Out and About in Olney!

Hello every-one I’m back at my desk after another busy week as I started on my run of “We’ll Meet Again” shows. This is to tie in with remembrance and In fact apart from one day I’m fully booked for the month of November and the same again for December. Paul and I did decide some time ago we would take a weeks holiday in November something I’m looking forward to very much.

We will be heading off to York on the 20th November so if any of you out there have any ideas about the places we should visit while we are in York please do let me know. I really want to visit Betty’s Tea Rooms and The Shambles. I’ve also heard there are all sorts of special tours you can go on in town including a couple of ghost walks which sound like terrific fun. After I finish this blog tonight I will be having a look on line but I would love to hear from any of you out there your suggestions and recommendations.

Me with Joe Marling The Poppy Man of Pitstone!

Joe Doing his Bit for the Poppy Appeal!

Lynda With Trusted Underground Man Steve!

Enjoying the Walk Along Portobello Road!

Lynda at What Katie Did!

Shopping for Lingerie!

Grace and Rachel Who Were So Helpful!

In the mean time let me tell you about what I’ve been up to this past week. On Friday I had a morning “We’ll Meet Again” show in the Northampton town of Rushden and afterwards I stopped off for lunch at The Teapot in Onley. Onley is a beautiful market town and full of great character as I sat down and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of home made hot spicy parsnip soup which was perfect for the day. I have many happy memories of Onley as this is the town where I performed my very first professional paid engagement back in 1990. Oddly enough it may come as a surprise to learn my first professional performing job didn’t involve me singing at all. Instead I did a one woman stand up show of poems and monologues in the Joyce Grenfell style and I haven’t looked back since.

After lunch I had an appointment to see my friend Joe “The Poppy Man of Pitstone”.I had promised I would come over and take some photos of him for his facebook page. If you haven’t bought your poppy yet and you live in the local area do make a point to visit Joe. You can catch him every day from 9.30am – 4pm out-side Mason’s Stores in Pitstone with his 1940s Jeep collecting for the Poppy appeal. People come from all over to see him including one man who flew in from Australia after seeing Joe on facebook. So don’t forget to buy your poppy and to wear it with pride this November.

On Saturday I had arranged a visit to London’s Portobello Road. I had booked a fitting at “What Katie Did” a shop which specializes in vintage style underwear as I was in need of a whole new lingerie wardrobe. When it comes to corsets I don’t like buying off the internet and I wanted to be measured properly. I don’t go into London that often but I had wanted to visit this part of town and the “What Katie Did” shop for a very long time. So on Saturday my friend Lynda kindly joined me for a girly outing as we ventured into town.

As you might expect there was work on the Hammersmith and City line so after finding Steve a trusted underground man  we changed to the Central line and popped up at Notting Hill Gate. In some ways I’m really pleased we did as Noting Hill Gate is at the start of Portobello Road which makes for a fascinating walk. There is so much to see in Portobello Road where stylish shops rub shoulders with antique stalls and the people you meet have great character and individuality. My sort of place!

London has a real hustle and bustle about it which I sometimes find a little over powering but not here as Portobello Road is much more on my wave length. The What Katie Did shop sits in Portobello Green and is well stocked. I had quite a shopping list as I splashed out on the Shirley black and gold range which is perfect for my every day and a Merry Widow foundation garment.  The Merry Widow fitted like a dream and will give me the lines I want under my Victorian and Edwardian costumes, but I also have a feeling it will work well under my vintage suits too so a good investment. Part of my going was to be measured for a new corset and I found just what I was looking for in the Luna Extreme which is designed for curvy women like me with extra width over the hips with a tighter waist line.

What Katie Did offer is a wonderful personal service as I was looked after by Grace and the manager Rachel as they found me just what I was looking for. Do check out the companies web-site which is a must for anyone who wears vintage clothes http://www.whatkatiedid.com

This week I’m fully booked with Remembrance “We’ll Meet Again” ATS shows although saying that I have two WAAF and one WRNS to do with much the same next week too so I will leave it here tonight.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

Me With My Bag of What Katie Did Goodies!