July jackets, the monthly style challenge

Hello again! Yes, it's time for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. This month Jacqui came up with the idea of Jackets for July, but that was before our heatwave of course! Things have cooled down a bit now, and I for one am not sorry about that. So, on to the challenge - let's see what Jacqui and the others came up with this time, shall we?

Jacqui has chosen a white linen jacket for today's feature; a classic summertime look. Wide legged trousers and a chiffon top complete the outfit. See all the details on Mummabstylish.

Emma's showing off her wild side today with lots of animal print. Her coral blazer is far from conservative too with colourful trim and funky buttons. See more on the Style Splash. 

Gail's suede bomber jacket ticks all my boxes for chic style and what a fabulous pairing with the citrus bright top too! Catch up with her on blog Is this Mutton. 

Here's another gorgeous jacket that wouldn't go amiss in my wardrobe! Hilda found this blazer in a local boutique - see the back story on Over The Hilda. 

I've had this bright green jeans jacket (from Benetton) for years now and still love it. The cotton has a touch of stretch to it which is nice too. When Jacqui proposed this challenge I almost went for a blazer as I have this silk one that's not made it out of my closet yet. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see it before the summer is over.

The Tresco Island tee shirt was gifted to me and is available at the Lucy-Tania shop on island. The design of the Gaia Statue (located in the Tresco Abbey Garden) is by Emily Parsons, a local artist who also works on the Reservations team at Tresco Island Office. My blue sea glass necklace was bought at Gallery Tresco from Drift Jewellery.

I'd popped out before 7am to take these shots before work. The view down through Tresco Channel shows just a fraction of the yachts that are moored up around the islands at this time of year. The ramparts of King Charles Castle are a great setting for a photo shoot with 360 degree views. 

I had to laugh as even at this early hour I could see a runner appear across the headland towards me! There's no such thing as escape is there?

The rest of the outfit is made up of white crops (Next, pre-loved), trainers by Zara and Quay Australia. Glimpses of charity shop rings seen too.

I hope you're enjoying your summer and are keeping safe now that the government restrictions are lift or being lifted depending on where in the UK you live. I'm pleased to report that our clients are acting responsibly, still wearing masks and behaving with care towards others. It's a great relief.

And on that positive note I shall leave you. Take care and I hope you manage to get some picnic time/fun time/barbecue time this week!

                                                                                         Anna x

Shop local

Hello again! I'll be upfront about today's feature - I'm promoting our island boutique, Lucy-Tania and the online shop where you can buy this fabulous range of clothes. I've not been paid to advertise, I just want to support them in the same way that we're all being encouraged to shop local. 

You can find the clothes range on the Tresco Island site. For those of you who holiday here you may recognise some of the models, including yours truly. My personal favourites being the four adorable children fronting the site. (They just so happen to be my great nieces and nephews so I'm obviously biased.)

You can't go wrong with a simple sweatshirt can you? This protea design relates to the plants which flourish in the sub-tropical climate within the Tresco Abbey Garden. You may remember I recently spent the day there doing a photo shoot for my 6th blogging anniversary see here. The Garden features over 4000 species of plants collected from far flung countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as South America and the Mediterranean and yet they all survive in our mild temperatures which rarely drop below freezing. Another crowd-drawing aspect are the red squirrels that can be seen from the blue bridge nearby the entrance. 

I can't decide if I prefer the grey sweatshirt or the cream one to be honest. They're both comfy and stylish which is a clever combination and are great holiday or weekend wear. As you can tell I was in my element posing and laughing my way through the shoot. It was a lovely interlude earlier on this year, spent with my daughter Sasha who was creative director of the shoot and Ellie Tabron of Island Images, our local professional photographer.

Again, I'd like to give a shout-out to another local business as Ellie is still at the fledgling stage of her career, but making great strides doing Wedding Photography as well as producing calandars, notecards and wooden postcards which are proving to be hugely popular. Ellie is a local girl, who like Sasha grew up on Tresco then went off to the mainland to finish her education. As they both found, island life beckoned them from afar, drawing them back to Tresco in search of happiness and hopefully a career. Both are now gainfully employed; Sash in Marketing for Tresco Island and Ellie working freelance while raising her young family. It's testament to the progressive nature of Tresco that our young local talent has been embraced and included in the island's development. 

There's a lot to be said in favour of knowing your creative team - a relaxed model in our local environment made for a lovely afternoon spent wandering this corner of the island, looking for the right backdrop. I do hope they ask me to help out again. These childhood friends have come so far in carving a niche for themselves in their island home. I'm so proud of what they have become. Good luck for the future girls!

                                                                                         Anna x

My new Adidas trouser suit

Hi there! Yes, it's a rather shocking headline from the woman whose 12 month shopping ban isn't over yet, but hang on, this was hubby's birthday present to me last week. Of course, I did give him lots of guidance. No matter, it's beautiful, don't you think?

Best of all, this two piece by Adidas is still on sale on ASOS now - see here. I have a thing about trouser suits and am always on the look out for another to add to my collection. This salmon pink corduroy number caught my eye when I was searching for Christmas presents and I earmarked it mentally for my birthday. I was delighted to find it had been reduced in the sale when I went back to search for it.

