Day at the Seaside, Kylie, Lavender and More {July 2024}

Dear friends.  July was a good varied month with mixed weather and lots of fun. Starting with the last few days of June which weren't covered last time.  

Fri 28 June

Cooler and less humid. Still pleasant. We did a forest walk and then Pilates. Ordered 3 dresses but all being returned. Had lovely tweet from author Poorna Bell who loved my review for her book This is Fine.  

Watched episode 1 The Outlaw. It's a No. 

Sat 29 June

Sunny. Kettlewell Colour Club meet at Biba exhibition. Biba was an exciting fashion brand in the 60s and 70s, a key contributor to "the London Look."  Went with several colour club friends. Had lunch afterwards. 

Sun 30 June

Slight drizzle then sunshine. Quiet day, rest. Beef. J started Tour de France. In the Euros saw England v Slovakia. They won 2-1 but awful to watch.

Ordered a retro dress & Boss top/trousers in sale, unusual to see a warm pink. Also a skirt from Ebay.

Started taking matcha tea and Korean ginseng. A latest report from Fitness Genes, who match my DNA to biological profiles, says these items will help offset some of my problem genes. They tackle inflammation,  one of the causes of cell deterioration. 

Mon Jul 1

Cooler, became sunny. Did a long bike ride. 44 miles via Northmore, Moreton, Epping.  Pictured in the middle of nowhere taking a rest. 

Tues Jul 2

J not feeling great. I did walk, cut it short as drizzle started. Went to The View, a museum about Epping Forest. Saw the new book on the longhorns, more of a pamphlet. There's a room dedicated to the book with photos of the cattle.

The Boss trousers and top are going back: the trousers are about 10 cms too long and the top is also too long and very tight.

Weds Jul 3

Did bike ride. Chilly and a bit cloudy. Went to Lee Valley via Epping and Nazeing, 30 miles. Was feeling energetic. Think it's the ginseng! 

Thurs Jul 4

Election day. Sunny intervals, windy. J went to pick his bike up after it had a service. I weeded the drive. We voted early. Went to Pilates at the Nuffield, first time for months. Really enjoyed it.

Fri Jul 5

Labour won, our local MP Iain Duncan Smith retained his seat, the Labour vote was split by an independent. Dental check-up, no probs. However have decided to get old veneers and crowns replaced, plus whitening. Exciting. Raining. Did Pilates, 2nd day running so feeling it in the abs.

Sat Jul 6

Had a 10am appointment for a routine health check at Walthamstow (not our nearest surgery by any means). Got bus. Surgery deserted. Was told I didn't have an appointment, despite the online confirmation. V annoying.  

England v Switzerland,  we won by the skin of our teeth, thanks to Switzerland missing once in the penalty shoot out. 

New govt did an amazing amount of work on day 1.

Sun Jul 7

Bike ride at 8.30, bit chilly and rained briefly. Did 35 miles, Lee Valley via Theydon Bois, Epping and Nazeing. Got back 11.45. Had lamb. Lewis Hamilton won Silverstone. Watched film Space Cadet. V lame

Mon Jul 8

Bit grey. Went to the V&A with "the Hanlons" (J's sisters and brother-in-law) for the Fragile Beauty exhibition. This showcases photos acquired over the decades by Elton John and David Furnish.

Varied exhibition, ranging from fashion through to heavyweight topics like racism, illness, social unrest. Lunch afterwards at the Hereford Arms. 

Received an apology about Saturday's disaster from the local Federation of GPs. I didn't make too much fuss about it but I wanted to alert them to make sure it didn't happen to other people. 

No gingsen today, I read it increases blood pressure.  Although mine is always low, I don't want it to up so will take ginseng occasionally when I need a boost.

Tues Jul 9

Rained nearly all day. Rest day. Wrote my blog post for tomorrow.  Finished book Cage of Bones. Tickets went on sale for Vogue @ Lightroom and sorted a KW event. Started The Turkish Detective, BBC iPlayer.  

Weds Jul 10

Booking opened for ballet Maddaddam. In queue for 18 mins, managed to get 2nd row in orchestra stalls. Did bike ride, around 28 miles. Saw quite a few going out in rafts at the Whitewater Centre. I'd often wondered if the rafts ever capsize, and low and behold.......Yes! Predictably it seemed to be a raft full of young men. 

England v Netherlands, semi final. England won but were lucky. 

