Chanel suits in the War Office.

 Well here I am again, doing another blog entry! For someone who is barely computer literate I feel quite proud ! I keep forgetting to do CAPITALS and cant get the blimming thing to do paragraphs but nevertheless I am enjoying myself and surely thats what its all about. Of course none of this would have happened without the love, encouragement and downright bullying from my wonderful Twitter friend @LucyMGreenfield.  I say "Twitter friend" but really she has become much more than that, as have many people on Twitter.   Isnt it funny how friends are made ? Working for so long grooming dogs has brought me into contact with so many people, from all walks of life. I admit that we do have our fair share of  "strange" clients but most of them are lovely and many have become personal friends.                                      

One such friend is Phyllis, a stately lady now in her 90s. I have been grooming her dog for years now and we have become really close .She lives with her "sort of" stepson and his partner , in a splendid flat at the rear of their home .    Phyllis comes from another world entirely. her father was an extremely wealthy  American racehorse owner and her Mother was a titled English lady. She lived in a world of Swiss Finishing Schools and "Coming Out" Balls and luxury and priviledge but nevertheless she is a marvellous lady with a wicked sense of humour and  enormous generosity.                   

 Phyllis visits us every 6 weeks and, unlike most clients ,she stays and chats while her dog is groomed .She always comes armed with a bottle of wine, which she insists we sample so we have had to make sure that hers is the last appointment of the day or we would never be able to carry on!    On her last visit, a couple of weeks ago,  she brought a friend who was visting from London.  This meant that two bottles of wine were brought in and two elderly ladies were very merry by the time they left!  Well this friend, Jane had known Phyllis from way back when they were just young "gels" and so she told us lots of stories about their escapades.  Apparently , during the war,  Phyllis Mother thought Phyll should do some "useful work" so Mamma pulled some strings and secured Phyll a clerical job in the War Office . This was where Jane met Phyll and the story that tickled me the most was about Phyll being under a "security" investigation . It seems that her office supervisor wondered how Phyll (on a clerks megre pay) could manage to look so expensively chic everyday. ( I guess they were thinking SPY !)  So she was called into the office and asked  " How do you manage to be so well turned out day after day ?" . Of course  Phyll hadnt a clue what they were getting at, she just thought they wanted fashion tips !   So she said , " Well I have 3 or 4 little Chanel suits in black and navy.  Of course they would be boring on their own everyday , but I find if one accessorises with a different diamond brooch and sometimes a Hermes scarf in various colours , strings of pearls or  diamond earrings ,one can appear to be wearing something different every day "                        

          I would have loved to have seen their faces !