Ladies who lunch, and shop, at Intu Potteries .......

Instyle on tour.  Sort of.  I had the enormous pleasure of inviting two of my lovely friends to lunch courtesy of Intu Potteries.  Back in the day I remember it as the Potteries Shopping Centre.  That was many moons ago when I actually worked in Hanley.  Things have changed a bit since then and all for the better!

The journey only takes a smidge over half an hour and we arrive and park easily within the centre.  After gaining our bearings,  my friends are equally as keen to check out the shops as I am.  No surprises there then.  With over 80 to choose from we plumped for H&M first, again zero surprise, followed by a hack around Topshop, Next, River Island and Schuh to name but a few.  Along with many shops 'The Hive' offers 6 restaurants and we had been invited to choose one, to enjoy a well earned rest, mid way through our day out. 

We agreed that Bon Pan Asian was something new to us all.  

After joining the queue, yes it is a popular venue, we were asked to pay at the front desk before taking our seats.  This was novel and we were bewildered at the price.  When we were told £25.00 we genuinely thought that would be per person.  No it was for the three of us!  Brilliant value, as we were soon to discover. 

We were efficiently shown to our table, which had a lovely view across to open countryside showing a little a glimpse of the old town.  We spotted a bottle kiln tucked in between some factory buildings. The sun was shining.  We were blessed with a good summery day.  Much to our amazement we realised that the buffet style dining catered for everyones taste.   On offer was a large variety of pizza, salads, Asian curries and Chinese offerings.  Chips, chicken nuggets, noodles, the list goes on.  Not only that but you could eat as much as you desired.  You have the ability to return for more savoury courses and dessert.  The puddings, sweets, ice creams and cakes were mightily impressive.  All this in a large space that could accommodate many diners easily.  

We couldn't resist a cocktail.  It's what lunch with your shopping buddies is all about.  I stepped out of my comfort zone (I am a firm white wine drinker.)   After my cocktail I could happily never step back in to that zone!  My choice was the Long Beach iced tea.  Totally scrummy.  I guess we were proving that fab food choices and cocktails are not just for the evening.  We had a wonderful time at midday. 

Refreshed we continued in browse mode, always with a possibility of a sneaky purchase. 

They do say that a picture speaks a thousand words so here are a few that will show you exactly what I'm talking about. 

*Cocktails were paid for separately and are not part of the initial cost at entry *

Thank you to Claire and Izzy for making the day so much fun.  I think we will be returning to the IntuPotteries soon.

It was refreshing to re visit what is a local shopping centre and being so pleasantly surprised at all the refurbishment and updates that are ongoing.  Together with lunch it was a completely relaxed, stress free, experience.

It received a thumbs up from us all.

Helen XxX

This post is in collaboration with Intu Potteries.
Thank you for inviting us.
AD***

Awareness. NET! Our story.

Instagram gives us tiny snippets.  Little windows into other peoples lives.  Some snippets are very well curated, you will only see immaculate make up, tidy rooms with perfectly positioned props and manicured pets. The odd child, with just the right amount of hair ruffle going on,  and marbled tables with flower arrangements to die for.  The iPad or iMac, sitting in the corner of the room, showing the time in a cool, flip clock, retro format, always accompanied by the correct green plant in a dishevelled 'basket style' pot. Moroccan uber cool in summer, Danish (or Swedish) Hygge in the wintertime with a turmeric coffee on the side.  It is all lovely and I do relish images like this.  I know it's not necessarily real life but it is not meant to be.  I can see that.

My posts are directed at the 'what the f*** should I wear today?' element who peruse instagram for some, dare I say, fashion and style, inspiration.  I use it this way.  I have saved an enormous amount of images on my private page and use them daily to decide what to wear. I use a tryptic format because my mirror is not wide enough to give me a decent shot in one.  It is that simple. I like to do selfies because I have complete control and, after years of doing the damn things, I am quite adept at them.  I can do my photos and run an instagram post, including all the hashtags and blurb, in under fifteen minutes.  If I used a small photographer, or clickers, I would be farting about for an awful lot longer. They are honest and effective.

