Author: Katherine

Poetry writer and author

Don’t die before you’re dead

5

If you have no interests except  to lie in bed..

why not join an evening class?

Don’t die before you’re dead.

If you’re living all alone how desolate is that?

Go down to the pet shop and find a wicked cat.

If you wanted children but never found their dad.

Why not offer foster care

And love the lost instead?

 Remember we have just one

life and quickly that goes by.

Don’t keep waiting for your fate.

We are all going to die.T

There’s no one love there’s no one job

‘Luck’s what the brave can find.

Don’t sit down and wait for luck

It’s such a waste of time

In a random manner

Learn to be untidy when you’re middle-aged.

Ideas breed right on the page as they are engaged

Take the dog’s tail off the dog. Because you want to wag

Throw your clothes and hats and scarves into a Black bag

Change the sheets just once a year

because we have a drought.

You don’t need a tea pot

You only need a spout.

Take the Guardian everyday

I never read the rest

The Telegraph is too far right and we are going left

Mix the knifes and forks and spoons in a random manner

And toss in your paper knife and a rusty spanner

Can you spend the next 3 years sorting out the house?

We are made of rubber now

We’ll just have to bounce a@

Muddle through the day

A muddled mind is one step on the way

Clarity takes time with thinking rare.

If we run from muddles we’re delayed.

Start with preparation not dismay.

Everybody clings to their own prayers

Before it’s done the laggards want their pay.

The means are like the end in many ways

To understand we must just persevere

Does a baby cry?

Sitting in an ambulance with your knees raised up too high.

Lurching through the traffic ofmade me want to cry

I asked him for some water all they had was red bull “beer”.

I was too dehydrated to produce a single tear,

We saw the Northern suburbs were we going to Golders Green?

I thought we might see Jesus looking rather mean.

In my bright red handbag my phone began to ring.

I was feeling nervous so I nearly bit my tongue.

Hello my dear a woman said

We can’t see you today.

My appointment had beenbeen cancelled

I didn’t know what to say.

NHS unfunded do they want the Old to die?

Am I feeling anxious? Does a baby cry?

Bemused by love

How can love lead into lonely grief?

Why is human life intense but brief ?

Is grieving and the loss that brought it on

The way which human beings come undone ?

Will this teach us that we are of dust?

That we go down to earth as creatures must?

Icarus flew too high when filled with pride.

We must not take such images as slguides.

The worms that we encounter in the grave

Remind us all of Dover’s lonely waves

We are defined by dissolution death

We need no last reminders of our breath

The rippling waves

You are smiling on the pier above the sands
The rippling waves stretch out like children’s hands
You look so strong I cannot comprehend
Your fatal illness and its grievous end
You were not a patient on dry land
You were living well and ” feeling grand”
We crossed the road ; I held your cold thin hand
I suffered so much torment,would I mend?
I saw a fluid shape as dark it pranced
Through the open door it swiftly danced
Slipped in with the wiles of Tudor kings
Hoping they can make it on the wing
I learned with grief , it came to take you back
Across the river wide ,my love, my lack

Believe me

A dead chicken lays no eggs

A bull will never produce milk

You can turn the clock back but you can’t stop time.

Your face will still have wrinkles even if you don’t look in the mirror.

Preistoric people didn’t have contraceptives.

A duck will never send you a bill.

A minnow can’t mate with a trout.

Can a washing machine save you money or time?

With the current shortage of water try to use your washing machine only when it’s full unless you have a half load option. So for example if you live alone you will probably not need to wash your clothes every single day. Because of that you will need more than one set of clothing.

You may need more than one set of better than

Ast one time washing and drying clothes in the in the UK was quite a lengthy procedure. Even now tumble dryers are are expensive to run.

But if you think about it differently you could getaways owning fewer clothes..

A single father with two children who lived near us had almost empty wardrobes because he washed their clothes every night in the washing machine and must have dried them in the tumble dryer although I sometimes did see bed sheets hanging on the line in the garden

After the children went to bed he washed and dried their .clothes

I think many people must be as partly becausw theyvdon’t have enough money to buy a lot of clothes. And hus5.

You may think the clothes will wear out more quickly is there are being washed so much.

