"Are you being served, Miss?": a day shopping

 I am home now after a trip to London. I didn't have time to say much about it last week but I thought I'd share the lovely day out I had.

I had hoped friends would join me but last-minute babysitting duties, work and other inconveniences put paid to that. Well, it was midweek, so it's to be expected. I spent a day shopping in the city centre and had a positive day with a lot of wonderful interactions with people.

The only full-length photo I have from that day was taken in the hotel. 

 

You've seen this outfit many times before but the pretty skirt is fabulously versatile and the pink top has always been my favourite. As I have a tan I wore some foundation a shade darker than my usual one. I failed to do the same for the sheer tights, an unusual error for me, so they are too light. I also wore my new lilac nail polish on fingers and toes. I really like it.

The pink shoes were supposed to be comfortable flats but were actually a disaster as the rigid backs took the skin off my ankles straight away and the first thing I did on arriving in Oxford Street was to buy some very soft cute pink trainers that were a total contrast in terms of comfort. They're like wearing pink bunnies on your feet! 

I was staying in Teddington in the far south west of London, a town well-known for its comedic celebrities like Noël Coward and Benny Hill (and to this day the locals all sing amusing songs and chase each other round the town at high speed). I took the train up to Waterloo and changed to the sweaty, greasy, dirty Underground to Leicester Square in the heart of the West End.

 

The lady behind me on the slow local train has the right idea! And my pretty skirt really doesn't deserve to sit on a grimy Underground seat and once back at the hotel it went straight into the laundry bag. 

I had an appointment at the London Hair Clinic which went very well and they were very nice to me but I will tell you about that next time as I want your opinion on my purchase and potential future purchases. This is also why I kept my makeup and jewellery to a minimum, so nothing would distract from observing my hair or get tangled in it. 

I went for lunch at an old favourite, Bistro One, in the heart of LGBT-friendly Soho.

 

It was a hot day so I had the chicken caesar salad and their really good bannoffee pie (yes, their menu is still of a former era, but reliable). The owner asked me if I was enjoying my meal and I said it was nice to be back after all these years and, incredibly, he recognised me and said so many kind things and wished me well in my new life in the Mediterranean (he's from Turkey). Well, we girls went to his establishment many times, e.g. Easter 2014 when he took this photo of us.

 

Given the fact that some maniac drove into Berlin Pride - and Berlin has always been a relaxed place for LGBT culture - I took some photos of the local LGBT venues in this area. Notably the Admiral Duncan pub that was targeted in the 1999 nail bombings by a neo-Nazi thug who is now serving six consecutive life sentences for his attacks on black, Bengali and LGBT communities in London. Real evildoers are few but not few enough.

Anyway, the Admiral Duncan in Old Compton Street and the other LGBT pubs and venues here continue to thrive despite everything. 

I pottered around town, visiting places I used to frequent when I lived in London, like the Jubilee Market in Covent Garden 

 

I was less excited by the Carnaby area that was famously the heart of the Swinging Sixties, then reinvented itself around the Millennium as a place of interesting shops but is now just endless, soulless chain shops and fast food joints. Everyone's looking for that bit of quirkiness, bohemia, something different, and when they find it word gets round and everyone loves it but then the developers move in and make it the same as everywhere else that was once quirky and unique. 

In Oxford Street I went to the big stores but didn't really find anything I wanted. Until I went to Selfridges. The perfume galleries have always been amazing. I think my pink outfit blended in to the general décor. I can't say if the smell did, though!

 

I decided to go to Selfridge's beautiful Food Hall and get something nice for my dinner and there I had a lovely experience. An old staff member on the cake counter asked me, in a voice very like that of Parker the chauffeur from Thunderbirds, "Are you being served, Miss?" I have never, ever been referred to as Miss before and I have to say it has left me with a warm glow ever since. I was being served, as it happened, and that cake lady addressed me as "Darling". More familiar and safely unisex but I will not complain, not me. Wow! I am so chuffed about that. I mean, I love being referred to as "Madam" but this was special. Thank you, Selfridges, for your outstanding staff. And the carrot cake was delicious, too!

So apart from the footwear issue, that was a very nice day out. I had planned more Sue days on this trip but, sadly, I was unable to fulfil those plans. Anyway, I got what I came for: new hair, new underwear, a change of scene and to test my new beard cover and foundation that stood up well to the rigours of a warm day in the big city.

Sue x