Instagram posts can, however, hide the real truth of many daily struggles.

A few months ago we were due to travel to Yorkshire to visit my Husband's family.  I was really looking forward to a few days away.  I love visiting our Yorkshire contingent.  I had a phone call in the middle of the morning.  The Husband couldn't make it.  He was in abject agony.  I feared a stomach ulcer and insisted he book in for an appointment at the surgery.  He must have felt pretty grotty as I encountered no resistance at this suggestion. He got so bad I urged him to go back the very same day. He did, without any quibble.  The only action was for him to visit a gastroenterologist.  This he did, two weeks later, and a CT scan was organised with some haste. His symptoms had been similar to the cramping that you can experience with, for example, IBS or constipation.  He was also experiencing night sweats,  and flushing can occur,  like a menopausal woman! (This is very important, as you will find out later....)

It was worse than a stomach ulcer.  He had two Neuro Endocrine Tumours in his small intestine. The information took a while to digest (excuse the pun!)

What the hell were Neuro Endocrine Tumours? Well they are rare but not unheard of and terribly miss diagnosed.  Often not found until post mortem. They are not life-style related and, apparently, can occur at any adult age.  I had never heard of them before and the gastroenterologist explained to my, shellshocked, Husband that if the tumours were plain bowel cancer then he could be sent to one of a hundred consultants.  Due to the rarity of his condition he could see one of two specialist. Scary stuff. Luckily his specialist seems to be a bit of a world authority on this type of cancer.

We are now six months down a very long line. He has had many appointments, which have included at least three scans, two of which were PET scans which sound gruesome. An MRI, shed loads of blood tests and, eventually, a four hour small bowel resection and the removal of, as it turned out, six tumours.  sixteen days in hospital, home for a week, suffered with anorexia and extreme nausea, back in hospital for a four day stay, intravenous nutrition, weird hormone injections and finally allowed home again.  He is now two stone under his normal fighting weight but at least he is eating normally and gaining strength each day.  It is amazing how quickly a human body can loose condition.  The loss of fat and muscle mass is astounding.

What scared me were the symptoms.  The GP, I have recently found out, was astounded at his final diagnosis.  It shouldn't be this way.  After much googling (I know it is one of THE most dangerous things to do) we have come across quite a lot of information.  My greatest concern is that it seems many women do suffer from Neuro Endocrine Tumours (NETs) but are diagnosed far too late. The symtoms are spookily similar to menopausal ones (remember me mentioning the hot flushes!!!) The symptoms are also similar to bog standard IBS!  I would suggest pushing for further tests if your IBS symptoms pop up far too regularly.  If caught earlier enough it can be cured or managed.  As the name suggests the cancer is closely linked to the Neuro Endocrine system (hormones.)

It is rare (only 1600 cases in the uk last year)  but it is important to raise awareness because it does happen.  I had never heard of it before and I am surprised at the vague, wishy washy symptoms. It is shocking in it's similarity to many other complaints.

The NET patient foundation have an Instagram page.  I want to raise awareness, we didn't expect this to darken our doorstep!

I am linking up with my friends at Cheshire Pressed.  They sent me this fabulous T Shirt, as a bit of fun at the launch of my Hashtag.  I asked if it could be produced to raise some funds and awareness.   John, at Cheshire Pressed, thought it a good idea.  I am grateful for his generosity and kindness.

The #rockitdaily T Shirts will be available in women's and men's sizes and will be priced at £19.99
100% of the profits will be donated to the foundation.  Thank You, in advance. Visit cheshirepressed via Instagram.  I wear mine A LOT!!! It is the perfect T Shirt shape, which is a huge bonus.

I don't want to put the wind up anyone.  God forbid but, like anything, knowledge is power. If you feel something is not quite right, keep going and get further checks done.

 Information, about the Tee shirts, will follow soon.   I wear mine with pride.  I am 50 and I can honestly say that I am 'rocking it' more now than I did twenty years ago!  It is never too late or, indeed, too early to start.

Keep safe, please don't worry, but be aware.