But for children it may be ok because they are growing so you don’t want to buy them too many clothes in one size because soon they will be by wearing the next size up.

The advantage of this method is that you don’t have to store many clothes. For adult women it might make life much easier.

Although nowvI have friends in different jobs and they say that the other women have a different outfit on every single day.

If that were me I would buy all my clothes in one colour like blue so they would not know where they were different from the day before l.

Washing machines can be expensive but relatively speaking they are cheaper than they were 10 years ago. And you don’t necessarily have to have the more expensive ones

If you have some spare time and you know the price of clothing and washing machines you could weigh up whether you would actually save any money.

The only very clear way of saving money on clothes it is not to wash them as much

I know if there’s a tiny mark on their clothes some people 0change into a new outfit.

In the past most people could not afford to buy many clothes so sometimes we wore out underwear for several girls because the big problem in Lancashire and Yorkshire is drying the washing. Lancashire is extremely wet and Yorkshire is generally very cold.

So so have a washing machine and a few clothes and the tumble dryer and you will manage ok

If you have a lot of clothes and a washing machine etc who you wouldn’t spend a long time dealing with them but you will spend more of your money and will need more cupboards in wardrobes to sort out your clothes.

If you can’t afford a washing machine then you must be very poor if you live in the United Kingdom

In that case you not own many clothes and you may feel I feel great disadvantage but it’s possible to learn to sew and to make yourself clothes or do many people do and a visit charity shops or second-handshops.

, Or buy and sell on eBay.

Let’s not spend too much time thinking about clothes because they are a means to an end. And that is life is for living and not for washing. You do not need a shower twice a day. And do not wash clothes if they are not dirty,

Put the Bible on the table

Isaac Newton put the boot in.

Marie Curie we adore her to

Albert Einstein gambled wine stains.

Robert Hook always looked.

The Hebrew Bible has gone viral.

David wrote the Psalms of note

Noah made a great big boat.

Cain killed Abel, cancel table.

Harold Wilson give me pills mum.

Why does Plato have no surname?

Aristotle gie us a cuddle.

Margaret Thatcher concord Leicester.

Old John Major do us a favour

Tony Blair Arabs pray.

I have delusions I won’t lose them.

And make me gay oh Lord I pray.

I like sex I like fun can I pat you on the bum?

Mary crosses the road,alas.

