Time passing. Protecting the world. What to wear in these odd times - or indeed at any time!

Another weekend has come around. They do seem to come quickly. You get to Wednesday and time speeds up so that before you know it Saturday is here again. And today is another of those odd days with completely changeable weather patterns. I went out to run in the rather cloudy but relatively dry early(ish) morning and proceeded to get thoroughly soaked as the heavens opened when I was half way round. I did avoid the flooded path though. Forewarned is fore-armed! By late morning we had some blue sky and sunshine but it didn’t last too long! Such is going to be the pattern of the day, I think!

Yesterday afternoon, in one of the sunny intervals we walked up Lark Hill again, finding it easier than usual perhaps because of wind assistance. Towards the top, to one side we saw clear blue sky and to the other decidedly stormy looking grey clouds. (We did not get rained on though.) Odd weather for odd times! Maybe it’s climate change. Or maybe it’s just our proximity to the foothills of the Pennines.

Here’s one of the odd consequences of lockdown. Global greenhouse gas emissions dropped by about 17% on average in April, as many countries imposed coronavirus lockdowns that left roads deserted, grounded flights and stopped much industrial activity. I got that information from an article about how we should all of us be doing more to help save the planet. Drive an electric car, have solar panels fitted to your house, eat less meat, keep our clothes for longer than a few outings. Do people really only wear some things two or three times before getting rid of them? The only clothes I wear on just two or three occasions are posh outfits for weddings and other such events. There are few of those around at the moment. 

The various advice things that tell you to go through your wardrobe on a regular basis and throw out or give away anything you have not worn for sixth months have got it wrong. Go through your wardrobe and rediscover items that you have not worn for a while and start wearing them again. It’s almost as good as buying new clothes. Okay, some things may have gone out of fashion just a little but wear them with confidence anyway and get a reputation for having your own quirky style! 

And if you keep clothes long enough the fashion will come round again. They were talking on the news the other day about the revival of shoulder pads. It seems that they are becoming popular again. And if you don’t want to buy a whole new outfit with shoulder pads you can buy the pads separately and add them to your existing wardrobe. As so many meetings and interviews are now taking place by zoom and only the top half of a person is usually seen you can put shoulder pads in your T-shirt, add a smart scarf and look as if you are power dressing. It doesn’t matter that you have scruffy trousers, or indeed no trousers at all on your lower half. Zoom can hide a multitude of sins! The way the light falls in our kitchen when I attend my zoom Italian class somehow hides my now extensive untinted roots and makes it look as though I have turned into a kind of blonde. Very odd!

What you wear and what you look like become a little irrelevant as we wait to see what will happen or not with lockdown in the North. Covid is crazy in the Northwest and the Northeast of the country. In the next few days they might decide what to do about it. We shall see. 

In the meantime, life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!