Love Helen XxX

You will find much more information at

www.netpatientfoundation.org
and on Instagram
netpatientfoundation

Instagram cheshirepressed  (Sustainable clothing made from organic and recycled materials)

www.cheshirepressed.com

Facts and fillers. A vague beauty post.

I have pondered about writing this post because I have waffled, a bit on this subject, on my Instagram stories.  I have kept the 'fess up' monologue, it's tucked away in one of my highlights (about me.)

People, in the main, are extremely kind and polite when commenting on Instagram.  I have had many women saying very complimentary things to me, so I thought it important to be totally honest and say that it ain't all completely un-aided.   I am no Katie Price either!!!!

I am aged 50 and 7 months.  I am 5 foot (nearly) 7, but I guess I will start shrinking soon!  I have always weighed  somewhere between 9 stone 3 and 9 stone 12.  Fluctuation is the name of the game. I am about a size 10 but judging by some of the sizing changes,  in our wondrous high street shops,  I can be anything from XS to a Large. Go figure? Literally.

I had nothing done before the age of 40.  I think this quite important.  I dread to think what some girls will look like who start on the injectables way before they even hit 30.

I started with a bit of botox.  I then had my nose to mouth lines filled.  I have had that done twice and the last time must have been a good 5 years ago.  It has not been repeated.  I ceased botox injections last year and I haven't had anything for a good 7 months.  At the beginning of 2018 I lost quite a lot of weight after exceeding my normal range by a stone!  I. Felt. BAD.  I went on to the Cambridge Weight Plan and dropped all the weight I needed and have not put it back on again.  The best thing,  to come from this plan,  is the amount of water that I now consume every day.  I am convinced it is the key to wellbeing.    Anyway, I digress, I decided to have a bit of filler in my cheeks to combat the hollow look of weight loss.  It did the trick and, again, it is something that I have not felt the need to repeat.

I must say that also, at the beginning of 2018,  I changed my dentist.  This was a revolution as he opened up the arena of whitening and teeth shaping.  I believe that my new dentist improved the look of my teeth greatly.  I need to whiten, again, and I will get round to it as it does look fantastic.  It does, however, fade too.  I am sure that, subconsciously, all my treatment activity was due to my looming 50th,  in the September of 2018.

After seeing the 3 point rhino procedure,  on Lydia Millen's You Tube channel,  I took the plunge with it in June of last year.  I thought the results looked phenomenal.  It is a magnificent innovation. At the same time I bit the bullet and went for a smidge of lip filler, a procedure that I had previously resisted on a couple of occasions.  I was more than chuffed with both.

I reckon I am about as vain as anyone else.  I'm not obsessed with my looks.  I am, however, very keen to reduce the amount of time I spend 'faffing about' in front of the mirror in the morning.  I am afraid I am not the type to bung on any old shit, scrape my hair back and go.  It is just not me. I like making a bit of an effort.  I don't want to be sluggish. Anything that I have had done reduces this 'faff' time enormously.  I have lash extensions (no mascara, praise the lord!) I've had my eyebrows micro bladed (no fucking about trying to draw the correct shape on.)   My nose is good to go and my lips don't need much more than lip salve.  A light dash of BB cream,  a bit of contour shade and blush and I'm good to go.

We are all different in our approach.  I am not a slave to creams, lotions and potions.  I never have been.  I am a simple wipes, Olay with an SPF 15,  type of woman.  I use a mild retinol serum at night, if I can remember, or I bung on a bit of St Tropez purity to give me some colour in the morning.  I do not sit with pots of expensive anything.  It is a waste of money, in my humble opinion.  Drink more water, that is better than anything else that you can put on your skin.  I slather on Nivea lip balm.  I hate dry lips.  Perhaps I need educating?  Perhaps I should be slavishly slapping on £100 a time creams?  I prefer to spend my money on other things.

Anyway, here are the photos........ A trip through time.........

The Mr, in the photos, is my very adorable big Brother.

Rocking mustard, even at aged 3!

18. Say no more. 

Portugal. Yes,  we slept on beaches!

Older and thinner. Aged about 28. I think I was going through a divorce. 

My gorgeous Aunt and Mum. Look at me, green jeans?