Dotty cats
Mary had spotted her 98 year old frail yet virile husband Stan; he was across the main road talking to a young blonde and beauteous woman with a pink briefcase and a set square
Mary ran over the road in front of all the traffic as she was terrified of Stan getting another mistress on top of Annie
Hi,I am Mary, she said boldly yet a trifle nervously as well.
I am called Sabrina. I’m a mathematician too, like you, over for a year from Babylon and Babel University USA
Why,hello,Sabrina.Stan loves clever women and any other sort,artists,cooks,teachers,… and in your case,you also have great beauty,she said indiscreetly.
Hi Mary,Stan told me you were out buying some vaseline in the pharmacy down the other end of the town.He invited me to coffee.
Oh,damn,I must have had a senior moment.It was that Jazz Band that distracted me.I forgot about the Vaseline..
Come on,ladiesno arguing,said Stan as he led them into a brand new coffee shop staffed by delightful smiling Turkish people.He ordered three cappuccinos plus some milk for Emile who was in his backpack with his head sticking out snoozing and dreaming of seeing the Queen in her Palace.
They all sat down by the windows and gazed at the folk passing by in some rather unusual clothing.Emile was sad there were no other cats around but hippies there were a plenty.Has 70’s fashion come back?
Sabrina was wearing a short pink velvet dress on her curvaceous body and green high heeled shoes on her feet and nothing on her legs as it was summer.Even so she was a bit smarter than everyone else.
Don’t you find wearing velvet is to warm in the summer ?,asked Mary.She was wearing a long teal cotton dress and some open toed purple plastic sandals from Italy.
Well,it’s cotton velvet,Sabrina told her.Most in the shops is made from polyester now.I made this myself.I enjoy sewing my own clothes and darning moth holes.Viscose is good too.It drapes well.
I have never took to sewing,Mary told her nervously.I was afraid of the electric sewing machine at school and my mother was very impatient with me.She seemed to think sewing came naturally to females. Still,it’s probably cheaper nowadays to buy your clothes ready made.But choice is lacking for older stout women like me,she continued .I like wool coats as padded ones make me sweat especially in the shops.And,it’s my face which sweats.I can’t put antiperspirant there…
No,it is likely to give you a rash and anyway the body needs to sweat to get rid of toxins,Sabrina informed her scientifically as if Mary had no wits.
I don’t mind sweating lower down, like on my legs or feet,Mary said.
But it’s embarrassing giving a lecture on why e is an algebraic number with rivulets of water running down my face washing off my foundation cream and powder..though do the students notice? And anyway the students don’t seem to care really about these amazing numbers.
Yes,that is a real problem,Sabrina said wisely.I never knew anyone still wore powder.I like creme de mousse foundation myself.It seems to stick ok.As for the students,maybe they just don’t let on that they care.
Meanwhile Stan sat and gazed pensively at Emile……..he rolled his eyes and Emile smiled in his cat manner; that is,he grinned.
I came here to talk lovingly to sweet Sabrina,not to listen to both women discussing sweat and antiperspirants.,Stan continued to the listening cat…Why did Mary have to spot me? I only wanted a word from Sabrina,
Well,life is what happens when we are busy washing out our pans,Emile told him peevishly.
I don’t think that is quite right,said Stan.John Lennon had that song…Beautiful boy,I think..was that it?
And I have already washed all the pans and hoovered the ceilings…
Well,you see, much of life is out of our control.That’s why people like to take the Bible literally.They prefer to think End Times are here, than to realise life is always changeable and unpredictable.Anything seems better than uncertainty or doubt.Yet that is mostly what we are subject to and evolved in line with in a very real sense,putting it at its most basic.
How have you found teaching topology,Mary asked Sabrina.Is it going down like a hot jam doughnut would to a starving gorilla,as it were should they ever be offered one which seems unlikely except in a zoo.
I find it’s more fun than teaching logarithms,she continued,and exponentials some people find that a tough topic,
Yes,I love teaching topology and functional analysis.
Blimey, thought Stan, this is even worse than sweat and antiperspirants.I hate maths.Why I married Mary,GOK.I guess it was her eyes.And her hair… and look at it now,,, she’s going bald.Still,she’s been a good conpanion.
I use lily of the valley soap,he cried,interrupting the ladies.
Why, are you a swinger? asked Sabrina with interest.
No,I just use whatever Mary is using.I have no choice
Why don’t you buy him some soap smelling of parsley or potatoes,she asked Mary.Or can he not buy some himself?
Why, can you get that? Mary responded.Coal tar is one we tried but he hates it…I think for men there’s not a lot of choice…
But,Sabrina cried,A man smelling of lilies of the valley might cause a disturbance,even a riot, in a small town like this.
Why should women have all the lovely smells and men smell of coal tar and smoke? Stan asked.
Men like flowers too,you know.
The ladies looked at him with wonder as they sipped their lovely large cappuccinos and ate their hot cross iced buns.
I never thought of that before,Mary said.We shall have a talk about it later on.
Neither did I,Sabrina added.. this is not related to my own work but my fiance is a psychologist and he’d like to know about it.I think it’s a new field of study for which a large grant might be available from this idiot government,
Alright,ladies… time to go.Emile needs his dinner and I do too..So off they went all wrapped in their thoughts like feathers stuck inside a fluffy pillow on a big bed.As Rasputin might have put it on a good day,if you catch my drift or take the hint.If not,please try again later.
Not what anyone had expected…but change is good for us,surely? It staves off boredom
Now we can wonder what sort of soap Dave,the delightful paramedic wears.. and does he use a 48 hour deodorant..?And if so,why?
Please wait calmly as excitement wears people out.I am not responsible if you fall over your own feet or get your head in a whirl nor if you go to bed with a milkman or woman.Good night.
G

Meeting a person’s eyes

 


corot womanCorot

Algernon Charles Swinbourne (1837-1909)
Balliol College Portraits: 139 Oil on canvas, 18×13, 1860. Poole number 7ipedia.org/wiki/Face-to-face

