it’s official

I have a crap body………………………………..

We spent a very wet, damp day in London Saturday.

I was on a mission to find new jewellery pieces to replace my stolen ones.

Our first stop was Selfridges to look in the Chanel boutique, but boy was the queue long. All the Arab ladies and Japs were out in force. So after a quick look at the jewels in Chanel we headed of to the real deal, down in Mayfair.

On route we called into this small jewellery designers I have loved for decades. A necklace I’d been given from there, for my 40th birthday had been stolen. So we went to look at their new collections. They are so nice in the shop and the lady was so upset to hear I had also lost the sleepers to my matching earrings in the burglary.  She sent someone down to the work room and gave me a brand new pair free.  How kind.

I tried on lots of new pieces that I loved. Bangles. rings and a beautiful long necklace with a bee on it.

We left there to go to Chanel. It was , again full of Arabs, purchasing half the store. I got a snooty, Japanese sales assistant to serve me, who was none too pleased I wasn’t going to be making a purchase today. I wanted to find out the present price for my lost pearl necklace and I wanted to look at the new collection. She grabbed a tray of trinkets, plonked it down  and left me to it. So off I take my £4 Primark scarf (LOL) and what should be hanging around my neck, but the bloody bee necklace. I must admit, for a second, I thought shall I keep it. But they were so kind I just couldn’t ,so hubby was sent back to the store. They hadn’t even missed it.

Now I would have kept the Chanel one if the same thing had happened there. Bloody miserable cow it would have served her right.

Off we went to Tiffany and they were also super helpful, even helping to estimate how much a discontinued bracelet that was stolen would be now. I chose some lovely new pieces.

The it was off to the camera shops on Tottenham Court Road. As everyone knows I always moaned about how heavy my previous Canon 7D was. Especially, when you put on my favourite zoom lens. So what should I chose this time?

A lower end body and an expensive Canon lens. Nope that was as heavy as my 7D. Go down a grade in camera body to a Canon 60D. Nope that felt just as heavy. So after much walking about,  I choose a Canon 600D body and another Tamron lens.

The salesman kept laughing when I said. Its so hard when you’ve had a good body. (Don’t we know what that’s like girls, getting older !!) But in the process of down grading my body I saved £600 !!! Plenty to buy another lens.

I did lose the 7D’s 19 cross type AF focus points. The 600D has just 9 Af points and only 1 is a cross type. (insert crying)

But hey, I could never get to grips with the wheels and dials on the 7D, this one is idiot proof. So much so that it has all the pre set features my old camera had. So my lot can now take a photo without me having to give them instructions. My 7D didn’t have any easy settings at all.

I am a real glutton for punishment. We had to go straight out to a 50th birthday party, so I took along my 50mm F1.4 and the new body. I had to charge the new battery there. By the time it was charged it was dark and all the rooms were lit with orange glowing, low watt bulbs. I did have a few palpitations that I had done the wrong thing buying a body which struggles with ISO capabilities.( 6400ISO compared to 12,800ISO) But  I suppose it wasn’t the perfect situation to try out a new camera.

But so far I am super happy with the weight of it. I even slung it in my handbag today when I went for some blood tests.

We are still negotiating with the loss adjusters the amount they need to pay us out. My pieces of jewellery have shot up in price over the years I have had them. Luckily, I had almost all the receipts and for the one item I didn’t, they still sell it in the States.

I am giving considerable thought to what I am going to spend the money on.

• A piece of personalised monogrammed Louis Vuitton luggage……
• an iMac computer
• an ipad 2
• more jewellery ?
• or all of the above.

Judith, I think you may have to come shopping with me, to make me part with the money. She’s good at doing that.