Jumble Sales and Perfume

Wish I hadn't gone out yesterday: at least I can take it easy today. It was interesting having a Man-'flu competition with three guys on the tube. Needless to say, I won. The first cough was the deepest....
I also detected people amongst the crowds with the same virus; we have the same trade mark cough, a deep bray that means business. Not for us the discreet hiccup and sniff!
Anyway that's enough of the self pity for today. I have been blog-browsing, and have realised just what a mess of scraps this one is.
I put this down to the fact that I have lived a life of jumble sales and charity shops, from the sixpenny stacks of scratched vinyl 7" singles tied up with hairy twine that I used to buy the the Wylam Institute jumble sales, through the cornucopia of 1930s spectacles and shoes in the Brighton Oxfam, to the current discarded silks and mohairs of the wealthy London suburbs. Bits and pieces, random and disposable.
I don't have a blog-bar or 'subscribe' because I feel that blogs are about freedom and not commitment, but I have started to do a lot of roaming and browsing and it's fascinating to see what people enthuse about.
One of my favourite blogs is Anne's (frayedattheedge.typepad.co.uk). I am charmed by her graceful life in the borders and the creativity of both her and her partner. I also heard from Vanessa yesterday, whose blog bonkersaboutperfume.blogspot.com is part of a whole perfume community that I knew nothing about. Vanessa is a Monochrome Set fan and had been at the first-ever Helen and the Horns gig at Kingston Polytechnic, where we supported them.
That was the gig where we decided to be just Helen and the Horns; the plan had been to rehearse just the Horns, and then Lester Square would join us on guitar and Mike Slocombe on drums. The Monochrome set offered us a gig and much to our surprise, the audience gave us a fantastic reception just the way we were (and there were only two Horns at that gig, too).
The Monochrome Set did the same with Bananarama, who then went on to outstrip everyone, which of course we applauded (while licking our wounds at the same time).
Ah well. I'm surveying the dust balls and dirty dishes, unable to stir up any energy to do anything about them. Offsprog 2 is listening to somebody whinesome upstairs (Rufus Wainwright, possibly) and I'm unable to counteract with blasts of good cheer as the downstairs CD player is broken. Radio? All too silly apart from Radio 4 which is often unbearable due to the quantity of people who seem to have taken elocution lessons from Stephen Fry. I'm tuning in to the happy chirrupings of next door's baby instead. My next song will be entitled 'Baby Talk'.