Last of the Summer sun?

When I saw the photos of Lenorenevermore’s day at the beach in the sun (with fiddly oysters), I felt compelled to revisit my own snaps from last weekend in Cornwall. Am I a masochist or what?

Obviously, I’d paid extra for a room with a sea view. And here is my prime view from a deluxe room. Of course, this is not just fog… this is Cornish fog.

Us Brits are hardy folk - we'd barely bat an eyelid in a hurricane, but once in a while, too much bad weather can get to us.



Anyway, I calmed myself by watching a local fisherman bring in his catch. He’d come back early due to the unfavourable conditions out at sea, though had still managed to pot four trays full of rather lively looking crabs. When he told me how little he’d be selling them for I nearly keeled over.












I’m probably becoming a bit crabby as I get older, but sometimes the prices at ‘quaint’ hotels and restaurants in the middle of nowhere are so astronomical it makes me very curious… If you’ve ever been to Cornwall, you might have noticed the prices creeping up over the years, in much the same fashion as a Cornish fog. So plateau de fruits de mer at £58 a pop is not uncommon.





Ever since Olga Polizzi took over the Tresanton Hotel in St Mawes, the prices of property and hotel rooms in the Roseland Peninsula have sky-rocketed. Of course, St Mawes has always been known as ‘Belgravia-on-sea’ and considered even posher than Padstein, or any other of the northern Cornish Cameroons.








But the St Mawes effect has spread its tentacles all around the coast, leaving almost no part unaffected by London level prices. Which is kind of odd - considering where Cornwall is in the UK, and the availability of crabs…and the fog.








Thankfully, there are still some havens of sense amidst the smugglers’ stew. Whether it’s moules mariniere, fish and chips, or crab and crusty bread you’re looking for, I’d suggest a visit to the Pandora at Restronguet Creek for hearty seafood fare at good old fashioned prices. And if you’re shopping for bargains, remember to check out the ShopCurious sale too, because next week it’s all change - with new stock and wonderful Winter curiosities for the coming colder months.

Typical that now our Summer holidays are over, the sun’s come out again – albeit with a marked autumnal chill in the air. Never mind, there’s always next year to look forward to.

Are you?

Sale-ing back to the nineties

The 1990s were all about dressing up. The beginning of the decade was still dominated by power shoulder pads and corseted cocktail dresses. It was the age of the ‘ladies that lunch’, whose ever more extravagant wardrobe needs were catered for by glamorous designers like Isabell Kristensen, shown here on the way to Royal Ascot in the mid ‘90s.











Being amongst the first to realize there'd be a '90s revival, we’ve a simply stunning collection of clothes and matching accessories from the era on sale at ShopCurious. What’s more, now ‘the nineties are vintage’, we’ve decided to slash our Winter sale prices for 1990s fashions from the likes of Isabell, plus many other stars of the decade, like Bruce Oldfield, Julien Macdonald, Celine, Genny, Marni and Voyage.




This lime green satin three piece by Kristensen, for instance, is down from £550 to £350 and there’s a sparkling Swarovski crystal studded Julien Macdonald knitted number (below left) that’s reduced by a whopping £550.


Genny was a very popular label in the ‘90s, and we’ve some curiously classic pieces - including this fabulously sweeping black and white striped, strappy silk petticoat-style dress. There are also some extraordinary shoes by Tom Ford for Gucci, Prada and Vivienne Westwood.















Later in the decade, styles became much less formal and structured - the trend towards more organic clothing being led by the Mazzillis, of Voyage fame - along with other newcomers, such as Christa Davis, who also specialized in bias-cut designs, hand-dyed and recycled fabrics.




I had my own little excursion back to the ‘90s, when I discovered some rather curious photos – including this one of me looking like a startled ostrich in a hat made by Nicholas Oakwell, pictured above with Isabell (and now a talented designer in his own right). I have a feeling this curious creation is still lurking somewhere at the back of my wardrobe, waiting to be retrieved for current day use. On second thoughts, I think some aspects of ‘90s style are just a tad too scary to even contemplate reviving.

Do you?

Keeping up the standard...

I’m not expecting this post to be read, due to the ‘big story’ of the day – a few inches of snow having brought the country to a standstill. It's a darned shame, because I’d really like everyone to hear me letting off steam and having a bit of a rant. Anyway, here goes... please stand well clear and prepare for the blasting:

Last night I managed to get hold of a copy of the Evening Standard. It hasn’t happened very often lately – at least not since it’s been free: I tend not to use the underground - and I don’t hang about every afternoon in Sainsbury’s or Waitrose, or wherever else you can find a copy (as it happens, I usually do my food shopping early in the morning, or late at night when most of the papers have long been removed from the shelves).