The face to face encounter and its ethical meaning/implications is at the heart of  the philosopher Levinas‘ thought possibly based on his experience of the Holocaust.He had previously studied with Heidegger which is ironic as Heidegger joined the Nazi Party in 1933.This shows intelligence is not enough in making decisions especially in politics
One day I was thinking over some personal events relating to this.
Before my husband died,I went shopping and then went into a cafe and found myself just behind an ex-colleague whom  I regard [note the word] as friend.I could see her husbandsitting at the back of the cafe.She did mutter,
Hello,but  instead of  meeting me eye to eye and  saying
“My husband wants to be alone”,she went through an elaborate pantomime of mime indicating rejection or keep a distance…which was unpleasant.I would been much happier with a straightforward look and a few words.
Later I had a similar event.I met a woman who used to be my physiotherapist again in a queue.She looked at me full on and greeted me  with pleasure.As she picked up  her tray she asked me to join her and her husband plus a grandchild.We had a pleasant time.But if she had said,we are with our family and want to be alone,or whatever,that would have been fine too.because she looked at me
I am not saying the first woman ought to have done that.But what interests me is the lack of a willingness to “meet” me with her gaze.I  am entirely happy if people wish to be alone whilst the have coffee but I prefer them to say so.I was always in a hurry then and finished before they did.But they didn’t know then about  our problems.
Some individuals with autism are almost unable to make eye contact…. and this is because others are not real to  them; they are afraid.

If we are near someone who will not meet our eyes,it can convey the same feeling.On the other hand,every one has off days and so I feel no anger,just a discomfort as this woman is very articulate and highly educated.I think her husband is  a bit controlling.
So this made me think about Levinas and about Martin Buber‘s I and Thou
There is also an expression,”he looked right through me”which is also a negative way of facing someone.And also,Cutting someone dead.
Essentially not looking at someone is a form of killing them as you imply they are not part  of society.Like not responding  to someone verbally or in writing.You are saying,You do not exist.At one time in  the distant past people did actually die when they were excluded from the community

Related articles

Eye Contact (hannahandharriet.wordpress.com)

You only have 7 Seconds to Make a First Impression!(top2toestyliestadotme.wordpress.com)

The structure of the cross

When you i died my world became unreal.

The torture in my heart invented fear.

I shall not now recover said my mind

Staggering, deaf and dumb and nearly blind.

The past and future split by an abyss

Was my former comfort mere hubris ?

Unable tto accept the help nearby

I feared that I myself would surely die..

The firmness of conviction disappeared

No metaphor no symbol no ideas.

Walking on the grey and desolate soil

Like a mother with a dying child

I could not stay there nailed to any tree.

I had to save the child and that was me

Through this anguish refugees still walk.

We’re live ike frightened children in the dark.

Value you all your senses while you can

28 years ago I suffered a very serious eye problem

This led to me having a major surgery and managing ti8

keep some of my vision 3 months I could see where to walk about it although no I was seeing double quite a lot.

0 eventually when I saw the consultant again he asked me when I kept falling over. No I said.

That’s very strange the doctor proud very few people with this condition do not fall over all the time.

I wonder why they didn’t tell me that at the beginning unless you salt no one would have tried to walk if they knew they might fall over every time they did.

He was even more surprised when I began to ride my bicycle again. So was I

Treasure your eyes and all your senses because they are how they relate to the world how you see all the the people nature buildings architecture the sky not to mention the television. We don’t always realise how much we have got until we lose some of it and it has been really trying I’m still in but I can manage I’ve got used to it. Like seeing black lions floating up and down which interfere with my reading so I have to move my head to make the the jelly in my eye move about more so I could see between these lines

It’s not quite what we mean when we say to read between the lines.

I think you and beings are a lot more adaptable and creative than we realise and we should help each other. I notice all the blind people shopping in the town struggling to cross the road and so on and I never used to see them before or very rarely

Save more money

My art

If you don’t wear clothes you save the cost see if z

Stay in bed all day so you feel hot by moo

The central heating bust I have no fire

How can you prove that you are not a liar ?

To tell the truth I have got no idea.

Telling lies is hard does not inspire

I have no idea that is a fact

What use is belief unless you act ?

If we start from zero we go up.

