Cherry plum blossom

Words I never expected to hear come out of my own mouth: "I'm looking for something that's a bit more.... Mother of the Bride..."

R and I went to Burford today, me to look for something.... Mother of the bride...., and R to mop my fevered brow, to raise a discouraging eyebrow when I held up something in front of myself in gold crinkle satin or that looked like an early experiment in fabric design by Jackson Pollock, and to ply me with restorative food and alcohol after the ordeal.

Middle class problems, honestly: I loathe buying clothes, and expensive dress shops almost reduce me to nervous prostration. Let me loose in a camera shop, on the other hand, and I'm sensible, cheerful and decisive. Don't think for one moment that I wasn't eyeing the prices on some of today's possibilities, and thinking how much more I'd enjoy spending that money on a new macro lens.

In the end though, no money was spent on anything other than the lunch time restorative plying, because everything seemed either too boring, too outré, not my colour, not anyone's colour, or more suitable for a funeral than a wedding. It may be a little too early for spring season stock, or I may be a little too picky (or at least, not yet quite panic-stricken enough), but I didn't even try anything on. Which at least meant I didn't have to face Ordeal by Changing Room.

The bad news, for both R and me, is that I get to choose another expensive dress shop next week, and put us both through the whole rigmarole again. And then probably again the week after that, until we run out of weeks, R kills me, or I decide that wearing something I already own isn't an actual punishable crime.

I did take some photos in Burford, but hated all of them, which in the circumstances isn't completely surprising. Luckily, when we got home I remembered that the first tree in the village to flower is always this cherry plum, in the verge just a little way down the lane from us, and when I went to check it out the lovely blossom catching the late afternoon light cheered me right up. So much nicer than gold crinkle satin!