Funeral Dress Code

My lovely Mum passed away on 6 February. The funeral is not for a few weeks yet. It amazes me that hospitals and funeral directors are taken by surprise every year at the number of people who die in winter. We have been doing that for centuries, folks. 

You end up distracting yourself with things and "what to wear for the funeral?" is one of them. It seems trivial but it would have amused Mum. She was the most elegant, well-dressed woman I knew. That apple fell a long way from the tree. Since I stopped wearing the snazzy business suits my wardrobe has become 1) Slob, and 2) Cruise. I did keep a smart black suit for funerals but I've inexplicably grown out of it.

I worked mostly from home in pre-Zoom days where it didn't matter what I wore but on the days when I turned up as the consultant at other accountancy firms I wore sharp suits and heels - medium 'cos not an idiot - even when the office was down a dirt track. Well, especially when the office was down a dirt track... I had to look the part of One Who Knows Stuff and you can fool some of the people some of the time.

What do women wear at work now? I mourn deeply the loss of Windsmoor, Eastex, Dash, Jacques Vert etc. Old lady clothes, certainly, but then I'm an old lady and a grumpy one at that. Search "work wear" in any of the Wouldn't Be Seen Dead In That dot com online stores and it will come up with the type of leggings that make you wonder if someone forgot to put their skirt on. Really? You're going to work in that? Always dress for the job you want even if it means dressing as Wonder Woman.

I tried on some vaguely suitable clothes. Due to a combination of grief at the loss of a friend, gall bladder problems, walking A LOT over Southampton Common and Asda failing to deliver the right cakes I lost a lot of weight last year. It turns out exercise and eating less makes you lose weight. Who knew? They should promote that. I'm still a bit of a l*rd*rse - and no doubt on some insulting part of the chart in NHS terms -  but a smaller one.

So this is great. Stuff fits except it's too long. What? How does that work? Ah, excess fabric not being taken up by huge hips. I'll sew a lot of things but NOT trouser hems. Heels it is then. Cries from the bedroom to uninterested hubby along the lines of "My gold shoes are the only ones that work with these trousers!"

Smart jacket, gold shoes, bit of bling... that will do nicely. Here's some I wore earlier, along with my Mum.

RIP Paul Easton

I was so very sad to hear of Paul Easton's death recently. I've been struggling with the death of my mother and losing a friend strangely sent me down a horrible spiral. Paul and I used to talk about our mothers, who were born on exactly the same day.

Paul taught me a lot about radio in the days when I'd turn up as the alleged tax expert (or dressed as a rabbit, depending on the occasion...) who was sometimes allowed to press the buttons. He was that very rare expert on everything who never came over as the "know-it-all". He was kind and modest and took the trouble to make sure you understood what he was teaching you. An all round good bloke.

We'd planned to visit Paul in the next few months. He seemed so happy in his new house with his new friend Charlie the cat. Best laid plans and all that...