I don’t much like your arguments please stop.

Are you a wimp ir are you quite insane?

I have no other mind let that be plain.

I wish that I could see inside your head.

Since I can’t why don’t we go to bed?

Alright we’ll go to bed I love you dear.

Once there was a different atmosphere

You madebyou wishes very very clear

Can it be love when you don’t like their smell?

I have never thought for long can’t tell

It’s not romantic what would Plato say ?

Do they sell his book free on eBay?

Nothing ever comes to us quite free

Be observant with alacrity

No I did not know he was a Jew

I almost married one or more that’s true

Was he happy was he kind please tell.

I feel so guilty take me to my cell

You have had no trial and no defence

The judge in honour showed me deference.

He only showed it did not tell the way.

If you want to know you have to pay.

We can go to classes in the night

Lack of sleep the bestows it’s own delights

Do not try cocaine

My boss won’t believe I am in intensive care, what can I say?

If you were in intensive care you would not be able to write email

Let me tell you you my story

2 I told my boss I had a new heart condition.

Who who invented this one?He said

Prinzmetal I informed him

.What a funny name he responded.

Well it didn’t make me laugh when I looked it up.

Why not?

Because it’s usually caused by snorting cocaine I haven’t even tried it.

Well that’s lucky or you might be dead.

You’re so clever doctor. Thank you very much

Eye teeth

F

Canines are sometimes referred to as eye teeth because of their alignment under the eyes. Incisors are the front teeth on both your upper and lower jaws. Because their primary purpose is to bite into food, their name came from the Latin word “incidere,” which means cutter.

I believe they are sometimes called fangs in tigers

The unwashed blouse

In January 1963 I was called for an interview you to a Northern university.

It was a Tuesday when I was usually at school. I only had one blouse apart from my school one.Forbeconomic reasons it was sleeveless.

Moreover I had worn it on Sunday so there was no way that I could wash and dry it it by 7 on Tuesday morning. I got dressed in this dirty blouse

And the cardigan my mother had made from old green and black wool that wasn’t her choice it was simply reduced price pure new wool if you could afford not afford a nice colour

Although she was very good at knitting she had put the button band on wrongly perhaps it was a little bit too short so she had to pull it which distorted the garment especially on the front.

I must have worn a skirt but I just don’t remember.

It was up terrible winter not long before Sylvia Plath committed suicide.

When I went into the interview room there were two men who look really old like 50 wearing suits really expensive suits.

And their hands were soft and white

Their fingernails were manicured and very clean

0 grandfather was a coal miner so I never really seen them with white hands soft white hands. Even my mother didn’t have soft white hands

I can only remember them asking me how old was the cathedral.

I have never seej it before that and it was a very cold day .I had not a lingered to look at it.

Furthermore we had not got a car and we did not drive around th e north of England looking at the cathedral or the castles. The interviews proceeded and then ask me

Why did I want to do mathematics, what did I plan to do?

I replied that I would like to do research

They burst out laughing and slapped their thighs. I had read about that in novels but I never seen his happening

I had already done a piece of original research but I had not told anybody.

I didn’t speak but I thought it was very weird so I left the room and went back to the station.

It was even colder. The only good thing about these men was that they gave more than half of the places to young women who were very talented. Even nowadays not many young women were going to an interview you and so they wanted to research mathematics I think that what I meant was I wanted to study something so well that I will begin to ask questions it would not have to be mathematics necessarily it could have been philosophy.

It didn’t cross my mind to say I wanted to be a writer.

I suppose that most of us there were going into teaching and that was what they expecting me to say and I have spent my life cheating (that should be teaching) in various higher educational universities or collegesb and I thought a lot of students from overseas from Brunei to Guyana from Malaysia and Hong Kong and it was a great privilege to do that I just regret the people in touch with the students but I do have the complete set of Brunei coins in a red velvet box which a young woman gave to me after she got a first class degree in economics specialising in econometrics and mathematical economics

Once I taught someone who had been to Eton and I got a place at Oxford but despite his expensive schooling he only got a third class degree and he’s probably in some high level job in the civil service turning a lot more money then I got for teaching him. I didn’t enjoy that teaching because the students always looked very afraid and it was a very competitive atmosphere. I prefer the more relaxed atmosphere in which I thought all these foreign students and British students as well and these people were from the lower social classes yes even ib higher education there is a class system in Britain.

