Trip of a lifetime - part two


Early on Monday morning on the 7th of January I'd flown from Newquay to Gatwick arriving just in time for breakfast. I was on my way to the South African Visa Office to apply for a work visa for my upcoming trip to Cape Town. Directions were in my phone and also printed off along with every other document I could possibly need to cover the three weeks I was away from home. The trip to London was a real whistle-stop affair. At the last minute, just as I landed at Gatwick in fact, my friend Ann invited me to join her at home for breakfast. A couple of hours later she accompanied me across London to the visa office where the deed was done. We had a late lunch nearby after which she shepherded me back across the city to deliver me to Euston Station. By teatime I was on my way to Manchester for my Wardrobe appointment the next day. Newquay to London, apply for visa, then London to Manchester all in one day, check!


I spent the night in central Manchester at the Abode Hotel. The sight of this super king size bed, three pillows wide was heaven. Lay a bit of luxury on me baby, if you must!


And yes, a big echo-y bathroom is fine with me too.


After breakfast the following morning I went to find the venue for the wardrobe appointment which was only a few minutes walk away from the hotel. Next, well of course you know what would be next ... a bit of retail therapy! First a couple of charity shops and then TK Maxx. I was very restrained, but found one or two things that were bargains enough to warrant being squeezed into my bags.



I can always find room for another pair of shoes, or two!


It was great to meet up with Paulina again. We were both equally excited about the forthcoming photo shoot. Like me, Paulina works full time (she runs her own cake making business in London), but she has staff and therefore she too had cover for the trip. 


The wardrobe session over, it was time for the creatives to look at shots of the permutations of outfits on all of the models (there were five of us in total) and make some decisions. The tweaking and pinning are part of this session too, although the fitting of an outfit here doesn't always mean it will be worn by that model on the day. See? I'm gradually learning how very fluid this whole process is. Scripts too, can change right up to rehearsals so you never really know who, which and where never mind what is going to happen. By the time I got to the end of the trip to SA I felt I had learnt a lot more about the business than ever before.


By teatime that evening I was on Manchester station on my way to Scotland.



I arrived in Edinburgh about 10pm to find that my hotel, Motel 1, was only 50 metres away from Waverley station. The crisp white sheets were calling, and I didn't resist for long.


This is Milo, guard dog at my sister's house in St Andrew's my next port of call. Don't be deceived by his size - he's a loud and ferocious little fella. Entering or even approaching her house can be a noisy affair, but I can say that once the barking stops, he's a bit of a softie really. Between Wardrobe and departing for Cape Town, I had 10 days to while away so it was a great opportunity to visit Dianne and also see my other sister, Sandra for a couple of days too. Dog walking, charity shopping and lots of talking was how we spent our time together, plus taking a few blog photos too, of course.



I thought the plan was for my shoes to be the star of the show, but Milo had other ideas.


On the 14th of Jan I had another little train journey to make - back to Edinburgh for the night so that I could catch an early train to London to collect my visa. It was obviously vital to the whole trip that I had a visa otherwise I wouldn't be able to travel. I therefore arrived with sweaty palms and a feeling of dread deep in the pit of my stomach. These kind of things have a habit of going wrong for me and I can't help thinking that the pungent aroma of doom precedes me. Sure enough, on arriving at Reception I was tackled about why I was two hours early. Not only that, but why had I altered my appointment time on my paperwork? My response was that this was done by the Manager who had interviewed me as she agreed to an early collection due to the fact that I would be travelling all the way from Edinburgh. The ensuing phone call to her department announced that the woman at the desk (me) had altered her appointment time and was the manager there to substantiate my claim? No, of course she wasn't. The accusation was repeated to other operatives and my countering followed each time. Increasingly I protested, she objected, I became slightly more forceful, and somehow this resulted in my being allowed into the inner sanctum and directed downstairs to the interview room.

However, things didn't improve much at the next stage. I was called forward to the desk and asked for my receipt. This was a photocopy of my passport, plus a printed receipt with my appointment details attached. Why had I altered my collection time? Not me, your Manager did it. Have you had a text to say it's ready for collection? No. The passports don't come in untiI 4pm. Then why was I told to come at 2? I don't know. Neither do I. Much muttering to operative in the next booth. I was then asked for proof of identity.  You have my passport - that's my ID I chirruped. No, she responded, I need your ID, something else, your driving license. I don't drive, I don't have a driving license. You must have ID to collect this. But you have my only ID - you have my passport. I need something else with your photo on it. This wasn't going well. My passport has my photo on it - the receipt has my photo on it - and here's my face. You must show me photo ID. I proffered various other cards (senior rail card, Scilly Travel Club card) and in the midst of this heated exchange a mumbled voice came from the next booth. The interviewer's attitude changed from full on battle-mode to resignation to acceptance.  At last common sense had prevailed - my face did in fact match the photocopy of my passport and I was allowed to receive said passport with visa which somehow had magically appeared. Hurrah! I had defeated the idiocy of bureaucracy and Cinderella was indeed going to the ball!

