Monday 14 March 2022

Getting dressed up. Going goblin mode. A new strain of Covid? Getting married.

Occasionally, yesterday being an example, my daughter or one of the older grandchildren will comment that “grandma is a bit dressed up”, usually amended quickly with “but you look very nice, Grandma”. I decided a while ago, when we were still all going absolutely nowhere, that there was little point in having nice clothes in the wardrobe what don’t get worn. And so reasonably smart stuff is coming out of the wardrobe, depending on my mood. Some stuff is still going to stay there, the stuff that’s too fancy for anything but a wedding or hoity-toity party. But in any case, I’ve always ben a bit of “coordination queen”, no longer quite insisting on absolutely matching shoes and bags but still liking colours to coordinate nicely.


Besides, when people talk about dressing in nothing but tracksuits for the last two years, I have to point out that I’ve not owned a tracksuit since I was mid-teenager. I remember badgering my parents for one when I was about 12 so that I could wear it for sports at school. That was when tracksuits came in basic navy blue and little else. No, I suppose my equivalent of the ubiquitous tracksuit is a comfy pair of trousers, or better still warm leggings, and an oversized jumper. And then the mood to get “all dressed up” pops up and smarter clothes emerge from the wardrobe.


Footwear is a different matter. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times my feet have found their way into anything other than walking boots, running shoes, canvas pumps or slippers. So it goes!


And now I read that many people are “going goblin mode”. This appears to involve working not just from home but from your bed and wearing your pyjamas all day … and presumably the same ones all night as well! It can involve snacking on crisps at 2.00 in the morning. Then there’s eating messy food over the sink because you can’t be bothered to get a plate out. After all, you would only have to wash said plate afterwards! Unless, of course, you just let the plates pile up until there are no clean ones left and finally you just HAVE to wash up. I was reminded of this yesterday when my eldest granddaughter sent me a photo of the collection of cans and bottles of sugary drinks her housemate had consumed - and left the empties stacked up - during the couple of hours my granddaughter had spent at our house. Frequent snacking, grazing constantly, is another aspect of “going goblin mode”. 


Apparently it’s a reaction to “cottage core”, the trend to take up baking and embroidery and crochet in the early stages of lockdown, when we all thought it might last a couple of months and no more. For some people it just went on too long and they got in touch with their inner goblin! Goblin mode! Cottage core! So much new terminology to cope with!


Meanwhile, Sajid Javid is warning us that cases of Covid will rise again. It seems a new variant Deltacron has sneaked in while we have been worrying about wars. It has elements of Delta and Omicron but, despite extra cases and possible extra hospitalisation, we seem to be taking it on our stride. China, however, is fighting a big surge and closing cities down. We’ll see how all of this pans out!


I read in today’s news that Julian Assange is getting married in Belmarsh Prison. Vivienne Westwood is designing a wedding dress for the 50-year-old’s fiancee, the lawyer Stella Moris, and a kilt for Assange, whose parents have links to Scotland. But there will only be four “guests” - two witnesses and two security guards! And it’s not clear yet whether they will be allowed a photographer. All those people who complained that Covid has messed up their wedding plans, please take note!


Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone! 


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