As some of you will know, I’ve been dealing with Long Covid for the past few years. It’s slowed me right down, broken me at times, and occasionally taken me places I’d not planned for (such as enjoying cold showers and learning how to hold my breath for three minutes!)
I’d pretty much stopped school events, which I loved, because a mixture of stress and broken nervous system made it awful. But now, I’m much more in control of things, and doing really well. I’ve started saying yes to things, which is an amazing feeling.
I spent Tuesday in lovely Coombe Hill Junior school near Kingston, speaking to the Year 3s. It’s a school I’ve visited at least five times over the past ten years, and despite a two-hour drive each way, I knew I’d be really happy there and the body wouldn’t mind the effort.
It felt good to be back on the road after so long, and I remembered all my song lines, which makes me very happy! (If anyone is ever interested in a school visit, do get in touch!)
Going back into a school also made me realise how many hats I have, and I thought it would be fun to share them. Each new book deserves a new one, obvs, and I do love making them. (Sadly, my yeti head is in the loft, so you won’t see that here!)
So, first up, here’s me in me mode, with my usual hair-controlling beanie hat and yes, I do need a shave.
Next up is the classic Hotel Flamingo look. If you work at the hotel, you have a little pink bellhop hat, so I had to learn how to make one. The process was pretty simple. I made this by steaming (using the steam off a kettle) and then stretching a load of pink felt over a wooden former, then slathering it with PVA glue. A little bit of gold decoration and a nice bias-binding trim, et voila! They were actually really easy to make, so I made a few to keep me going. They get a bit squished in my bag, hence the crumples.
Next up is my Ms Fragranti flamingo hat. Pre-covid, I would wear this while a number of kids wore flamingo wings and danced to a disco flamingo tune. Hopefully, soon, I’ll resurrect the dance moves! It bounces nicely, and falls off regularly, but that’s all part of the fun.
And finally, here’s a moose hat I made for Big Sky Mountain. It’s ridiculously wide, and almost impossible to fit into a selfie. I totally feel like a moose when I wear it, which makes singing my Albert the Moose song very easy!
So there you have it. I am clearly a master ( or mooster) of disguise!
I want to witness this lovely performance one day :)
You're going to need to get the yeti out of the loft to show everyone. It's probably the best of the lot!