Thurs Jul 11

Pleasant for most of the day. Did walk with J via King's Head Hill and Yates. In the afternoon tackled the weeds in the rose bed. Started a Swedish drama called STHLM Blackout. Unfortunately J didn't turn subtitles on and I can't bear anything dubbed, so it was a No from me. 

Fri Jul 12

Cloudy. Started on my mountain of blog posts. Did forest walk and Pilates.

Sat Jul 13 

Did bike ride, Lee Valley via Theydon. Went to BST Hyde Park with Anne Marie to see Kylie Minogue. More pics in Monday's post (July 29). It was great fun, really nice atmosphere, everyone dancing and singing. Rail replacement has started for several weeks so takes longer now to get to and from central London. 

Sun Jul 14

Did walk. Sunny. Roast chicken. England lost to Spain in the final.  We were all expecting that, Spain were the best side in the tournament, so we all moved on quickly. 

Mon Jul 15

Cloudy and occasional drizzle. Went to Sittingbourne in Kent to see colour consultant Amanda Richardson, who did my wow colours. Read more here. Pleasantly surprised with true spring verdict. Chinese blue and red coral looked great, two colours I haven't worn much.  Lamb tagine. 

Tues Jul 16

Bit overcast. We did a walk. I scheduled 4 blog posts. Haddock. 

Weds Jul 17

Sunny! Did bike ride. "Tempo ride" which was quite fast. To Lee Valley via Abridge, Theydon. 28 miles. Was quite tired but that mileage is nothing compared to Southend and Lejog!! 

Saw Team GB's paddle team at the Whitewater Centre, having a celebration brunch.  Good luck to them in the Olympics - we'll be watching!

Started The Jetty,  iPlayer.

Thurs Jul 18

Drove over to Waltham Abbey gardens and Gunpowder Park to do 2 shoots. Went well, not many people around. I always feel a bit silly when I'm out taking photos with the tripod on my own.

Fri Jul 19

Up to 30 degrees. Busy morning. Did walk 8.45, went in post office, then bank to get £1 coins, and shops. Then dentist for prep of whitening trays. Then Pilates. Pretty tired and hungry when got home. 

Watched documentary Skywalkers A Love Story, Netflix. Very good.  Couldn't bear to watch at times. 

Sat Jul 20

Lovely day in Whitstable with colour club friends. Went swimming (top pic - can you spot me in green?).  Had lunch at hosts Jayne and Andrew's home. Third year running we've done this. Below:  on our way to the sea. 

Sun Jul 21

70 miles London to Southend bike ride. Cycled first to East Ham Park, where we met up with the small group we'll be cycling with. 

Weather was mostly overcast with sunny intervals.  One of our group had a flat tyre not too far from the end.  The ride to Southend was around 64 miles but we had some additional mileage getting to and from the start and finish. It was a tiring ride because there were a lot of fast club riders and it was mostly on main roads. 

Arrived in a park in Southend to cow bells, cheers and a medal. After some food headed to the train station.  Cycled home from Stratford.  Below: at the finish, wearing our medals 

Mon Jul 22

Not aching or stiff which is a relief. Quiet day sorting out birthday cards, blog and food shopping

Tues Jul 23

Jodie's for hair cut and colour. Rained overnight. Watched a two part drama we missed when it came out, Honour starring Keeley Hawes (Netflix). Very good. 

Weds Jul 24

Dentist to get whitening kit. Cycle ride 19 miles Olympic Park. I love it there but we don't go very often because it's a flat, short route. Quite warm. Got fish n chips. Started tooth whitening.

Thurs Jul 24

Has rained overnight. Cloudy. We did forest walk. Watched film about Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the Channel in the 1920s, "Young Woman and the Sea". (Disney). Engaging.  

Downloaded Olympics app and highlighted all my favourite sports so I'll know when they're on and get the results. We'll miss a lot of it on the cycling holiday.

Fri Jul 25

Went with Meetup on a walk from Belmont to Wallington,  via a lavender farm. Have done it before. Enjoyed chatting to Priya. We spent longer in the lavender field this time and I tried lavender ice cream.  Didn't do tooth whitening as teeth already a bit sensitive.  Opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics.  A bit underwhelming. After an hour finished Presumed Innocent (Apple), also underwhelming in its own way. Seems to have taken us ages to finish it. 

Sat July 26

Sunny summer's day. Took birthday presents to Finley (age 1) and Christopher his dad. The cycling started at the Olympics, one of our favourite events. 

I hope you enjoyed my review of July. What were your highlights?  Do tell in the comments.

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