The high waisted trousers are great fit for my figure and best of all the fabric has stretch in it too. I couldn't wait to get out in this lovely weather to showcase it. This is me on the ramparts of Blockhouse Castle, but the view down to the beach below looked pretty inviting too...

The jacket is quite boxy, slightly masculine and for me that needed a bit of softening with either frills or lace. I opted for this lace top from Zara with a vest underneath for warmth. 

That's the problem when you set up your camera and tripod on your own. No-one to zoom in or out ...

Suffice to say I was still having fun!

Silver rings and leather belt are all second hand.

I like the ribbon stripes down the side of the trousers. My leather boots by Besson were from TK Maxx (a Christmas present from Steve).

It was glorious on the beach here. So much so, that I went straight home and put my swimsuit on so that I could swim here in the afternoon sunshine. This was on Monday when I think the snow was falling on mainland UK. 

I swam from Cook's Porth to Cradle Porth and back again. See a wee video from the other beach on my Instagram feed here.

My latest project is some sewing (at last). I'm trying to make new covers for my sofa and armchairs, but it's a challenge to say the least. However, you know me, I do like a challenge! In due course I hope to be able to show you the fruits of my labour. In the meantime, I wish you a super weekend.

                                                                                         Anna x

Escape from storm Ciara

Hello and welcome!

If ever there was a day to escape from reality then surely it's today when the whole of the UK is being battered by Storm Ciara with winds forecast at 80 mph, huge waves pounding our coasts and power cuts threatening many. So let me lead you away from all of that and join my friends Kate and Fiona as we revisit a day last August for a post-work sea swim.

Our cycle route to Pentle Bay took us along the Abbey Drive through lush green vegetation under majestic trees. Excitement and anticipation added a frisson to our babble of chat about the state of the tide, wind direction and the potential for jellyfish, because today was no ordinary day as we were being shadowed by a film crew and also professional photographer James Darling, who were collecting material for a marketing project for Tresco Island. Our daily dip was the final scene to be captured for use in the recruitment drive for the 2020 season.

The photo shoot had none of the luxuries of hair and make-up nor has James photoshopped these images. I want to talk about this first as vanity tripped me up when I first viewed the photos. I'm pretty much at ease with being seen in my swimsuit as it's what I wear at some point most days, but, somewhat naively, I hadn't really considered how I might be seen through the (professional) camera's eye. Well, it seems that the reality of my self-image needed some radical recalibration! In my head I suppose I must still think I have the figure of my 30 year old self. Aren't we all a bit like that? We remember ourselves in our prime, holding that impression in a handy copy and paste mode when the lumpy truth threatens our mental well being. Issues with body image can haunt us no matter what age it seems. I continue to speak out to shed light and help dispel shame. I'm not overweight nor claim to be, but still feel under pressure due to the imagery we're subjected to daily. 

I know that I often publish photos of myself in a swimsuit, but like most bloggers I choose to share the best, most flattering and certainly never back views! I was initially shocked then downhearted at the rear view of myself. Cellulite and drapey skin are ever present in these shots forcing a certain amount of coming to terms with my 62 year old body. But as my dear husband kindly - and I do mean kindly - pointed out, I write with honesty and try my best to show myself as I truly am. What is the use in me trying to inspire women of my generation when I'm still deluding myself as to who I am? To this end, I'm including photos that I would normally omit as after all, we don't want to scare the horses do we? But, joking aside, if you ever seek me out I don't want you to be shocked after seeing me in soft focus for so long. My fragile ego desires me to be perfect and the perfectionist in me would like that too, but this is the truth of the matter and it deserves or begs no pity from you. Here I am, warts cellulite an' all!

After a certain amount of coming to terms, I decided to post this photo on my Instagram with this text - "We're all equal in the sea, our little heads bobbing above the water, laughter in the air and salt upon our tongues. Age, cellulite and wobbly bits all fade into insignificance as this common bond of wild swimming knits our friendship deeper." And really that's what this post is all about. For years I've been a solitary swimmer, seeing the time as one for meditation and reflection but, last summer was one of group swims which brought new dimensions and time to enrich friendships and forge new ones.

That post-swim energy has us all buzzing, talking about stray seaweed feeling as if it was tentacles of jellyfish. Fiona hates seaweed almost as much as jellyfish.

All cosied up, it's time for a hot drink as the discussion turns to the next swimming adventures for each of us. Kate wants to crack her freestyle stroke, Fiona had plans for the inter-island swim only a couple of weeks away and I was gearing towards my swim around Tresco. 

Previously I might have balked at showing you this necklace choker of wrinkles, but I'm biting the bullet and sharing what's normal for my age. (I'm working at removing perfect and replacing it with normal.) 

As storm Ciara rises in ferocity outside my window, I'm drawing on the feel-good factor of this little outing. It never ceases to amaze me that we can have this fun without spending a penny. Mother Nature has given us the most beautiful of playgrounds here on the idyllic island of Tresco and that's something we always voice when we stop to enjoy the view. 

We're so lucky to live here!

All photos by James Darling courtesy of Tresco Island