Walkabout

Well eventually I girded up my lallies and got myself out and about in the Ted Baker frock. There I am sat sitting there watching the world go by as you do when the little old lady next to me asks me about my bracelets. I've been sitting here she says looking at them and realised they are made of safety pins with beads threaded on them. Yes I say. I think about the next bit before I say oh my partner made them. Well I didn't want her thinking strange thoughts if I said my wife had made them.
Off the bus at Selfridges and a nice wander. Searched the food hall for some hibiscus tea to no avail, I wonder where, apart from Fortnums or Harrods I can get some. I do a tour of perfumery. I'm looking for a palette of eyeshadows. I don't want separate pots but apart from Revlon no one except Chanel seems to do them. Well I know MAC does but they have far too many colours and are aimed at makeup artists. It doesn't help that I'm appaulingly colour blind so I need help with colour co-odination. Then its up the escalator to Womens fashions and the shoe department. Oh those Gina shoes. So shparklay and dainty and oh so expensive. Far to much for an OAP like me and the same goes for these delish offerings....



Selfridges done I venture into Oxford Street. Its getting crowded as midday aproaches. I pop into John Lewis. Up to Womens fashions. They have the Ted Baker frock I love but not the matching handbag which is disappointing for me but not my bank balance. I go up to the fourth floor and into haberdashery to see if they have any nice summer material and they have, one, that is all that takes my fancy, that is until I see this bolt of white lace with hand embroidered daisies and beads. Still at £300 a metre I can't see a frock being made from it. I go up to the fifth floor, a quick look at the Nikon lenses, mmm the 18-105 looks rather tasty. I leave before I spend. Off to luggage. With the reduction in size of hand luggage by airlines it would seem a good idea to get two medium sized cases and pay for them to go in the hold and to be hands free.
So I exit John Lewis and into a hot and sunny Oxford Street, stroll along with the lunchtime crowds and dive up St Christophers Place and into Selfridges via Miss Selfridge. I get waylaid by the Ted Baker concession, again not only no handbag but no frock either! I cut through the food hall and into Marks and Spencer. A troll through womens fashions and I see a larger than lifesize picture. An absolutely gorgeous jacket, white with small flowers. Off I go on a hunt, twice round the Per Una department and........ nothing. Why oh why do shops do this, its isn't the first time and I bet it won't be the last, it is sooo infuriating! Aaaanyway I make my way up to fashions on the next floor and nothing takes my fancy so its down to the basement to get something for lunch. Mmmmm a NY deli pastrami sandwich and a little drinkie and its off to the bus stop and home. So I'm sat sitting there, as you do, on the bus, munching, and I think do I carry on to Brent Cross or not? No, go home and go by car, that will make it easier to get back. I'm about to leave when I hear the front door open. Madame has returned. After telling her of my adventures of course I've gone off the idea of Brent Cross and retreat to the garden.

At last

Well at last I have used the new camera in anger instead of just fiddling about and playing. Good feature is the remote can stay active for far longer so it gives me time to change outfits etc. As with everything, until you get used to it there are pro's and con's and it is just a question if the pro's outweigh the con's
Can't wait until the new card arrives for it, I'm restricted to about 150 pictures until then. Who would ever have thought that in days of yore when I got a 400mb drive for the old PC, and I thought I'd never need another, that you would be able to get 32gb on a tiny card ! Mind you in those days a digital camera wasn't even a twinkle in anyone's eye, let alone a picture being 24mb.

I was going out today, posh frock and all but have decided that the front garden needs my attention more. It is rather overgrown and scruffy, to the point where someone knocked and asked if we needed it doing. Plus of course the postman is expected with goodies although of course if one plans for their arrival you are assured that they will arrive the next day.

They do and they don't

A little miffed, but only a fraction. The new camera, some of the lenses don't work with it. Well they do but they don't autofocus, thankfully they are not the ones I use and in reality are not mine, they are madame's. Unfortunately one of them is the Tamron which is a home picture favourite but its range is covered by two other lenses that do autofocus . The other two are telelphoto so thats no problem as I very, very rarely use them and thankfully the wide angle zoom does work. I would have cried if it hadn't. Its all down to the fact that this camera requires the lens to have the motor to focus rather than the camera moving the lens. Ah well never mind and they can still be manually focussed thanks to that lovely viewfinder.

Oh this new Flickr is a pain. I just can't be bothered with it. Gone are the daily updates and the constant checking. I just log in once a day, see if anyone has asked to be a contact or sent a message and I log out again. Still I'm just waiting for my refund from the cancellation of my pro-account.

and again

So yesterday off we set for another visit to Oxford St. Off the bus at Selfridges and on another down to South Moulton Street. Madame wants a pair of shoes in the Kurt Geiger sale. I must admit t-girl or no t-girl I have always loved shopping. While madame tries on the shoes I wander the shop and see these wonderful platform high heels... Luckily I'm not 'dressed' and I also have more expensive fish to fry ;-)

Shoes bought we retrace out steps and off to John Lewis. Up to the fifth floor for breakfast and then into radio and TV. Now fortunately or unfortunately, as I stop to look at the cameras. Oh did I mention I was in the market for a replacement of my Nikon D90? No? Well I am. Aaaanyway as I say, fortunately or unfortunately as I am looking for a new one a nice assistant asks if I need help, not only that but he actually works for.... Nikon. By-the-by we find out that it is really pronounced Nick-on and not Nye-kon. Apparently nye-kon is the American pronounciation which as usual, is wrong. Anyway I digress. So I get him to get out a D5200 and very nice it is. I tell him I need a replacement for the D90 as its done 120,000 exposures and he appears to be taken a little aback but agrees it time for it to go. Needless to say it is the last day of the cashback offer so I get one. He also tells us that John Lewis have bought all the remaining stock of the D90 so it indeed has reached the end of its life. I was sorely tempted by the D7100 but apart from the expense why buy something that is bigger than the one you have and heavier?

Two wanderings

Off we go this a.m. to the Hill Gardens. Weather forecast was not auspicious and proved correct. Still we got a few pictures done before it started to spit with rain and we retreated homeward. It seemed that half-terms have started so a few children about but nothing to bother us. Aaaanyway we had lunch then took ourselves off to Brent Cross. Oh my it was sooo busy but again no problem for us. So many nice frocks. Heard as two women passed us in Fenwicks, "was that two men?". Well that's an improvement, she wasn't sure. LOL

Popped into Curry's, not that I'd ever actually buy anything in there but I wanted to get my mucky paws on a Nikon D5100 as I thought it might be too small. The trusty old D90 is coming to the end of its useful life. It was a shame that they didn't have a D5200 to try. I would go for the D7000 but it is even heavier than the D90 and that is one reason I don't carry it everywhere. I was not that impressed with the speed of its focusing but then that is down to the lens it had not the body and I'd only be buying the body.