Various Titbits

Titbits was a magazine read regularly by my grandparents, the Communist's parents. It contained short features, like a kind of magazine-style tabloid newspaper.

Those were innocent times and I don't think you'd get a magazine called Titbits now. Or if you did, it would be about something else entirely.

Anyway, this blog post is going to be comprised of a few titbits of information and here they are:

Last Wednesday I wrote about the dressing-up clothes on the toyshop called the Early Learning Centre's website and said how old-fashionedly sexist the accompanying text was: this is what it said:

"For the little princess in the family we have great feminine outfits like Butterfly Fairy, Sleeping Beauty, Ballerina and Nurse’s uniform. Why not add a medical case for that extra touch of authenticity.

The boys are catered for too, with great Doctor, Policeman & Fireman uniforms, not to mention fantastic Pirate and Knight costumes. All these can be combined with a range of accessories so your child will really look the part."

I emailed the Early Learning Centre - and I've a feeling that quite a few others did too as I found the original link on Facebook - and the Early Learning Centre sent me a rather panicky-sounding reply saying they would forward my comments to Head Office.

And if you look at the site now, then hurrah! They have changed it, and this is how it reads now:

"Children's Dressing Up Outfits

The whole world is a stage and we have an incredible line-up of classic children’s dressing up outfits that your little ones will love. ELC stock a great range of activity toys for babies including sensory ball pits, play mats, baby gyms and baby ride on toys to ensure your child can learn to move, play and develop in a safe and happy environment.

Our children’s costumes and outfits are perfect for fancy dress parties or for that all-important performance, be it at home or in the school play.Dressing up encourages your child to express themselves in a fun and educational way, serving to increase their long-term confidence."

Hurrah! A shame that they needed to have it pointed out to them but at least they've had the decency to change it.

Now to the Great Swimsuit Problem.

I emailed Marks and Spencer to complain that they didn't seem to stock any sports swimsuits at all, let alone any in a size 20. And a lady called Luise replied to say that, tucked in amongst the many frilly lazing-around-a-pool offerings (my description not hers!) there actually were two that had cross-over backs and so were sports swimsuits in all but name, and they came in size 20 amongst other sizes. She sent me the link! I have ordered one! And if it fits - and I think it will - then I will order another pronto.

But I emailed them back to thank her and say that these swimsuits were very hard to find as you couldn't see the back until you clicked on them - and from the front they looked as though they had ordinary straps. A search for "sports swimwear" on their site had produced no results. Again I got a reply to say they'd pass my comments on to Head Office - - so we'll see.

Thanks to those of you who left comments on my blog with useful suggestions about this - I'll be following those up too.

Finally, I went swimming again in Ilkley Lido this morning and found out how many lengths is a mile: it is 36 lengths. In a normal pool it's 64, but this pool is nearly twice as long. So this morning I swam a mile, in my wetsuit, so it seems as though I'm finally getting used to it. My blood sugar got really low in the last few lengths though and Stephen had to feed me mints as I swam - - so I know now that I need to eat more before I swim. A bowl of porridge and a slice of toast still wasn't enough!

I came out ravenous and ate just about everything in the cafe.

On Wednesday Silverback, Stephen and I are off to Le Continong, as the Communist used to call it. Bruges, Amsterdam, and then France, for over two weeks. Hurrah!

And here endeth my titbits for now!