NOSE of the large variety and lips of the small. 

Hmmm I look knackered. 

I just look pinched and severe.  Grumpy, even. 

New nose and lips

and new nose again

Much perkier!

 I never liked my nose.  I didn't hate it but I never particularly liked it.  I am now so happy with the shape it is untrue.  It is a small but massive change.  If you feel like it, go for it!  All you have to do is check out Dr Ayad Harb's instagram and you will be blown away.  I guarantee it. The lips are a bonus.

If you would like to know any further information feel free get in touch.  I will help all I can.  And if you have any potion and lotion advice please do share.

Love

H XxX

An mildly upholstered 50 year old.   :0)

Followers for cash ........

I have expressed my thoughts on this before.  In fact, I bang on about it quite often.

I have a question and it is one word... 'WHY?'

It makes no sense to me. I have had a presence on Instagram for 5 years now.  I have, admittedly, dipped in and out and I am by no means a serious 'blogger' or 'Infuencer' (Shite term if ever there was one.)

I started when a lot of the now 'Insta Royalty' began their Instagram journeys.  I am not remotely bitter as they have all worked their socks off.  All credit to them.  What makes me balk is the number of accounts that amazingly gain thousands of followers, seemingly, overnight.  Well, ok, not overnight but over a slim few months.  I post regularly.  I use stories, heck I even do the odd sponsored post and I am still a good 1200 away from the holy grail of 10K.  I may never reach it but, if I am being totally honest, I am not devastated about this because I know a large proportion of my followers are genuine.  I am followed by some great accounts and I am thrilled that we interact in a witty, kind, generous way.

I use an analytics tool to check on my status and growth.  I do this because it interests the nosey sod in me.  It also tells me that not all of my followers are genuine and I know this to be fact.  It is easy to tell the robots out there and they fall by the wayside pretty quickly.  They do this, of course, unless you happen to be paying for their presence.  I believe that companies use real accounts but ones that have been set up to hike figures.  A women, who shall remain nameless, once contacted me to say that she could spike my likes on my previous days post.  Before I could respond she then prompted me to take a look at it.  The likes had gone through the roof and I told her to stop, immediately.  She did but the extra likes took a couple of weeks to disappear.  I was incredibly cross. Bloody cheek.  It is not my style and anyone who does it should be ashamed of themselves.  It's like buying a husband, well not quite like buying a spouse but you know what I mean.  These 'pushers' can be quite forceful and borderline aggressive if you turn them down.  NOT ON!  I also observe that these types have followers in the hundreds rather than the thousands??? Confused dot com.

So how do you spot the fake/dodgy accounts.  Easy, they love flowers. They like using nothing but emojis, although I am guilty of using many of them too. They comment with stunners like:- hey beautiful or lots of bunches of flowers, did I say they adore flowers.  You can sometimes get a solitary 'hot' flame or a huge sentence in a foreign language.  A kiss and the tulip are also favoured. I could go on but I think you have more than likely seen them.

Sore thumb springs to mind!

A nice array of dodgy accounts

This bee will always buzz round my bonnet I'm afraid.

I'll just keep posting and commenting and, generally, having a lot of fun with this platform.  I have to try and ignore some of the dishonesty and blagging.  I am surprised that retailers don't look into individual accounts with a bit more scrutiny. You will notice engagement drop when they try and run a 'competition.'  Bots don't understand competition instructions and rules.

 Get using genuine Instagram accounts with real followers!!

Here is a bit of a roundup of my favourite outfits.   I have to say that I am still very much enamoured with GrungeMama.  I have also been very pleased with some recent purchases of jeans from Zara and my brown Mango boots are so useful.  A BIG thumbs up for them.  I don't like shopping in H&M stores but adore the online experience.  I am about to try on some tops that arrived today.  My Mothers Day gift, to myself, was the latest in a line of Holland Cooper blazers that love living in my wardrobe.

I have also decided to start an Instagram hashtag, the details of which are on my Insta profile page.

It is just for fun because at my age I really do try to 'ROCK IT' everyday.

