Eighties throwback

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:39:50 GMT

The good news is that Doogs the cat is on the mend, despite endearing himself by peeing on the back seat of the car en route to the vet. Nice. As Jeremy Clarkson would say, there is nothing like the scent of Eau de cat wee to enhance the driving experience of the Nissan Micra. Anyway, he - Doogs the cat that is, not Clarkson - has had the disgusting drain thing taken out of his wound and is now allowed out. A huge relief to him, myself and DJ, who will now be able to sleep without being kept awake by Doogs caterwauling in the spare room. Bless him. He must be better as he tried to bite me last night. Ah. Doogs that is, not DJ.

The bad news, however, is that my cider vinegar has gone awry and has fruit flies in it. Ick. Typical. I thought the recipe seemed too easy. DJ investigated and apparently I need some muslin to go over the vinegar to allow oxygen etc. in but to keep the bugs out. Have to try and get some.

Despite these trials we had a good weekend. Frugal activities included a fancy dress party with an Eighties theme at DJ’s friend Matt’s house. Dressing up certainly seems to have caught on in our social circle lately. We raided the charity shops in Billericay for costume material. DJ is unusual in having lived in Africa during the Eighties and being relatively unfamiliar with Eighties culture (or lack of it) had only really heard of Adam Ant and so decided, after doing some research on YouTube to go as the dandy highwayman. However, it proved more difficult than we thought to find a nice frilly shirt for him - until I uncovered a tasteful woman’s blouse in the Cancer Research Shop. “What a luvverly blouse,” said the chirpy elderly lady behind the till. “Will you be wearing it tonight, dear?” she asked as I paid for it while DJ continued looking for accessories. “Er, no but my boyfriend will,” I answered bravely. To her credit she didn’t bat an eyelid. Not bad for £2.90 though.

After a flash of inspiration opted for Boy George as my mum used to do my hair in six plaits when I was about seven anyway as I was a bit of a fan. Luckily I had a suitable hat bought ages ago for £2 in a sale at Tie Rack. This I supplemented with a £4.50 (bit pricey I know) long black coat from the charity shop, a black and gold kaftan for £2.95, and my own green trousers. Then for the hair I did about six or so plaits each side of my head and interwove bits of ribbon I had lying about the house (the brown ones tie our bedroom curtains out of the way!).

And I have to say, although there were some cool costumes - Matt and his mate Will went as Iceman and Maverick from Top Gun, James was stunning in his all-in-one Rambo outfit (haven’t yet worked out how he went to the loo in it) and another chap made a fantastic Freddie Mercury - I think we looked fab!

del.icio.us Tags: fancy dress , fancy dress party , eighties , adam ant , boy george , frugal activities , frugal fun

The Frugal Life: Frugal fun

Eighties throwback