Well, I promised I would do a shopping post, continuing on from the
Harrogate trip post, so here it is, I know it's not earth shatteringly exciting, as you can probably see. I mainly concentrated on stuff that is not available in France, so this meant a trip to Marks and Spencers, for V neck sweaters and lingerie, I love their Autograph range, the quality is excellent and the prices for lingerie are much lower than French lingerie, which is beautiful, but for every day wear is a trifle extravagant, even for me! I know that you can buy cheaper lingerie in France at the likes of Monoprix and other places, but the quality is not great and they don' t seem to fit me properly.
I also hit Harrrogate's premier department store, for hosiery, I am a big fan of Wolford's velvet deluxe tights, they are not cheap at eighteen pounds a shot, but they are worth it, they are wonderful, no snags or ladders and can last for a couple of years, I can't find them in France, except in the Wolford shops but there are none of those round here and the likes of Galeries Lafayette, in true French protectionist style, only sell French makes, I also bought a couple of pairs of Pretty Polly nylons, for good measure, which are not available in France.
Then I hit Boots the Chemist, for, amongst other things, the No 7, protect and perfect range, which is excellent, I introduced this range to Belle Mère, who, thinks they are marvelous, and she is a lady that knows her creams, my Mother was so impressed by the products, she switched to No 7 from Guerlaine (the Rolls Royce of hydration), so It's not all hype, I have had loads of compliments on my complexion since I started using their products.
I am also a big fan of Olay's complete care everyday sunshine moisturiser, which is easily absorbed, gives you a light sun kissed glow, without making you orange, contains vitamin E and has an SPF of 15, Olay products are not available in France.
I also bought some pretty jewellery which was less than half price, from East. And two pairs of great fitting jeans, from George1V and Oasis, UK size 10, yippee.
I know, I took pictures of some of the fabulous interior design shops in Harrogate, but I did not dare go into them for fear of seeing something I could not possibly live without, and then suffering shopping guilt, let alone bringing too much back on a strict weight allowance.
My favourite thing, which I have not published as the photo's do not do it justice, is a beautiful Jackie O style, Escada shift dress and matching jacket in a stunning shade of purple, kindly given to me by my Mother. I tried it on, whilst I was helping my Mother sort her spare room out, and it fitted perfectly and I have to say, it looks really super on, although I don't know where I can wear it, no wedding's and no trips to the races are on the horizon.
Over the last couple of years my petite, five foot Mother has gone from a UK size 12 to a UK size 8, she is incredibly elegant and stylish and always wears gloves when she goes out, even in the summer for driving. With her weight loss, she now has a spare room full of classically beautiful designer clothes, which now drown her, I am going back later in the year to photograph them and sell them on E Bay for her.
The other important purchase is a Liz Caiborne, medium sized, wheely suitcase, purchased from TK Max for fifty pounds. Now this was an attempt to beat Ryan Air at it's own game.
On the return to Blighty post, there were a lot of unfavourable comments about Ryan air. I was in a really bad mood, the morning we set off for the airport, just thinking about flying Ryan Air. The baggage weight allowance is 10KG for hand luggage, one piece only, and 15KG for checked luggage, not a huge amount if you want to hit the shops.
On Ryan Air a ladies handbag now qualifies as one piece of hand luggage, as does any magazine, newspaper or other purchases bought whilst in the departure lounge. When we booked the flight I put down one piece of luggage to be checked both ways (£30.00) I am not the sort of person to start measuring creams and lotions into 100ML bottles, I just chuck them in my vanity bag, so my luggage had to be checked in, on the outward flight I went through with just my handbag as hand luggage.
We needed a new medium size suitcase, and MG also shopped, he bought a new laptop, amongst other things, on the outward flight I checked in the new suitcase full of goodies and went through with my small weekend case as hand luggage, with MG's laptop, and my handbag squashed in, even the large amount of English glossies I bought in the departure lounge fitted in!
When we got to the the departure gate, there were several ladies, scrabbling about on the floor trying to fit everything in to one bag, there was one lady, a seasoned Ryan Air pro, trying to get a laptop, handbag, four packets of Richmond Pork sausages, five packets of Digestives, packets of Lemsip (sound familiar) and other assorted items into one cloth bag, I did not think she would do it, but she did. I was most impressed, she turned packing a small cloth bag into an artform, and I told her so, we had a bit of a grumble and a giggle about Ryan Air and handbags.
At Stansted Airport departure lounge, just before you head off to the gates there is a Pret A Manger, MG and I bought sandwiches and drinks to take on the plane, I had the sandwich in my hand as I went through the boarding gate, I was half expecting the rather officious Ryan air lady to confiscate it, she didn't, I was certainly not going to pay the over inflated prices for the rubbish, they call food, on board a Ryan Air Flight.
I settled in to read the tacky in flight magazine, which informed me that Ryan Air want to change the habits of air passengers by charging to use the loo, that way, they can maximise space and flight costs will be even lower, Oh where will it end, The Ryan Air staff, try to sell you as much as possible, whilst the captive audience is imprisoned, with no leg room or elbow room. The flight both ways was on time though, which they inform you by a fanfare over the tannoy on arrival and proudly announce they are the most prompt airline in the world, well that's something then.
