God the eighties were fun…the smoking, the staying up partying all night then going into work then fishbowls of Chardonnay at 5. No gym, no clean food, just living life to the full and never worrying about the consequences. People behaved badly but oh how we  laugh, we laughed every single day. Until recently I thought rather than marking an era this was just a rite of youthful passage.  Now I’m not so sure.  There’s a modern contagion that’s spreading through all walks of life to constantly do as much as possible..and do it fast. Life is serious, focused and controlled, it’s either join the ranks or be left behind. Walk into an office and there’s no frantically ringing phones  or waft of cigarette smoke, it’s all green algae juices and mindfulness.  Which is maybe why the pull of any type of nostalgia is still strong for me and why shops such as Labour and Wait will always float my traditional wooden sailing boat.

Labour and Wait sell the sort of things you’ve always needed but didn’t know where to find, unless it was an Enid Blyton book or an Agatha Christie mystery.

I’m slowly replacing all my pound shop plastic for their built-to-last-wholesome-simplicity.

This is sourcing the best in life.  But learning not to take it too seriously.

Laters, Kate x