What a Rotten Night

A REALLY HORRIBLE NIGHT last night. Woke up in heavy sweats several times. And cold. And over-hot. Opened the window to attemptedly soothe things. Relied on hot chocolate with added lemon to try and equalize temperatures a little more and found myself getting up to pee about 20,000 times in consequence.

It was -5C outside. I have double-glazing and heating that rarely seems to go off so perhaps that's what caused the odd hot-cold feelings...

This morning I felt little better. Soon found myself on the loo "executing" the stickiest, most disgusting diarrrhoea. (You really wanted to know that, I know. For further textural and perfumier-type details on the matter click here..!)

I "obtained" a current issue of Tatler magazine, a publication dedicating itself to "high society" people and happenings from the local Chinese takeaway of all places... (what on earth it was doing there I'll never know. I just cannot see Chinese immigrants having any interest in London "Society". But hey, it takes all types...)

I leafed through this with fascination mingled with repulsion. Even their idea of who's "it" wrankles me. They're so old school, obsessing about "hons" (ie children of the aristocracy), minor royalty and the horsier, sloanier end of the upper middle classes. I met a lot of this type at university and ended up with a complex. Not that I didn't feel "good" enough; just that the British social scale has only accentuated in me a feeling of never really belonging. People from lower down constantly assume that I'm somehow "posh" ~ but I'm so not. As for the higher echelons, my French classes were full of them and I never quite clicked with their horsey, sloaney outlook. Ho-hum.

What really did grab me in Tatler (apart from the house adverts) was the fine jewellery on display. The magazine is full of it. I love jewellery and would love to work with it. I loathe wearing it. Rings never fit, especially signet types with tops, which can look dodgy anyhow. I've never been tolerant of anything round my neck. I think men's jewellery can be dodgy at the best of times. The best stuff is for women. And this bling-bling's what I love to eye. Years ago, after I'd taken up making fluoro-beads/etc for wear in nightclubs, I was told I ought to do a proper course in jewellery design and I'm thinking that I should do it again.

Mother Hubbs came back from Australia with a one-off yellow and white gold opal and emerald ring. It's really funky. And designed specially around the specific shape of that fiery green opal. (Not like the bit of opal I used to keep at the back of a drawer in my school days. Hers is quite wondrous...

The nicest bits of bling from the magazine were from a photo-shoot where ultra-fine jewels were draped over glassware, cakes and other kitchen items. Being: a platinum, diamond, pearl, blue topaz and aquamarine necklace draped over a teapot (p74; December 2008) and a platinum, white diamond, yellow diamond, blue saphire and pink saphire with 30 or 40ct blue sapphire pendant on p72. All the stuff I like is priced the same: "POA"!

(Couldn't find anything quite as chunky as these in "images" but the illustration: platinum, white diamond and pink sapphire necklace with pendant drops shows the order of "bling" we're talking about...)

If you want to see more of what I'm talking about, Harrods do a good selection by all top names...

PS: HEY ~ do you like my new "main page" background colour? #66B5FF pale blue to #ffffff white... About time too! You might well state (that's what I say...) I've wanted pure white infinity for ages ~ it goes really well with many a picture's white background ~ but have been too emotionally constipated to go for it...

MUSIC: KYLIE MINOGUE + NICK CAVE of the Bad Seeds
I'm not too into Kylie, but I like this one:~