I bought this broom about a year ago. It came in several parts, so today I finally decided to unwrap it and put it together. Even for my clumsy hands it was a doddle. And then to use it. Normally, I hoover the kitchen floor, but my machine wouldn’t pick up the leaves, ( from […]Read Post ›
My mum loved old things and brass things and practical things. For a very brief year she ran a tiny desk sized stall in Antiquarius Market in Chelsea where she bought (mainly) and sold (occasionally) things that she liked. Jewellery mainly, silver spoons and salt cellars, mustard pots. All great for Christening and wedding and […]Read Post ›
Today would have been her 93rd birthday. In this photo, taken on her little sister’s fiftieth, she was fifty six. That smile remained with her to the end. I can’t remember the actual sound of her laugh, I’ve just realised, but the smile is unforgettable. And she smiled a lot. That radiant lipstick. Dior no […]Read Post ›
I just found this book on my shelf after many years and was enchanted all over again by the sweetness of the cover. The illustrator is Margery Gill. The back cover is no less delightful. I received this book for Christmas when I was ten. I remember choosing it with the woman who gave it […]Read Post ›
I have a lot of antique jewellery left over from when my mother tried her hand at being an antique dealer, and ran a little stall in the vintage market Antiquarius in the Kings Road in Chelsea. That was a very exciting and beautiful place and I loved going there to help. There was also […]Read Post ›
I had a lovely day today. We went to my youngest daughter’s for a delicious lunch, made by her fiancé – husband to be in two weeks, eek, and accompanied by his mother and uncle and my son. The only person I was sad was not there, was my eldest daughter, but she’s just moved […]Read Post ›
My mother went to a professional photographer, Julia Bennett Studios in Oxford Street, to have this portrait taken. I presume it was for a passport. I have been trying to work out when it was taken, because she never actually looked like that. The dress is polyester, so it must have been taken in the […]Read Post ›
Nail varnish. An extremely important part of my life. My mother had beautiful hands with perfectly painted fingernails. Always. One of my earliest memories is reaching for her hand and trying to find (unsuccessfully at first) the one without a cigarette in it. I took it, and held it and admired the shiny red. She […]Read Post ›
Or Lucky Grapes Happy new year. Or szczęśliwego nowego roku. I am sitting in the tube at the moment and opposite me are a young couple who are having a lovely time. He is teaching her how to say happy new year in Polish. She is having difficulties but is gamely practising. I am inwardly […]Read Post ›
This plate has a long history. In the days of ubiquitous cigarette smoking, and most of my family gave factory chimneys a run for their money, the tobacco firms hit upon a scheme to further their interests and give smokers a chance to buy even more cigarettes. They gave out coupons redeemable for household goods. […]Read Post ›
Life Through Basia's Eyes 