The Great Outdoors

Some nice warm weather got me outside enjoying a walk by the canal & collecting elderflowers. There are so many blossoms out now & elderflower is a lovely refreshing drink - we've already been through a bottle and so I have collected 3 bags worth of elderflower which makes about 4 bottles of cordial per bag!!

The cordial is very sweet, but syrup like so you can also use it as a little dressing if you like on things like ice cream and fruit. I'll also be looking at what you can bake with elderflowers! I've frozen the flowers so I have time to come back to it as the flowers are turning to berries and I will be busy making elderberry cordial come autumn time - although be warned it doesn't last long before it turns alcoholic! Speaking of which, I was also going to look at making elderflower wine...

Elderflowers

Poirots Last Cases

Well, after years of watching David Suchet as the unforgettable Hercule Poirot, the last few cases are approaching.

After watching the last episode- 'Elephants Can Remember', I was caught by the fashions of the time (although the novel is based in the 70s), the 20s/30s feel does suit Poirot.

The very distinctive Hercule Poirot - photo: carnival films

Whilst the novels are great to read, the production of Poirot in tv and film has been very popular - not beating her record as the best selling novelist of all time (quite a feat!), but equally they should be noted for the deadication and attention to detail that specifically the tv series has continued to show.

Die hard Agatha Christie fans may well question its translation from novel to screen (as any books moving to screen suffer critical analysis) whilst some changes can be seen as unnecessary, the changes in the latest episode fitted in keeping with the original novel.

I literally finished the novel on Sunday, just with hours to go before the episode - it was a challenge set to me to read the last few novels before the episodes air, we then heard the first episode was on Sunday so I had a week to read it. I'm not the fastest reader, unless a book grips me! And I'm usually reading several books, but I put them to one side and completed my challenge. I could then compare notes with my sister on its translation to screen (just as my mum would.) Overall - storyline and the characters and of course the setting, worked well together.

The fashions do stand out, I think more so nowadays with the increased interest in 'vintage'.

So looking at some 30s fashions -



Smart wear was the style of the day, no casual hoodies back then!

 

Miss Lemon always looks very smart and elegant

 

 

 The styles had begun to change in the 30s from the shorter flapper style dress to longer fitted dresses and collars were very popular too.

 

 

A fabulous 1930s fashion tale comes from Wallis Simpsons wedding dress which you can find out more about at Madame Guillotine. It's not quite what you might deem a wedding dress to look like...

Wallis' wedding dress 1937 - but don't be deceived - the dress was originally blue! Photo from Madame Guillotine


You might want to try this great blog post I found on Poirot from Diamond Stash

Accessories

Accessories

Following on from scarves- a simple, affordable and stylish way toturn your outfit 'vintage', the next obvious follow on is accesories.

Again these are generally inexpensive (unless you go for things such as jewellery made from gold or with precious stones...it'll get pricey then!)

Accessories are also something you can get copies of vintage styles fairly easily, or even make your own.

Since accessories cover several items we'll break it down and start with- Jewellery - see my Vintage Love page