Old Ladies are in Vogue

I planted some dahlias for my mother earlier in the year. I was concerned at the time how drawn I was to them. I planted some for myself too but in a pot as I knew I would probably regret their blousey nature in my garden.

As you can see hers have blossomed beyond belief. They are utterly gorgeous -tall, full of colour, and perfectly formed. A real treat. She is thrilled. Mine on the other hand are tiny with pathetic little blooms. I get a sense however that they may feature in my garden soon, become the new must have plant, return to the realms of style.

My mother had no shopping list today. Her head has been taken up lately with her new i-pod, which she got for her birthday. She has always loved her music and spent her holiday, earlier in the year with my sister, sitting by the pool singing, loudly, to every tune on my sister's i-pod.

Today I showed her how to use her docking station as yesterday she had listened to 112 tunes through her headphones. She couldn't get the clip to work so was walking around with the machine tucked in her bra. She is thrilled that she can now move the machine around and listen to the music without the cans.

She was quick to consider times when she could take the i-pod with her when she is out. She plans taking it to Tesco, and on the bus into town. It immediately conjured up an image of my 75 year old mother, sitting on the bus, in her anorak, with the hood up and her headphones in, singing along. In Style and on trend, my ma can rock with the best of youth. Now that's style