Easter weekend on Tresco

The sun shone down on Tresco this Easter reminding me how beautiful this little island paradise is. The view is from the Sea Garden Cottages, namely from the patio of Shrimp where I was visiting friends. I regaled them with my memories of being a (hopeless) chambermaid 45 years ago at the Island Hotel here in these grounds; I was besotted with this view and thought it to be the most idyllic sight I'd ever seen, so much so that I spent far too much time staring out the window and not enough time cleaning. The truth is, I still find it mesmerising. Anyway, the figure in the distance is one of those I was visiting - more recognised for his voice than his physical self.

Yes, it's the Radio 2 DJ legend that is Johnnie Walker! Johnnie and his gorgeous wife Tiggy are regulars to Tresco, this most recent visit being to celebrate Johnnie's 78th birthday. Doesn't he look well on it! Johnnie hosted a birthday dinner at the Ruin Beach Cafe where he was joined by friends for an evening of good food, fine wines and lots of tales about the music business. I quizzed him as to who has been his favourite musician to interview to which he replied James Taylor. You can't argue with that.

This was Monday's work outfit showing nothing new, simply a mix of pieces shopped from my closet as they say. The main feature is this rather fabulous coat by Clements Ribiero which I bought about five years ago in Manchester from TK Maxx. It's three years since I wore it last on the blog here and yet I do so love it!

I've mixed designer with high street fashion to give my own style. The sweater is from H&M, trousers from Primark and the gold leather Chelsea boots are so old I can't recall where I found them. The boot cut trousers are maybe a tad short, but I've seen girls wearing wide cropped trousers so thought I could get away with this too.

Nothing new  with my accessories either - the gold chain necklace was from Zara, rings are old too and sunglasses are from Radley London. 

External photoshoots are always tricky whether it's due to the weather or someone popping into the shot or the camera almost getting blown over which was the case here. I'd dodged about the island trying to find a quiet spot out of the wind before the gale arrived, hence the varied backdrops. Today it's been raining for most of the day with winds gusting up to 70mph and tomorrow is forecast to be more of the same. We were lucky to have it so good for Easter. I had a lovely swim on Easter Sunday on Green Porth beach - see my timelapse clip on the Instagram link at the top of the page.

Many thanks for popping by. Have a lovely week!

Anna x

This summer's best supermarket find

Hello lovelies! How are you? As you can see, I'm in fine fettle. And yes, can you believe it that this most colourful summer frock is a supermarket find? I happened across it when I was in Tesco's in April. The shirtwaister is such an easy to wear style and this one is in the most lovely of fabrics. It's weighty enough to move in that satisfying flappy way and yet not too heavy for summer wear. 

I've  only worn the dress once, but already it's earned much praise along with comments that it doesn't look like a supermarket purchase in the least. The floral pattern is classic and the shades of cream, orange, pink, yellow and green are all very much suited to my skin tone. I love the sleeve length too. In fact, what's not to love about this whole thing? It cost £25 - well worth the money in my opinion.

Nothing new by way of accessories here. The belt is a charity shop bargain in leather. The rings and watch are all old too. 

My necklace is from Zara and was a present from a girlfriend at Christmas. I like the fact that it's not a heavy gilt piece but is really lightweight and therefore I hardly notice I'm wearing it. My Sunglasses are by Radley, from another girlfriend.

If I'd been organised I could have shown you the orange wedge sandals that I wore for the first half of the day. But instead here's the afternoon's flat sandals in coral which are quite old now, from Primark a few summers ago. I fear that they won't last another year sadly.

Fiona did the honours with the photography at the end of the day. I swished about here and there, talking most of the time and spoiling many shots into the bargain. We meandered off to the beach afterwards to swim and chat as is our habit at this time of year. We are both ever grateful that Tresco life is on this small scale, our wild swimming so accessible, the backdrop to our daily lives so stunningly beautiful. With a post-swim flask in hand we regularly count our blessings.

Sending you lots of love from Tresco!

Anna x

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Hello again! Tomorrow is my son Jamie's 30th birthday and like all good party animals his is a 3 day long event which started on the beach last night. Here we are, en famille, at the start of the evening. Beer and pasties were the order of the day for this surprise birthday bash, organised by his sister Sasha and ex-Gallery Assistant Polly. Jamie was hijacked by a friend, being brought into the beach by boat as we all sang him Happy Birthday from the shore. 

I feel that this shot should be one of those "Add the caption" photos. Jamie and his old school friend Joanne are straining to hear/see each other or maybe not...

Appletree Bay was a glittering backdrop for the gathering of friends and family with lots of little babies and children too.

The zero from his 30 balloon popped before it reached the venue, calling for a bit of inventiveness from Rachel; both are balloons, just not necessarily a pair!

The party was punctuated by the arrival of the Penzance Helicopter causing everyone to grab hold of loose objects and small children as the downdraft hit us full force. A party with a difference is what you might say!

In between these photos there had been a boozy treasure hunt for the birthday boy, through the Monument Walk and across to Plumb Hill with the merry revelers following in his wake, bringing them on to our house at Timothy's Corner where Steve and I hosted a Port pit-stop with some freshly baked cheese biscuits to help mop up the excess alcohol. 

 

Some of the younger members of the company looked bright eyed and bushy-tailed despite the late hour...

...others were looking less so.

Day one of the party trilogy was coming to an end for Steve and I, but Jamie, Sash and Dave were heading off for the final leg of the evening.

While I'm very happy to show this before picture, I fancy that the after version wouldn't look quite so good. Here's a very Happy Birthday to my dear son and heir. I hope that the 3 day long 30th party is memorable for all the right reasons!

                                                                                      Anna x