About this blog

This is a window into the weird world of Anglicanism, as experienced on a Cathedral Close. Has anything much happened since Trollope's Barchester Chronicles? You will still see the 'canon in residence' hurrying across to choral Evensong, robes flapping, as the late bell chimes. But look carefully and you will notice he is checking the football score on his iPhone as he runs. This is also a writer's blog. It charts the agony and ecstasy of the novelist's life. And it's a fighter's blog. It charts the agony and ecstasy of the judo mat. Well, the agony, anyway.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Day 31--Retail Therapy by Proxy

Today I'm wearing things you've seen before, only in a different combination.  Boots, treggings, jumpers.  Winter stuff to keep warm.  That's it, basically.  But because you've taken the trouble to visit this page I shall write a bit more for you.  

I have a confession.  I haven't bought myself any new clothes, but last Friday (feeling on edge and a bit sorry for myself) I went round Lichfield's charity shops and bought a suit and a shirt for the chancellor.  If you are new to this blog and wondering why on earth I stand on such intimate terms with George Osborne that I can take it upon myself to buy him a second hand suit, be reassured.  I'm talking about the canon chancellor of Lichfield cathedral, to whom I'm married.

The suit was charcoal grey pinstripe, Jaeger, scarcely worn and exactly in his size.  I established this by a flurry of texting and a tape measure borrowed from the nice ladies in Cancer Research.  We no longer buy stuff that is nearly the right size, as we already have a whole wardrobe full of stuff that doesn't quite fit.  Top Tip: If it doesn't fit, it isn't actually a bargain, even if it's only £3.  So I bought it, reader.  It was on the pricey side, to be honest, at £24.99.  So I thought heck, I'll buy that nice Duck and Cover shirt for him as well.  This is how it works when you're clothes shopping, isn't it?  It's like dieting.  A kind of irrational fatalistic recklessness takes over.  I've eaten one biscuit, so I may as well eat the entire pack now.

The new suit got an outing on Sunday where it was much admired.  But was I cheating?  This was what the other Close Catherine seemed to be saying when I showed her my swag on the way home from the shops.  'So this is how you're going to get your retail fix?  By buying stuff for other people!'  There's an element of truth in this.  But surely we can put a positive spin on it?  When you're feeling on edge and a bit sorry for yourself you can get as much pleasure from buying something for someone else as from treating yourself to new clothes.

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