I remember a student who was Egyptian. His father was a diplomat and have been sent to England to go to the boiler school which is probably expensive and he said to me there is a lot of racism now so he told his father not to send his younger brother to England to go to school because he’s obviously been unhappy and I sometimes wonder what happened to him in the Arab.

Spring

He gave new s collection of books about Islam and he gave me a wooden briefcase which could open and you can put some books it and when you fasten that you can put it on your knee and it was it was like the top of a small desk so you can write on some paper that you put on it and he said that was what was used as a lot of the schools because they didn’t have any desks in the classroom.

I still have that and I have slept with this on my knee writing a poem on a piece of paper and wishing that I kept in touch with this young man who will now be much older and I hope that they Arab Spring and all the wars have not destroyed his family life

Ok s in a class of 25 students and I recommended to the students to read Alice in Wonderland so that they could read Alice through the looking glass and learnt quite a lot of interesting and mathematical ideas.

Who was the only person who who read the books?

He was. I think I was so busy teaching and and carrying out my personal responsibilities I didn’t have enough time just think about how I would like to have in touch with some of the people who passed through

At least I taught them very very well. And they did very well overall.

I did do some research but it was not easy for a woman to do that in those days

I think it’s very important to be creative and that was one reason why I didn’t do English 0 for my degreebecause I didn’t believe I should be criticising Shakespeare when I never written anything original myself and now that I have written things myself I realise all the more what a great writer Shakespeare was and especially that he was very great poet.

Where I got my university Grant I was able to buy tu blouses with sleeves and I never wore as a dirty one again

I didn’t look very clean. That might have been in my favour because they may have thought someone so poor deserved a chance.

because they were both socialists.

Perhaps it wasn’t so bad thatvI didn’t own more clothing

The kitten

The kitten bit our eyelids in the night.
My husband thought he did it out of spite

I think the cat was lonely when he came

He grew up and sometimes he was tame

later on he hunted in the night

He came back with the milkman at first light.

We took him out Essex for the day

I thought he would enjoy the meadows gay.

I love the fields of linseed in the sun.

A blue like ceanothus over run.

I wrapped him in my cardigan of wool.

¹ he looked out through the window saw the bull.

I do not think a bull would love to ride.

In my husband’s car with cat beside.

We met some on the Pennine way last year

Keep on going, cautious yet serene

Don’t let yourself get locked into their stare.

In life we cannot linger in the dreams.

When the goings hard we want to scream.

Your love is your wealth

The gate by Katherine

He told me he loved me but he didn’t share

Answering back I said I don’t care.

You’re mean and you’re stingy

Get out of my hair.

He looked rather puzzled said what was wrong?

When we go to the pictures it’s always James bond.

I’d liked to have seen those Scandinavian films.

But you seem to believe in imposing your will.

Thank God you refrained from sexual threats.

Get out of my life and pay your own debts.

I know we had chemistry, that’s not enough.

I may be a woman but I can be tough.

I care for myself but I don’t care for you.

I’d prefer to get married to a cat in the zoo.

A big cat a small cat as long as they’re warm.

No fierce and wild animal would do me such harm

You think that you’ll live by posing your will.

In the end it’s your own heart that you’re going to kill.

Be off with you man,control your own greed.

Don’t act like you’re a child besieged by your needs.

Remember King Henry he beheaded his wives

His body was gross and his eyes were like knives.

If you do good to others you feel better in yourself.

Be mutual, be thoughtful and find your own wealth

Pay with yourself

Tou want something for nothing but what does it mean?

You don’t want to pay for what you have been.

You’ve made use of people then dropped them like waste

They made you a meal but you don’t like the taste.

You befriended your colleagues for what they could do.

You took their ideas and they don’t have a clue

So then you got rich and you didn’t want to share.

You silenced them with your cute psychopath stare

In the long term you will lose more then you know.

Yourself and your truth and the trust you don’t grow.