Love and Peace.  Helen. XxX

My latest Insta Fave

Grungemama

Yes, all you have to do is look her up on Instagram.  I really shouldn't be telling you about her as I want to buy all her stock and not let you have any of it!

Selfish, me, never.  I am a nice person so I will tell you all about how I found her.  Another wonderful Instagrammer put the seed of an idea in my head.  She had purchased, in the sale, a Zadig and Voltaire Rock & Roll jumper in beige.  I didn't know they came in beige.  I have an old black one from Hush (a couple of years old.)  I am so into my oversized jumpers,  I almost don't want winter to come to an end.  That's got to be quite good, hasn't it?  Actually revelling in the dank, dark, cold weather?  Anyway,  I digress 'A LA' Ronnie Corbett.  I searched to see if I could find the R&R sweater and located a sale one at Selfridges.  The jumper was sale price but still £224.00!  I sucked a fair amount of air through my ageing teeth and decided to give it a go.  They had my size.  It seemed like fate.  Please tell me I am not the only saddo who does the fate thing?

I continued with my normal come day, go day life which includes continually perusing Instagram for further inspiration.  I came upon the Grungemama feed and was thrilled to find some similar jumpers, at considerably less cost, on her website.  I was intrigued.  Just call be Hercule.  I found out that Natalie, the lady behind Grungemama, actually did a stint at Zadig & Voltaire. Well sit me down and force feed me donuts! Aha that explains a lot, I thought.  I don't know at what capacity she worked there, she could have been on the shop floor for all I know, but there was a connection that seemed to fit.

Before I knew it I was feverishly ordering not one but two jumpers (similar to the R&R ones, but not the same) a pair of jeans and a cardigan, all for less than the price of the Z&V Selfridges offering.  By some weird twist of fate I went on the the Selfridges website to track my order status only to find that nothing had moved and that they seemed to be awaiting a payment from PayPal.  This made no sense but it gave me the opportunity to cancel the order, which I did.  No messing.

After my order it took about a week for the items to arrive.  This was fine as I was for warned. I have no problem with this when items are travelling from Southern France!  My only criticism, of the website, was the vagueness with the sizing.  I am ANAL and love to know, as near as damn it, what size I should be ordering.  A few panicky messages, via Instagram,  later and a phone call ( I fucking told you I was anal!)  I decided to order the jumpers in S/M and the jean in a Medium.  Bob on by the way.  I was, literally, tapping my fingernails waiting for everything to be delivered to my business address.  I was NOT disappointed.  I love, love, love it all. I will order from the website in the future, I am sure.

THIS IS ONE, VERY GOOD, REASON WHY I ADORE INSTAGRAM.  If you can ignore the odd weirdo, wanting to befriend you, it is actually a lot of fun. ( Just block and fuck them off btw.  Easy Peasy.)

So just to reiterate,  I bought The above jumper (less than £60.00) in 2 colour ways (a black and a beige) the jeans (Less than £50.00) and a cardigan, which I haven't worn as yet. Everything for less than the Zadig & Voltaire jumper that was going to come my way, had Paypal not cocked up!)

Cheesy Grin.

Thanks for reading.  I don't know whether anyone reads blogs anymore, but I enjoyed doing it!

Peace and Love.

Helen.

XxX

Schoolgate Style? Tribal........