I virtually skipped around the corner to the Montcalm Hotel where I had arranged to meet up with my blogging friend Jacqui aka Mummabstylish


We spent a lovely couple of hours together, chatting about all things blogging of course and then about my forthcoming trip. We've met before and it was great to catch up with Jacqui in person on her latest news - she's a grandma, being one of the most amazing things, as she looks so blooming young! Or is that just a sign of me getting old? We got the waiter to take some shots of us, but he missed my fab new shoes!


And there was the obligatory selfie of course!


I'd arrived early in Edinburgh the day before and what a super surprise it was to find a huge branch of TK Maxx only minutes away from my hotel. Somehow I got bit carried away and bought a whole new outfit to wear to my lunch date with Jacqui! 



Yes, these were too much of a bargain to be left on the shelf. So very me, I can hear you cry!


The next evening I was back in St Andrews for a couple of nights before it was time for me to make my final journey south. The day prior to leaving,Thursday the 17th, was a busy day for me as I had received a message from the client to say that they wanted me to have my hair cut and it took until the very last day for the instructions to come through. I had done my homework in advance though, and found a swish hairdresser in the town where I'd made an appointment with the salon owner Sophie Butler to style me up, ready for the shoot. 


Sophie did a great job, giving me a very sleek do which she assured me could be roughed up for a wilder look. I had to send some shots through to the client for approval before I left the salon. The cut really enhanced the colour too - no rinses or filters required, hahaha!


I'll be honest with you. I had deep reservations about this haircut. The fringe left me with nowhere to hide and felt very severe for my strong features. I think the style looked fabulous on the model in the proposal, but she was the right side of 30 with a heart shaped face with a button nose and cheekbones you could hang your coat on. Anyway, the deed was done with no time to think about it as I was due to catch a train to Edinburgh within the hour.


I spent the evening of the 17th of January in Edinburgh once more, this time out at the airport. 


Friday the 18th of January had at last arrived! I had an early start for the 8.30am flight to catch from Edinburgh to Gatwick and then a later flight from Heathrow to Cape Town. OMG, my adventure truly was about to begin!

Anna x


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Mail shot surprise


It's a funny feeling to open the mail and see your own face smiling back at you.This mailshot landed on my doormat yesterday which was a lovely surprise. The product launch was a few weeks ago and I've already run a feature about the products (see here). Anyway, seeing this reminded me that I've not shared the behind the scenes shots from the day I spent working on the campaign. Would you like to see them? 


The photo shoot took place in a house in a London suburb. Don't ask me where exactly, as I haven't a clue. I spent the night with my dear friend Ann who lives near Borough Market and the next day I took a taxi, a train and then walked the last half mile to the house down a quiet avenue in a residential area. This is the entrance hall which was a taster of what was to come. The house is a large family home full of both classical features and quirky objects d'art. I must admit that in between shots I did a fair bit of snooping about, taking lots of photos of this extraordinary home.


I was barely over the threshold when this message carved into the mantelpiece struck joy in my heart. Had I just entered my dream home?



Directly opposite the front door this central area joining all of the downstairs rooms leads through to the garden with lawn and sitting areas. A couple of models are being prepped here ready for their shoot as I continued to nosey around.


Flamingos are a fabulous passion that crop up again and again. 



Yup, the obligatory selfie.


The kitchen island is build around a real olive tree. I gawped and tried not to gasp out loud at each quirky aspect of the house and its decor.


And the other end of the kitchen ...


... leads into the garden.


On the veranda is Annee being lined up for her shot.


She's worked for the brand for a while now and looks very much at home in front of the camera.


Yet more flamingos in the undergrowth.


And perched just around the corner was fellow blogger Laurie of Vanity and Me Style. It was lovely to meet up with her again and have a catch up on each others news. We had lunch together and sat out in the sun as we waited for our shoot.



What a great way to protect your outdoor furniture from the weather - cover it in AstroTurf!


We were both in agreement that this was a most unusual and stunning house. We enjoyed the privilege of spending the day in these luxurious surroundings, as the stylists worked their magic and pampered us with the products.




Annee and Amanda, one of the make-up and hair stylists, are loitering outside a bedroom - there was a lot of loitering to be done.



I joined in as I'm not averse to a bit of loitering myself.



The natural light in this bathroom was perfect for the photo shoots.







At every turn and from every angle there was something artistic to see. Someones imagination had run wild in the creation of this home.





The editing suite was located in the playroom which doubled as the changing room, meaning I got the chance to snoop at the proceedings. This is Ruth, the oldest model on the day at 83 - doesn't she look amazing? The brand, Look Fabulous Forever, has truly encompassed all mature women in this campaign.


Next day I was on the train back on my way to the West Country, enjoying the view across the Tamar bridge as we passed from Devon to Cornwall. I spent the night in Truro, although, shock, horror, I had little time to shop in my favourite city.


These motor bikes parked up on Lemon Quay were too colourful to walk past - I'll have one of each please!


Early morning light over St Michael's Mount as captured from the train at the end of my journey.


And there she is, The Scillonian loading up with freight and passengers as she makes ready to leave for the day trip to the islands. My adventure may be over, but the memories remain. It's been a funny old year. If someone had told me in January on my 60th birthday that I'd be featured in three advertising campaigns this year, two of which would show me on TV - well, I'd have laughed in their face. I'm still slightly bemused at how I've pulled this off, but I suppose it just goes to show that anything is possible.

Anna x

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