Luci Gosling (it’s short for Lucinda)

Corner Clothes Shop with Mary Quant advert, photo by Middlesbrough photographer Graham Smith (b.1947).

Off to Teesdale for the weekend to stay with my sister and see @nerinapallot.bsky.social at Bowes Museum tonight. On the 8am LNER from KX. Early start for a Saturday but I have a pistachio pastry from Buns at Home and the seat next to me is empty so all good.

Oh thank goodness. You & I saving the planet one contact lens case at a time. I’ve been carrying round a bag of old pens for the last fortnight after discovering @rymanstationery.bsky.social no longer recycle them (according to the Blackheath branch). Can’t bear to throw away. Need to investigate.

Does anyone else save up their contact lens cases and send them off for recycling? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

a man in a tuxedo covers his face with his hands ALT: a man in a tuxedo covers his face with his hands

Made decision tonight to buy expensive wallpaper I REALLY love for spare room as Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal gave 30% off at Wallpaper Direct. AND I LITERALLY FELL ASLEEP ON THE SOFA, WOKE UP AT 12:06 AND MISSED THE DISCOUNT BY SIX MINUTES.

Been going through old BBC Good Food magazines from the ‘90s before recycling (part of an ongoing declutter). The food scene has changed beyond belief in 30 yrs (keeping v.few recipes). So has the price of wine.

It was very nice - and found in the Tesco Express that’s just opened at the bottom of my road. I sense they’ve been studying residents’ Clubcard data. There’s even Maldon sea salt!

Haddock Kiev (Tesco finest), a homemade vegetable crumble and a grated carrot salad (I know - weird combo). Rice pudding made with jersey milk for afters. Still waiting for it all to cook.

Gave the kitchen dresser its pre-Xmas wash and brush up. Except Feargal is pretending he’s done it.

YouTube video by ChristinaLMartin Bullseye - The cruel mistress that is the Prize Board

It's Friday. It's the shortest amount of time anyone has ever owned a trouser press.
youtu.be/tNqn5bKmKNc?...

This came up on my Etsy feed and now I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.

Jewelled golden hare that sparked national treasure hunt set for auction Artist and author Kit Williams hid a golden hare with clues to its precise location given in his 1979 book

If I win the lottery this week i’m buying this. Aged 8, i was captivated by the book but literally clueless about the riddles so never stood s chance. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Finished reading this yesterday (had been sitting in my to-read list for a year). Absolutely loved it. Then straight into watching the Channel 4 adaptation which was brilliant. Just how I envisaged in the book. I note the author was executive producer. Casting, costume, sets, everything - spot on.

Good. Small though. But I didn’t mind that. Most exhibitions are too large in my opinion.

An original Margaret Tarrant watercolour from the book ‘Joan in Flowerland’ on Antiques Roadshow just now. We represent all Tarrant’s work at Mary Evans Picture Library as part of an exclusive arrangement with the Medici Society so lovely to see this.

I went yesterday.

What. A. Game. 🤯

On train on way back from Wolverhampton where I’ve given a talk to the Western Front Association branch there on Fortunino Matania. Lovely audience & excellent West Midlands hospitality & sold all the books I brought along so returning with an empty suitcase (apart from the cake they insisted I had)

Isn’t a Joseph Wright of Derby exhibition about to open at the National Gallery?

I know, that too. Or ‘sign up & get 10% off’ before you’ve had a chance to look at anything. I actually unsubscribed from one relentless emailer and then emailed their customer service to explain why. Even ‘manage preferences’ doesn’t usually give you the option of, say, a once a month digest.

Hello all the companies I bought something from once, or who I showed a smidgeon of interest in who all now email me EVERY SINGLE BLOODY DAY. Just stop. Once or twice a month is fine or I’m going to leave you forever.

Oh, this is nice to read. Thank you. Always a pleasure. X

Loved this. Still do actually.

Oooh, Heath Robinson is on #antiquesroadshow with Peter Higginson. My book ‘It’s all a bit Heath Robinson’ is about his WW1 cartoons (I also give a talk on this!) and nice to hear a mention of the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner where I did my John Hassall exhibition in 2021.

Finished #couchto5k this week. Yay me. With thanks to Steve Cram for his support along the way.

Off to Colchester (to see my granddaughter - and son & daughter-in-law!). Thank you to the lady at Manor Park who went out of her way to hold the train doors for me as I dashed down the steps. It’s a small thing but heartening.

Mesmerised by the incredible symmetry of these beautiful dahlias we’ve grown this year. Nasturtium still going in the garden (as are many things) so a little luminous autumn posy for the mantelpiece.

a cartoon of a girl sitting at a desk with the words programmers going into their daily hibernation after any social interaction below ALT: a cartoon of a girl sitting at a desk with the words programmers going into their daily hibernation after any social interaction below

Just sent off what I hope is final copy for issue 3 of Royalty in Britain this being a feature I’ve had to write at last minute as one planned dropped (grrr). Have been working on it nearly every weekend since July & feel mentally exhausted. Almost a full time job but I’ve already got one of those!

Shocked by the news about Diane Keaton. Think it’s because she always looked fabulous, timeless, ageless. I know everyone will be sharing this picture, but, what a look. It really struck a chord with me as s teen. And she kind of stuck with that vibe all her life. Another great from my youth gone.

It’s National Curry Week so why not tuck into, er, a delicious tin of Brand’s Beef, Chicken or Veal curry? Complete with shameless cultural appropriation. (Found in The Tatler 1961 today).