Against sadness


July 31, 2016

Against sadness:no-one here can weep
Nor lounge about in111 melancholy deep.
Was Van Gogh senseless to permit his muse.
For his masterpieces ,was the price too steep?
We see the yellow chair but not his views
Nor his mind where technique made such leaps.
Nor was his journey broadcast on the news.
Against sadness.

Happiness or joy is hard to find
When we rest, the News preys on our minds
Yet some are cold towards the slaughtered priest
His nose a beak of bone in old face lined
Now Muslims go to Mass and join Christ’s feast
Against sadness.

What rages in the mind make men kill thus?
In Syrian wars the innocents fare worse.
But these are our near neighbours so we weep
And wonder how to end the frightening curse
The sins we once committed hold us deep
We hold our hands out wanting to be nursed
Against sadness

How would we like to dress?

Why should we want to wear a certain kind of clothing just because some famous person wears it?

Perhaps you don’t have any ideas of your own about what you’d like to wear. But these people may not have chosen the clothes themselves. They may be being paid to wear them by some firm or designer. They may not even like them

So stop looking at other people Do you not know what you like?

You may like to think about a few relevant possibilities.

For myself I like to wear colours that appeal to me I like blue. I used to like very bright colours and I still do up to a point. Does colour matter to you you?

Then wear muted colours such as grey especially if you are going out. Initial muted colour

Do you like to be inconspicuous in the street?

If it does not you could dress ini black or another neutral colour. Some people do this anyway because it makes life simpler. Other people wear just two or three colours like beige black and light cream.

Restricting the colours to two or three means that you will never have a problem matching clothes together

Similarly do you like prints and patterns or plain colours? It’s much easier if you leave out prints. You can get a scarf which has several colours in if you feel that would be fun to wear.

You need some shoes. You will probably already have got these but they should not clash with your clothing colours

Di you u fancy wearing bright red shoes and you know that’s what you want regardless of what other people wear ? Choose what you want

If you are are living on a small income you may not be able to wear exactly what you want but you can get near it.

If you have got clothes and you hate them, sell them on eBay or give them for charity

Save the money I’m sure you’ll find something you like later.

You don’t have to dress in avway that is dictated to you.

It’s better to enjoy your own choices f you have no interest in clothes just buy things in one colour and forget about it

Or go to charity shops and see if you can find something more interesting add to your very simple and plain outfits

We should try to enjoy as much of life as we can whether it is having good friends finding a job that we like or simply having fun bwith our clothing.

Wear that jumper that was always too hot

Let us try to be more positive about the winter which will inevitably come unless the world ends first.

It will be an opportunity to wear that big woollen sweater that you bought in a sale and it is always been too hot for you to wear. Now that you can’t afford to switch your boiler on this will be the ideal garment do your hands and feet get cold though?

But do wear a bib because theyvbig wool ijumpers do stick out They can’t wait for you to spill tomato soup anto them.

Did you go to visit a rich friend who can afford to have the central heating on and you’re still wearing your big jumper.

Be careful because being too hot can make you faint.

If you bought a lovely down coat in the sales this is your chance to wear it indoors.

I’ve it so lighto you could always put it over yourself in bed if you feel cold.

I think an electric blanket is very useful whether or not you have heating.

I would find it hard to go back to the freezing bedrooms of my childhood but children sleep well and I miss those days the ending is jumping into bed shutting my eyes and going to sleep straight away l

Sleep problems might start when you move away from home if you have not managed to internalise your mother. According to psychoanalysts children get their security from the mother or father but if all goes well l.day will take in this figure and we’ll be able to to.feel.the secure enough without the presence of that person.

Sometimes children of about 18 0 months in age will develop a fondness for a soft toy or a piece of blanket and this is called as transitional object by the psychoanalyst DW winnicott and it is a good thing because they transfer their feelings from the mother into this object which they can carry about with them and eventually most people stop using these soft toys all the time although many people do have one on their bed.

It’s welcome reminder of the mother or father and it’s soft and furry it’s comforting this is it was sleeping against the mother’s breast having just had a good feed.

Save a bit more money with handkerchiefs etc

When I was going to university my mother walked to the station with me and she said to me I don’t think your landlady will boil a handkerchief for you so you have to use tissues.

I had never seen a tissue then.

