The gold that got the cat

I was just waiting to hear the last part of Keith Floyd’s autobiography, Stirred but not Shaken, on BBC Radio 4. I've so enjoyed sharing Floyd's curiously all consuming passion for food and drink over the course of the week. In the process, I caught the end of Desert Island Discs, something I usually go out of my way to avoid, mainly due to the off-putting opening music. Thankfully, all I heard was Julia Donaldson being told by Kirsty Young that she couldn’t have a cat on the island.

At around the same time, I received an email with a link to this very curious ‘Cats for Gold’ website.

Am I hallucinating, or is this for real?

I’ve often thought it would be rather nice to have a big fluffy cat around the house, though not in exchange for my jewellery! However, in case you’re looking for some gold to swap for a feline friend this Christmas, we’ve got some fabulous necklaces, earrings, bangles and rings at ShopCurious. Check out these stylish designs by Marcelle Lawson Smith and Sarah Bond. Actually, never mind the cat, any of these pieces would make a suitably unique and unusual gift for Christmas... and I think even Floyd would have approved of Ornella Iannuzzi's golden fruits de mer.

Do you?

Rainy days...and Mondays

As I woke up to water leaking through my bedroom ceiling, I was reminded of my mother. She had an old cassette of The Carpenters that she insisted on playing in her clapped out old car - and Rainy Days and Mondays was her favourite track. I used to find this an intolerably unhappy song, but not any more.

My mother inherited a small selection of 8-track cassette tapes with her long defunct and impossibly un-stylish Vauxhall Viva car. On wet and miserable evenings, after working all day, she would pick me up at the railway station to give me driving lessons. I cringed in embarrassment at being seen in 'The Yellow Peril', as we listened together to The Carpenters.





As soon as the Rainy Days song started, I would whinge and moan about it being sad and depressing…However, due to some quirky fault of the car's electrical wiring, the play-speed of the cassette tape was unaccountably connected to the acceleration of the car. As the car went faster, so did the music, and Karen Carpenter sounded like she was on helium – and when we slowed down, her voice went into bass pitched slow motion. As the speed of the song changed, I became helpless with laughter - it was the most hilariously funny thing ever. My mother and I spent the dreaded driving sessions in fits of giggles, though it took me three further driving instructors and four attempts to finally pass my test (no women driver or blonde jokes please).





I grew to love the Carpenters' songs, even though they remind me of my mother. I know it’s horribly cheesy and sentimental but ‘We’ve only just begun’ reminds me of our journey through life together – and the fact that we both still have so much to learn. I think it’s a blessing that those of us who go through life being ‘strangers in many ways’ can find that our love grows through our mutual enjoyment of music – and its transcendence over the monotonous drudgery of everyday life.



They say that when a parent dies, you become more like them. Whilst I appreciate there may be some basis of evidence for this morbid prospect, my mother is thankfully still alive. Before she goes, I’d like her to know that, if I were to choose some funeral music for her, there’d be nothing more fitting than something by the Carpenters. I know she has a curious affection for the MacArthur Park song, ‘Someone Left the Cake out in the Rain’ – and I have fond recollections of making fairy and butterfly cakes with her (most probably on rainy days)...



But, as I get older, there does seem to be some sort of mother-daughter role reversal taking place and I find the words ‘From the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true, so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair and golden stardust in your eyes of blue' curiously appropriate.

Apologies for being overcome by nostaliga, when what I meant to do was to mention this Carpenters' era vintage 1970s Lucite disco bag from ShopCurious, which looks as though it’s been sprinkled with glittering golden dust.

Life is a curious thing and sparkly accessories are just the thing to cheer us up on rainy days... And, how about introducing musical Mondays, where we all share our favourite recordings – we’ve got ‘so much to say’ and our ‘love may grow, for all we know.’

Will you?

Golden memories

The latest Ken Loach film, Looking for Eric, starring Eric Cantona, is full of golden memories – rather like a cinematic psychotherapy session – and Steve Evets’ acting is simply brilliant. I love a good tragi-comedy … and this film is to drug and gun culture what The Full Monty is to the dole queue.

It’s true, we need to ‘have danger to go beyond danger’ (and there are bound to be a few bad memories in life's lot) – but legends like Cantona have the ability to influence us - and, with the 'elp of great coaching credentials and a philosophical turn of phrase, can inspire us to better ourselves and seek out happier, more fulfilled lives.



A bit of laughter also goes a long way – and there was plenty when I unearthed this old photograph of me (left) wearing the couture designed gold sequined GoldenEye dress that’s now on sale at ShopCurious.

The legend that is 007 was Pierce Brosnan at the time - and when I wore this dress to the premiere of his first Bond film, he and his wife, Keely, stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of me walking towards the cinema. No, they didn’t break down in fits of giggles, but were simply awestruck at the gorgeous glittering glow of my glamorous designer gown.



The dress was specially created by celebrity fashion designer, Isabell Kristensen, back in the day when structured eveningwear was big on the red carpet, as it is to this day, though apologies for the curiously un-cool colour combo of the floor covering in this shot – it has nothing to do with me, I can assure you!

Now something of a collectors’ item, this dress would be great if you have an awards ceremony, or a special party to attend. The dress also has one of Isabell’s trademark built-in corsets to ensure the perfect hourglass figure.



Funny how fashions have changed: In the early-mid 1990s, it was stylish to dress in a grown-up, sophisticated manner that meant you could end up looking a rather like Krystle Carrington from Dynasty. Around the time of this photo, new trends were evolving and, by day, true fashionistas opted for the cutting-edge and creatively unstructured designs of Prada and Marni, as well as Voyage’s Bohemian hippy chic style. Designs later became even less formal, morphing into grunge fashion, but the trend for recycling and the vintage look that started all those years ago is only just beginning to be taken seriously.






Ooh aah, golden memories and precious pieces of history recycled for future generations to appreciate, learn from and enjoy.

Will you?