I'm not talking about a new fashion trend.  I am an older mum.  I was ecstatic to give birth, to my darling daughter, at the age of (just) 40.  She was a delightful and most welcome gift.  I was convinced that I would remain childless.  I had many invasive and unpleasant tests to see if it was 'me' that was faltering.  My Husband had to produce a semen sample.  THAT WAS IT.  How unfair (wanker, literally!)  As I headed towards the age of 40 I was starting to become desperate.  I took pills, I had a course of acupuncture and made the husband shag me at every available moment ( when ovulating, obviously.)  Nothing.  NADA. Zilch, for many a month that dragged on into many a year.  I had a couple of miscarriages but they were 2 years apart.  What was going on?  I simply think that between us,  my husband, and I, were plainly sub-fertile.  Nothing was technically wrong although my cilia were compromised.  Now they are the little hairs that populate the Fallopian tubes and usher the egg, on it's travels, down to the womb.  It was my fault then. Maybe.  I hit the cut off.  It was Christmas 2007 and I thought to myself that if I didn't conceive by the New Year I would not be able to have a child before I turned 40.  I decided to give up, get fit and enjoy my Skiing holiday booked for the February.  I totally forgot about getting pregnant. Low and behold when I was on that ski holiday I was, indeed, about 3 weeks pregnant.  The body is an amazing thing.  During the holiday I really didn't feel like getting absolutely mullered, as was the norm, but took to drinking a hot chocolate and having a kip at around 4.30pm.  Yes, Apres Ski, get totally pissed as a fart time.  Not for me, the need for an afternoon nap was overwhelming. As I say, the body is an amazing piece of kit!  I returned home, from a fantastic week of skiing, to go on a buying trip.  At the time we were still running the ladies clothing shop we owned in Sandbach.  I. FELT. LIKE. SHIT.  I was full of cold but it dawned on my that my period was overdue.  Could it be? Yes, yes, yes.

I experienced a relatively uneventful pregnancy and a reasonably straightforward birth.  We did have a touch and go moment when the salad servers were required and an episiotomy was called for.  I was a bit out of it by this stage so really could not have cared less.  If they had turned up with farm equipment I would have been as happy as Larry.   I was besotted when the little one was born.  I really could not believe that I was a mum.  I am not mumsy in the slightest, you know the clucky women who attract children to their ample bosoms. Not me at all. Over the years I have learnt, grown and I am still learning.  Every day is a challenge but one that I am up for.  A bigger challenge has been the school politics.  Fuck Me, what a nightmare.  I thought I had left the bullies behind many moons ago. HOW WRONG WAS I! Giving birth, in comparison, was a breeze.

Do you remember when a lot of blogs ran with the theme of 'schoolrunstyle' or 'schoolrunmum?'  No wonder they re-branded.  What a pit of poo.  I would not want to be associated with the school run on my blog.  Den of vipers.  I have to say, as a disclaimer,  I have quite a few glorious friends that I have met at school but a lot of them are the rummest I have ever come across and I have had my fair share of run ins.  I have been googling the 'gangs' of mothers that appear at the school gates but I have to disagree with what has been catalogued.  I find that the alpha mums are not necessarily the high flying, immaculate mothers.   Far from it.  Some of the Alphas almost look like they are under the radar.   I am one of the mums that makes an effort.  I do it because I want to.  I like to look nice and be ready for the day.  I get up early, sort everything out for my daughter and wear something that makes me feel good.  I don't always have a reason.  Quite often I am at home for the day but I like to use the clothes that I have and it makes me feel better.  I try and smile and I try to be a nice person.  Sometimes being nice gets you absolutely fucking nowhere, trust me.  I will continue to try to be nice though.  My focus is my daughter.  She sometimes finds friendships and school life hard and it breaks my heart that the reality is that this shit can continue into adulthood. It should not be like this but there is no accounting for others behaviour.  Some of them are still stuck at being seventeen themselves.  The 'head girl, mean girl' crappy mentality. They need to GROW UP.  It's a good job that I am now totally confident in myself and my true friendships. I feel sorry for the mothers who don't have the confidence that I do.  It is a minefield and if you are about to enter into this stage, in your' life, my advice would be to keep your' head down and smile.


Now, how about fashion?  Lets look at how things develope over many months.  I started taking the clothes 'selfies' years ago.  I do look back and cringe a bit.  It really has taken a long time to master the technique and I am still learning.  I just like putting things together.  It is part of me and whether it is school run cool or not I will continue to do it.  I am a school run mum that decides to look half decent in the morning. End of.  Having said that most would think I look a scruff bag, judging by the photos below.  I guess that is the fashion in 2018.  I don't know what my Mother in Law would have made of the ripped jean look.  She was super fashionable but in a very classic way.  Certainly doing the original blog and then jumping onto Instagram has helped with my confidence and self esteem.  Funnily enough the photos below are about as dressed down as I get!

School Run Mum ready to do battle.  (I am joking.)

