Ping-Pong Piece No 1

Hello and welcome to our monthly offering previously know as Ping-Pong Post and now rebranded as Ping-Pong Piece. After 12 months of posting our clothes around the world to be styled by myself and my two blogging friends Ann and Samantha, we decided to make life a bit easier. Now we're merely ping-ponging ideas back and forth, with each of us taking it in turns to suggest an item for us to wear in our own particular way. Easier too for us to invite a guest to take part. Ann has started the ball rolling with fishnet tights and has invited Mary to join in the fun...

Ann has chosen a large fishnet to add a bit of funk to her shredded jeans to brilliant effect. The mix of leather, denim, fishnet and those Stella McCartney patent beauties deliver all that's needed for today's hottest rock chick. See Ann's blog Kremb de la Kremb here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies and Tee--Forever 21

Earrings--H&M

Leather Moto--a swap

Jeans--Zara

Fox Bag--Hong Kong Salvation Army

Shoes--Stella McCartney

Tights--Hong Kong Ladies' Market

Ann's guest is Mary of blog Miss Mary Powers see here. Mary has taken black and tan as her palette giving a stylish edge to her street cool. Her accessories of black felt hat and suede booties are a real touch of class. Follow Mary on instagram here.

Details -

Jacket - BlankNYC

Dress - Shop Missa

Shoes- Sam Edelman

Hat - Rag and Bone

Samantha's love of colour and pattern is ever evident here. I love her pattern clashing as well as the khaki fishnets and toning brogues. See her blog Fake Fabulous here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Earrings: H&M

Top: old…can’t remember where from (I cut the label out as it was scratchy)

Skirt: Boden

Tights: 50p in a charity shop… M&S ones from about 100 years ago!

Shoes: Clarks

Bag: Vintage

When Annie came up with the suggestion of fishnet tights I was rather pleased as I'd been saving these blue ones for the right outfit since I bought them before Christmas. Finding the right outfit was to be the challenge however. Amidst the flurry of reopening the gallery on Friday and doing my sewing homework for Saturday, I was pretty pushed to find time to do much trying on. I took the easy option and was led by the blue trim on these gorgeous courts. This green and blue vintage dress was a no brainer that only needed a cardi to finish the look. The final hurdle for Polly and I was the gale that was blowing down from the north across the front of the gallery where I pose. Crazy hair day? Yes!

Details -

Dress: Peekaboo (vintage)

Cardi: Phase Eight

Tights: Topshop

Shoes: Roberto Gil 

Necklace and rings: charity shop

Ping Pong Piece is no more a competition than Ping Pong Post was - it's all about showcasing an item and hopefully doing so differently enough to give you lots of inspiration. I think we've pretty much filled the remit then don't you? I'd love to hear that you think of our new variation on the theme.

Linking with -

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Anna x

Spring is in the air

We are days away from the island being declared open for another season and spring is definitely in the air. Later this month the clocks will go forward and my morning swims will also move forward as I experience the joys of an early start. I love that feeling of anticipation, the excitement of another season ahead with all the new staff and holiday makers changing the dynamic of these small islands once again.

Very soon these blurry photo shoots will become a thing of the past as Polly takes on the role of my photographer for another summer season. Hurrah!

I just love the combination of camo and gold together. 

I'll make no apologies for showing this gold (H&M) sweater again. It made its debut on my birthday in January (see here) and then again last month (as here) which just goes to show how useful it is (thanks Sasha). I've yet to pair it with a skirt so you may see it next month in a new guise. The three quarter length tartan jacket was from Next many moons ago and yet is one of my winter favourites. The gold boots were in the River Island sale a couple of years ago. I'm sporting sunglasses by Quay Australia and my rings are from charity shops.