I bought a box the next day and unsure of how many to use I restricted myself to one a day because I couldn’t spend a lot Of course if you had a cold you would need more than one I think.

During the covid-19 epidemic it was really important to use tissues and to dispose of them safely so as not to spread infection.

However they are quite expensive and we had a shortage in the iUnited Kingdom as well ;so what else could you do do?

Well you could buy some handkerchiefs instead and we used to boil ours in a pan on the coal fire in the evening.

I expect you could wash them in the washing machine on a very hot wash when you’re doing towels and sheets.

But I would not recommend this when you have a cold flu or any other infection.

At one time women had to used towels when they were menstruating that is pieces of towelling which were fastened to their knickers with safety pins.

This was not very comfortable and even if you’re short of money it seems to be too extreme because also it’s not very safe and the blood can easily leak onto your clothing.

There are things like menstrual cups made of plastic that you can use which I imagine would save money in the long run but that’s up to any individual woman.

What a surprise after all these years dl to bevwondering whether one can afford to use tissues to blow one’s nose or wipe ones lips etc

It is also better for the planet if we are careful with using paper or cardboard so that we do not ruin in the world by lack of thought and it will save a little money for anyone.

You go out for coffee or a meal and if you have paper napkin provided then if you don’t use it you could take that home and cut it in half and useb each half as a substitute for a paper hanky

If you save 50p a day letting £180 in the year.

0r it is £3.50 a week which will still pay for a large cappuccino.

Please don’t stop using toilet paper. Unless you are a homeless person and in that case you may be able to use a public comlnvenience where there should be toilet paper.

A single rose

The fewer our possessions are, the better.

If you have no bread you need no butter.

Turn away from Envy Use your will.

If there is no illness there’s no pill

Comparisons are painful to the weak

If you and rhey persist the outlook’s bleak.

Be grateful you can see and feel and taste

The wonders of perception go to waste.

When we lose a sense we realise

Nothing can replace our ears and eyes.

Adding more possessions makes more work.

In the maze of choice do not get stuck

In the empty space perception grows

Lots of weeds or just a single rose

If your wardrobe is nearly empty and you don’t have a lot of money you may find it helpful to read this

If you want to spend less money on your clothing I have a few tips to help you.

It is quite acceptable to wear jeans most of the time.

But if you’re on a budget decide when you will want to wear them and save the expensive sort if you have any for when you are going out socially when you can wear them with a lovely top ang you’ve probably already got a top in your wardrobe that would be save money Do not buy a new top wear a plain t-shirt and maybe a little scarf or a big scarf if you’ve already got one in your wardrobe

Depending on your budget you can buy them atnquite low prices or or you can spend an astonishing amount of money on them

For gardening and housework you do not need to wear clothes with holes in them.

You can get a pair of jeans in m

Marks and Spencer’s for less than £20 if you’ve got a washing machine these are the only ones you need.

If you can afford it buy a second pair. It depends on your shape whether you can wear certain brands. Look in TK maxx if you would like designer jeans for a low price.

If you can find your size it’s quite gratifying

If you don’t like jeans for wearing outside the house you can get some black trousers but make sure they washable

I know someone who wears jeans all the time except when she’s going to a formal dinner and dance when she will wear a dress. I have never been to a dinner dance it’s not my kind of thing so I don’t have any formal wear

If you can sew this will be a huge saving and you can make a vogue dress or whatever you fancy.

Otherwise a black skirt maybe velvet can be worn with different tops. If you don’t wear skirts wear black trousers.

If you pick very carefully you can have one black skirt and one pair of trousers and the number of tops and you can wear them night and day.

But it’s better to keep your gardening clothes separate from the rest of in case there is a snail or slug stuck on the side

In the winter you need a warm sweater of whatever you can afford as you can get cashmere

in a sale or wool in a chain store.

For people who don’t drive it’s necessary to have a warm coat and I found a long one is necessary if you have to wait

at the bus stop whenever you going anywhere

Also such a coat will cover up all the ancient things you might be wearing and make you look smart as long as you don’t take it off

I knew someone once who managed with a needlecord skirt and trousers and a pair of jeans. 3/4 tops And a trench coat.

She did not even own a night dress but she did have a dressing gown in case someone knocks on the door early in the morning 0.