Shopping my wardrobe and hugging an old and very faithful Prada bag.

In the beginning we had crap poses and blurred photos.  It all takes time, oh yes. And how I laugh at the detritus in the background.  You live and learn! 

We'll just leave those there.  I have had so much fun, over the past 6 or 7 years but it is only recently that I am completely comfortable with my own style.  Good things come to those who wait, I guess.

Now we have the run up to Christmas.  Keep warm and safe. Helen XxX

WHY?

Being half a century old usually means excusing myself using the reason for stupidity and, quite frankly, bizarre occurrences being down to the menopause.  I don't even know if I am actually experiencing the menopause but I can't think what else it could be.  Being forgetful, cantankerous and impatient are the top three at the moment with tearful following closely behind.  Ageing doesn't worry me.  I am a bit vain, but no more than most.  I still feel fairly youthful and, thank the lord, my sense of humour is intact (although this is pushed to the limit every morning with the school run and certain tools at school!)  I digress.  What this post is about is the strange and wonderful thing that is posting on Instagram daily.

My Instagram is mainly clothing and fashion based.  Occasionally the odd dog makes an appearance and very occasionally you may see a member of my family (shy lot!). I do it for the fun of it and, as I have said before, if I didn't I would slink back into wearing Ugg boots, jeans and a plain jumper/T shirt (weather dependant) all the damn time.  I live in the middle of nowhere and would end up talking to myself.  I have great interaction with a large number of fellow, like minded Instagrammers. In short,  I bloody love it.

I am part of a WhatsApp group, too, and there has been murmurings of late that the dreaded algorithms are all over the shop.  A lot of us are experiencing a loss of followers and a dip in engagement.  Now please don't think that this is something I'm obsessed with, it is not.  I merely note that funny things seem to be going on and when your' working hard to develope a genuine, friendly, following it upsets the applecart. I am not alone and I have been informed that Instagram are having a clear out.  It looks like they are attempting to reduce the number of fake, and down right abnormal, accounts that have sprung up.  It should all settle down by mid December so I am keeping my fingers crossed.  I don't like not seeing accounts that I really do want to see on my feed.  I don't appreciate endless sponsored posts and adverts being bumped before the accounts I prefer seeing.  Anyway, there is bugger all we can do about it, I just get a bit bothered if friends think I have switched off.  This is not the case, I just don't always see their posts. Another thing that annoys the hormones in me!

Last night was an excuse to start the Christmas celebrations early.  Off to The Cholmodeley Arms with some school mums.  I was happy to be wearing my new T Shirt from a little company called Bypollyannaclothing.  I met Polly at a recent event at Black White Denim, in Wilmslow. A nicer person you'd be hard pushed to meet and I was most happy to order one of her t-shirts as soon as I returned home.  Another purchase on the day was one of the, soon to be, iconic sweaters by Kat Farmer X Orwell Austin.  The range, with True Colours emblazoned on the chest,  is a first collaboration for Kat and Orwell Austin.  The day highlighted the National Autistic Society with Kat poised to become a patron for them.   All  her profits from the sweater will be going straight to the society.  A noble gesture and a heartfelt one,  from Kat,  as she is passionate about the cause. The day was a total delight.  I took Helen (Simpson House) along with me, which made for a great chat session on the journey from Shropshire.  I finally met Jo, at Black White Denim and had a good mooch around the boutique.  It is just the right mix of edgy and classics.  Jo and the team are a delight. Finally,  I got to have a chat with Jess, the lady behind Orwell Austin.  One of the nicest, again, that you could wish to meet.  All this activity is because of Instagram.  Friends old and new.  A thumbs up from me.

Black White Denim

Disco Darling T Shirt £25.00

True Colours Sweater from Orwell Austin

Jess (Orwell Austin)

Kat, Helen (Simpson House) Jo (Black White Denim) 

Out Out.  Sorry it's a bit dark. 

All in all Instagram is about friendship and connection, for me anyway. All my School Mum friends are Insta active too because there is no getting away from it.  At least we have kicked off the countdown to Christmas.  There is nothing like starting early!!

Keep warm and well.  Helen XxX