I have to thank Sasha too for these camo trousers (Primark) which she gave me for Christmas. I'm a bit late to jump on this fashion bandwagon, but you know me, I do things at my own pace. I've worn these on and off for most of the winter. Working alone, seeing so few people within the course of a week, never mind a day, led me to slip into slovenly ways of repeat dressing. These camo trousers and a pair of blue jeans became my uniform with a thermal layer and cashmere polo neck finishing the look, day after day. Comfort seems to drive me more in the winter rather than innovation. But hey, spring is here and I feel inspired, refreshed with new ideas and opportunities to dress up, mix things about and find new outfits within my closet. At the end of the month I'll be breaking my clothes shopping ban (three whole months without buying a thing!) as I head off to the mainland on business. During my downtime, I'll be rooting about in each and every charity shop I come across as well as visiting my most favourite of retail stores, TK Maxx. I can barely contain myself!

My original camo trousers from over 20 years ago. Check out my pixie cut!

Straight ahead is the island of St Mary's, the main island of the Isles of Scilly, and to the left are the tiny uninhabited islands called the Eastern Islands. These small atolls, surrounded by virgin white sands are a perfect escape for the day - all you need is a little boat, a picnic with some long cool drinks and your perfect castaway companion!

Linking with -

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Anna x

International Women's Day

Yes, today is International Women's Day. I applaud every women who is marching, protesting, promoting, supporting, educating, influencing, empowering and attending an event to celebrate this important day. I also want to say to every single woman, that being a part of this huge sisterhood is a celebration in itself. If you can't take part in a large gathering today, then perhaps like me, you can visit the website here to learn more and find out about everything that's going on globally to mark the occasion and also to find out what you can do to forge a change for the better. If you're posting on instagram today then please add the hashtag #BeBoldForChange.

Some of you may recognise the beach and castle behind me from a previous post. It's Blockhouse Castle and the lovely sweep of beach below is one of my favourite bays to have my morning swim. I'm here on the low tide to showcase my pattern play outfit, and will cross the bay to show you more.

I've featured this jacket a couple of times before and I thought I'd use the colour to start a new story of autumn colours. The jacket is was in the Benetton sale a couple of years ago and is a lovely weighty woollen fabric that holds its shape beautifully. The wide legged trousers are from H&M, again not from the current season, but a bargain in their winter sale for £5. They're made from viscose and have a lovely drape to them, but best of all have pockets. And this beautiful gold and floral leather handbag is on loan from my daughter, although I may have forgotten to tell her that.

I'm wearing an old faithful too, in the shape of this fairisle cardigan (H&M) along with a ruffle blouse that I found in a charity shop. The nutmeg boots (from Office last year) are making another appearance this week, but that's because they seem to work with so many pieces in my winter wardrobe. I've added some matching rings and my string of genuine green pearls as well as my favourite sunglasses by Quay Australia.

In my last post (see here), I portrayed the highly dressed up, elegant version of myself which always has me holding back a giggle as that's not the real me. Today, sitting on this rock I felt an urge to be a tad more boisterous and this playful notion is just brewing here...

Hooray for International Women's Day!

There! I just had to get that out of my system.

These little chaps weren't in the least bit perturbed by my antics.

As I said, this is one of my favourite beaches for an early morning swim. The tide is high, the sun just coming up and I've had a swim across the bay and back before I head off to work.

Anna x

Stretch, roll, Popeye...

What on earth? you're asking yourself. Well, this was my mantra for cracking a smooth freestyle stroke with bilateral breathing. OK, switch off now if you're bored of my swimming saga. And for those of you who remain, here's the location where I've spent my mornings for the past two weeks. 

Our local spa with indoor swimming pool has been my playground for the duration and it's been such a contrast to the sometimes wild, but always very cold, sea where I've swum all winter.

But let's rewind a bit to explain how why I suddenly changed tack and chose the soft option last month.

My new found passion for swimming freestyle was ignited by the top two books which I recently read. Previously, all my swimming has been using breast stroke, albeit a strong one, but I've been aware of the fact that it's the least energy efficient of all strokes and therefore I've been working harder than I really need to. Like the author of Leap In, Alexandra Heminsley, I've wanted to achieve the graceful, languid stroke that's performed by long distance swimmers. After first of all hearing her talk about the book on the radio, and then reading the story of how she moved from one to the other, I decided that it might just be within my grasp too, to improve my ragged breathless front crawl into something sleeker. The record breaking swim undertaken by Sean Conway in his book Hell and High Water was further inspiration for me. Longer swims now beckon me, although nothing quite as epic as his.

