September Favourites: Books, TV, Podcasts

 

Dear friends. Welcome to another Favourites, a monthly round-up of what I've been watching, reading and hearing. 

We're now getting seriously into the Autumn/Fall schedules, always heralded by the start of "Strictly Come Dancing".  I'm going to start with TV and a couple of the new season blockbusters.

Nailing Your Personal Style

 And #WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. Have you nailed your personal style?  Do you gravitate towards certain styles and shapes that suit your build and personality?  Or do you get seduced online, in shops or on Instagram, by the whims of fashion, the desire to keep trying something different, or not really knowing what to buy that will suit your shape?

Lux Layering! Style Not Age Challenge

 

Greetings friends. It was my turn to choose the challenge for Style Not Age this month, and, with rising fuel bills in mind, I chose Lux Layering.

During lockdown we became familiar with athleisure, wearing sweat pants, fleeces, onesies and PJs (and occasionally a smart shirt for a Zoom call). But judging from retail sales, it seems we're heartily sick of this trend and want to look smarter.  So how to keep warm?

Ghyll Scrambling and other Jolly Japes

 With #WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. We're back from a fabulous week in the Lake District in the north of England. Not only did we have wonderful weather but we tried a couple of new activities. In addition to the usual fell walking we went ghyll scrambling. 

Clad in wetsuit, jacket, flotation vest and helmet, you make your way down a ghyll (or waterfall), in this case Stoneycroft ghyll, diving and jumping into pools, scrambling down rocks and getting fully immersed in the process. Below: John with Jay from Keswick Adventures who was our guide.

Jay assured us his oldest client had been 84, so we were spring chickens. It was great fun. We were both wearing Go Pro's so check out John's short video of our adventure. 

 Next time we're going to book Canyoning, which is ghyll scrambling on stereoids, involving wearing a  a harness.  I'm also willing to try bungee jumping and kayaking. But I may take a rain check on "via ferrata." which you can do at Honister Slate Mine. I'm not good with heights.

We also spent half a day on ebikes. Poor John is very keen to make a cyclist out of me, but I've been too traumatised by London traffic.  Here I am before we started. John was tinkering with the bikes before we started. He's a very keen cyclist and has a ebike along with various others, so the first thing he does with a new bike is change the position of the handlebars and saddle.

The first hill we did was a HUGE one, but the bike was in turbo mode and shot off.  I quite enjoyed that, but I didn't like the steep descent and was braking (with brakes squealing) the whole time.  We managed to get to the hotel in time for the procession taking the Queen's coffin to Westminster Hall for the lying in state.

We did a couple of strenuous walks, both favourites which we've done a few times. Neither of us seemed to be at full power, energy-wise, which was strange;  we didn't have Covid. But it meant we had a less active time than we normally have in the Lakes.  Here's one of the spectacular views we enjoyed during our lunch stop.

On the last day, we went to the garden and grounds of Mirehouse near Keswick and spent a long time exploring the bee garden and woodland and lakeside walks, plus popping into this tiny church in the grounds. I'd love to go to a service there.

This picture shows me in the heather maze, with the backdrop of three fells we walked earlier in the week. 

Apart from my hiking clothes, I packed a capsule wardrobe of Kettlewell separates in my spring colours, which work beautifully together.  I tried a couple of full length selfies in the room but they weren't great, so here's a brief look at what I wore, along with the rose gold boots and teal brogues I took. For bottoms I had brown and dark green jeggings from M&S, which appear to have sold out already.  I took a few necklaces to jazz up the outfits. Dinners in our hotel are less formal than they used to be, but you still like to make an effort.

And the dinners! Well, fabulous. Here's a small selection.  

We're booking our next visit for April as it's always lovely in spring with the lambs, pheasants and azaleas. 

Have you / would you try ghyll scrambling or via ferrata? 

Sharing this post with: On Mondays We Link Up at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness  and #Linkup on the Edge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at Stylesplash, TFF at Doused in Pink,Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Rena at Fine Whatever,, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style, Talent Sharing Tuesdays at Scribbling Boomer, Link Up Pot Pourri at My Bijou Life, Traffic Jam Weekend at Marsha in the Middle,  Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, Friendship Friday at Create with Joy, OMHGWW at Oh My Heartsie Girl , Trend Spin at The Fashion Canvas

Now it's time for the #WowOnWednesday link-up.  Posts on any topic are welcome. I'd encourage both bloggers and readers to explore what's on offer. Blog comments make it all worthwhile. 

Last Week's Favourites - Most Clicked

Drowning in Pinks from newcomer to to the link-up, Chajleen. 

Life Lately from Marsha in the Middle, on moving into a new home. 

18 Creative ways to wear earrings without pierced ears by Lizzie of Lizzie in Lace

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The End of an Era: Queen Elizabeth II

 & Link-Up

Dear friends. I'm writing this the day after our dear Queen died. As you read it, I am away in the Lake District so I prepared my post in advance, and wanted to reflect on her life and what she meant to me and the rest of the UK. 

Purpleologists of the World Unite!

 & WowOnWednesday Link-Up

Dear friends. Do you consider yourself a Purpleologist? This is a person who loves anything and everything to do with the colour purple. 

I discovered this week that purple is quite a divisive colour.  It's something you either love or hate. 

Outings, Art, Wild Flowers - August in Review

 

Dear friends. Welcome to my review of August. What a month! The fabulous weather continued, more or less unabated. There were quite a few outings including a Kettlewell Colour Club day by the seaside and a trip to the Tower of London to see the wild flowers growing in the moat.  I finally made it to the refurbished Courtauld Gallery to see the Munch exhibition. 

Friday Favourites: Books, TV, Podcasts - August

 

Dear friends. Here we are again with the reviews and recommendations from the last month. Very strong in terms of TV, less so for books and podcasts.  As before, I've included my "Didn't Like It" section at the bottom, which includes some controversial choices!