THE GOLDEN YEAR CONTINUES

What a fabulous look for Duchess Kate, in gold for the premiere of the latest James Bond film, 'No time to Die'...

On the Red Carpet at the Royal Albert Hall, she glittered alongside husband Prince William, and Prince Charles and Camilla, also in sparkles...

Doesn't she look happy?

It has been 18 months since we saw the Duchess in a formal gown, and this Jenny Packham creation is a wonderful choice.  Film star glamour, and regal elegance ....

My goodness, she keeps herself slim...

Stars of the movie..

    
and a chat with James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.

Apparently he said 'You look jolly lovely' -

and she did..

  The Festival of Gold continues....

As mentioned previously on the blog, we are celebrating our Golden/50th Wedding Anniversary later this year.

Last Saturday, we joined a host of other couples wed in 1971, at a Golden Anniversary Mass and Renewal of Vows:

The Cathedral was packed, and it was a touching and lovely occasion.

The music was beautiful, sacred hymns popular at the time of our weddings, and finishing with Mendelssohn's Wedding March from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

I felt a little like a bride again....

I wore my best Golden linen dress, carried my favourite Camilla clutch:

and wore a beaded yellow headband...

I'm off for a tiny bit of surgery.

See you on the other side.

Be safe and take care

XXXXX

RED CARPET FASHION AND A BIT OF A SHOCK

 

Angela Bassett

It has been a long time since we had a Red Carpet fashion parade -

but behold, the Emmy Awards gave us a burst of much-needed colour in these difficult times...

Here are some who caught my eye:

Michaela Coel

A little bit daring, but elegant and a glorious shade of yellow for we citrus fans...

There must always be a pretty pink princess gown, especially cute with a sparkling red clutch..

Rachel Lindsay

Trains work well on the red carpet - extra points for elegance...

Sarah Paulson

Regal in red - puff sleeves continue their time in fashion favour...

Nicole Byer

Twirling in purple...  This one is fun..

Yara Shahidi

My top pick is this fresh green gown, reminiscent of Dior, c. 1950.

Perfect.

Last week we went for a drive in the country, to the area where we used to take my late father for Sunday picnics..

These mountains mark the border between Queensland and New South Wales.

Today, it might as well be the border of another country.  Strict border restrictions continue along with the pandemic.  

Our twin grandsons in Sydney turned one this month, and sadly we have not seen them for many months. Luckily, we could see them on Zoom for their birthday.

We passed through the town where I grew up, the first time in about two years.

Imagine my surprise to see this:

on the land of my childhood home.  The house has vanished, demolished, obliterated...

There was no sign to say what is being built there, but what a shock.

A family member tells me our old home was still there a few months back, so this is quite a new building site.

All we have now are memories..

Somehow, in these strange times, it just seemed to fit the mood..

Take care, and be safe.

xxxx

SPRINGTIME IN QUEENSLAND

 

Spring has arrived, and the King Orchid has bloomed...

The pride and joy of the Red Cardinal garden, it was inherited from my late father who grew them for many years.

Spring greetings too from this pretty golden orchid, a gift from my sister L.

Also celebrating Spring, the pink stalwart has bloomed again..

And we have a new addition, a pretty little orchid I bought Mr. Cardinal for Father's Day...  We have tied it on a tree in a sheltered spot...

The Iris are having their best year ever, day after day producing a new group of purple beauty..

And I 'celebrated' Spring by finally getting my first Covid vaccination:

my reservation for a Pfizer shot was refused when I arrived for my appointment at the hospital.  I finally had the Astra Zeneca vaccine a week later at my personal doctor's rooms.  While we are currently Covid-free in Brisbane, we are watching the Delta strain overwhelming Sydney, and know it is only a matter of time before it comes here.  I am relieved to at least have had my first dose, and was very tired for a couple of days.

While currently not in lockdown, we were pleased to be able to visit our eldest grandson, Young Aussie, and attend his school musical.  Such moments bring joy to the hearts of all grandparents.

It was good to be out in public again, and later that evening we went to the Concert Hall to see London-based but Queensland's own classical pianist Jayson Gillham.  His exquisite playing of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 was enthralling, and won him the 2014 Montreal International Musical Competition, bringing him international attention.  He appears with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, and the State orchestras throughout Australia among many others.

Our last orchestra concert was cancelled, so it was a delight to be back in our favourite musical place.

I had a (postponed) haircut yesterday.

Then I saw Helen Mirren at the Venice Film Festival, and wondered why I thought my hair was too long!  

Dame Helen looking fabulous with long hair...

P.S. She is even a little older than moi....

Take care, and be safe.

XXXX