And so it was just a week into my month's staycation that I ordered Championship Swimming and at the same time I resurrected the Swim Smooth DVD that I've had for a couple of years without viewing. (When I say without viewing, what I actually mean is that at the first attempt I fell asleep after the first 10 minutes, I'm embarrassed to admit.) After successfully watching it all the way through it soon became apparent that I wouldn't be able to perform these drills in the sea for obvious reasons, the main one being the current temperature of about 9 degrees. I joined the spa for two weeks and the hard work began. Inspiration was in place, perspiration and dedication came next.

At 10 o'clock every morning I was to be found poolside with earplugs, goggles and cap in place. The book became my Bible with notes scrawled all over to remind me what I'd seen on the DVD. Swim Smooth proved to be transformational; the basic mechanics of the stroke are broken down into drills that are to be repeated until they become second nature. Hence, stretch, roll, Popeye, the three counts that make up the stroke. We all remember Popeye of course and that's the best way to suck in a good breath whilst lying on your side. In fact, I'm not sure why front crawl is named such, as the stroke is mostly performed rolling from one side to the other with the minimum of time being spent on your front. 

Yesterday I posted a snippet of my freestyle on Instagram which made me very proud indeed. I don't know when the stroke came together, but I do recall moments where, like a dance step that suddenly clicks, I felt the stretching roll become a steady rhythm that made time for the breath without gasp or panic - I was indeed swimming smoothly!

The spa offers all sorts of diversions apart from the pool - a sauna, jacuzzi, steam room in addition to a gym, relaxation room, shop and treatment rooms for massage and beauty treats. My own particular reward for an hour of swimming was to retreat to the steam room for 15 minutes of bliss. I will miss the soft option when I stand on the beach this morning facing the chill Atlantic ocean. Wish me luck!

Hell And High Water by Sean Conway see here.

Leap In by Alexandra Heminsley see here.

Swim Smooth DVD see here. 

Championship Swimming by Tracy McFarlane Mirande see here.

Island Leisure Spa see here.

Anna x

Winter coat

Yes, it suddenly dawned on me that any minute now we're going to be embracing all that is spring and I've yet to show you my new winter coat. My daugther Sasha bought it for my Christmas and it's been a fine addition to my winter wardrobe. This slim fitting leopard print coat comes from Tesco of all places and was in the sale for about £15 I think. I pointed it out to her when we were shopping together et voila, there it was on Christmas day!

I've worn the coat today with these fabulous orange satin disco pants from the Conscious Collection at H&M from quite a few years ago adding this mohair sweater by Diesel which I've also had for years. It's got a tiny bit of itch to it, so I always pop a vest top underneath to make it more comfortable. The ginger and spice colours of the look were just calling out for my nutmeg suede boots from Office and I finished it all off with my heavy gauge gold necklace (another gift from Sasha) along with some old rings. Oh, and let's not forget my old faithfuls - sunglasses by Quay Australia.

The winter has evoporated once again and I'm aware that our season on the island is just beginning again. I'm pleased that I've managed to get out and about in between the winter storms to capture some new backdrops for you. This setting is in the woodlands just above the church, looking out across Old Grimsby and onwards to Men-a-Vaur rock. One of my blogging friends, Julia from When the girls rule blog (see here) has asked to see more of the island - well this little corner is mainly populated by holiday cottages, but also is where the church, community centre and primary school are all located. My son, Jamie lives in a tiny bungalow at Old Grimsby where a lot of the young members of staff are housed in flats and staff accomodation. Our winter population is about 150, but that almost doubles in the summer when the seasonal workers arrive. With no shopping malls, night clubs, fast food joints or other temptations, the island is the perfect location to work for a summer and save up. Some, like me, come for a summer and fall in love, not just with island life, but with an islander, and never leave.

When I arrived on the islands (in 1978) Round Island Lighthouse was permanantly manned but is now operated remotely. On a stormy day the waves crash onto the rocks below and can break over the buildings on the island, sometimes obliterating the lighthouse completely. The sight can be exhilirating and is a great reminder of how tiny and insignificant we are at the hands of nature.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x