toe in black in the height of summer chances are it will be me or this could be the year of the burka.

Having got into this making do mindset I need our household sheets to be balanced and healthy. I don't function well now with minus accounts, I prefer black to red - red is still my number one choice for lipstick though! Foolishly,to help the household budget, a few days ago I publicly announced allotment fever. Now the reality is beginning to dawn.

The book is here, Allotment Gardening by Susan Berger. It is informative, useful and looks like it will be my bible instead of my glorious collection of style books. I am really having to gloss over the descriptions of the people who are allotment peeps. I know I'm going to channel Margo not the Felicity Kendall character from the Good Life and I have a pair of old Gucci sunglasses that I will wear come rain or shine. Most of all I know I've got a lot of digging and doing ahead. My husband luckily is a willing accomplice in this adventure.

Alternatively I could just get a paper round.

New Year, new objectives

I was rightly asked what I would be doing this year to cut expenditure. My first investment was in Jamie Oliver's latest book 'Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life'. I got it for £12.99 in Sainsbury and it is for sale at £12.49 on Amazon - see not just pluggin' my own little number!

The point of getting the book was to follow up my long held desire to get an allotment. I've always doubted my commitment, time or ability to have one. However, Jamie (bless his chubby cheeks) spurred me on to dump the £14.90 a week delivered organic fruit and veg box and get my hands dirty. A ranger is taking me to choose a plot!

Then the second money saving idea came to me today when reading The Independent - bake my own bread! The paper had an extract from essays by Dr Tom Allinston. Very interesting!

Here is the link:
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3307526.ece

I'll let you know how I get on both financially and time wise.

If you really need to cut the cost - stay in, don't shop and make the most of the dullness to avoid all temptation that is January, February and March!