Anyway, I wonder how the sad demise of the paid-for version of the publication has affected our small, local shops? The one near me, for instance, that I used to visit every week-day to make my purchase…where every time went in, I always ended up buying at least one other thing, or five? Now I pop by on a Saturday, or occasionally on Sunday, if I haven’t already picked up my mountain of papers at the petrol station. And what about the curiously characterful Standard sellers in those funny little booths, that used to be dotted about the streets all over London – what happened to them?



I have fond memories of the one who became trapped underneath his upturned metal stand, when it was blown over outside Bank underground station during the storm of 1991. And all the drivers of those quirky orange striped vans – do we see quite so many now? I’m curious to know, as these days I rarely get a chance to read the newspaper that I once considered to be something of a favourite. Not so long ago, in fact, I was so addicted to my daily fix, I’d do almost anything to get a copy.

However, what really bugs me, is not the strange void left by the absence of fashion, food, film and trends (as covered by my favoured London newspaper), but that I’m still prepared to pay for it – as are many of my friends, who were also loyal readers and are equally champing at the bit in annoyance at being denied regular access to something they enjoyed and identified with. Unless I’m seriously mistaken (and please do correct me, if I’m barking up the wrong tree), someone, somewhere has got something very wrong?



The website's perfectly fine, but I still like to hold, touch and turn the pages of the real thing - and see the printed word on paper. The issue I managed to get hold of yesterday lived up to expectations - full of articulate articles, thought provoking features and stuff I totally disagree with, making for stimulating and compelling reading, (even though it’s now very rarely available to the likes of me - unless I happen to be passing a far-flung railway station, walking down the right street, or shopping in the right shop at the right time of day).

I particularly like the article by Andrew Gilligan about making the Thames a proper highway: Well, I would, as I live on the river - but seriously, why don’t we make more sensible use of this amazing natural transport route, upon which the very foundations of our great city were created?

An article by Sarah Sands, entitled ‘Captialism can wear a halo too, you know’ really got me thinking – yes, we’re easily duped by large global corporations trying to sell us stuff courtesy of their ‘we’re oh so righteous’ multi-million pound marketing campaigns. By way of example, she says, “Whole Foods Market offers an entire feelgood philosophy…” curiously adding “I think of Whole Foods and imagine that I’m Laura Bailey”. Well, I have to admit that I’ve never visited this store in Kensington, but I’ve certainly seen plenty of people traipsing around London with Whole Foods’ rather dull looking fabric bags - perhaps that’s the only thing they’ve bought there, as I've heard the prices are pretty steep. As for wanting to be Laura Bailey, whom Sarah Sands suggests is an ‘athletic blonde’ - isn’t wanting to be someone else rather a sad waste of time? By the way, Sarah, having been in close proximity with LB at my former gym in Notting Hill, I can confirm that she is indeed blonde – though very waif-like.

When I read the news items towards the back of the paper about ‘Upbeat Next ramps up profit forecast yet again’ I became quite depressed that we really are so very easily duped by hype and the power advertisers and politicians have over the media. Judging from my local branch of Next, it’s obvious Mary Portas has never visited – it’s one of the most downbeat, in terms of location, lighting, window display and presentation, of all the shops I’ve ever seen.


Anyway, back to Ms Sands, who concludes that she admires the founder and chief excecutive of Whole Foods, John Mackey’s honesty for destroying the assumption that only Left-wing people believe in good food. “Amusingly, you can eat kale and watch Fox TV”, she claims. Well, I say it’s a shame I can’t tuck into my spam fritters, whilst poring over a free copy of the Evening Standard, as some of the very people advertisers would surely want to be targeting are being totally overlooked… Oh, and another message for the Evening Standard: Sorry for taking you for granted… and sorry for being negative.

Now it’s time for some fun - create your own Evening Standard headline here and post it with your comments.

Will you?


PS If you’re looking for unique and unusual, individually handmade and naturally beautiful things to buy at up to 50% off, do check out the ShopCurious sale.

Curiously sensible, but fascinating style

This month, I’m taking a little break from blogging, but will be back very shortly with our new theme of ‘sensible style’. Before you ask the question, the answer is ‘yes’ - of course it’s possible to give, dress and live curiously and still be sensible at the same time.












At this time of the year, there are plenty of sensible-but-stylish bargains to be found in the sales. We've recently added some new items to our ShopCurious sale, including these fabulous fascinators that have been handmade in England by the milliner, Gil Fox.






For a very small sum of money, you can jazz up any outfit with one of Gil’s colourful feather fascinators and you’ll also look totally individual wearing one of these unique accessories.













If you're a local like me, it's also sensible to invest in contemporary British design - you’ll be helping to keep small businesses and traditional artisan trades like this alive.

Will you?

PS ... international delivery is also available!