The Bag Lady

I have a secret! I am a bag lady. Like a snail who carries her home on her back I am prepared for every eventuality.

I am always playing the game to find the one bag to fit every purpose.  The stakes are high the payout can be disappointing.  Like the man in the bar who silently feeds coins into the one armed bandit divorced from the busy Spanish bar; his hopes are high, but he shuffles away with empty pockets hoping next time his luck will change. Such is my desire to find the perfect bag!

Also, unless the bag meets my stringent requirements there will be tears.  A recent acquisition fell from my shoulder onto the front wheel of my bike and was ripped almost beyond repair; a cobbler was able work miracles because it was made of leather.   So it should be robust or reparable.

Also it should not be too small or worse too big I am 5’2’’ and the bag should not be bigger than me unless I am going to sleep in it!

I am not alone in this quest for a perfect bag; I discuss this dilemma with most people I meet, my current shopper is the child of such a conversation. A couple from London came into our local bar last year.  The woman rushed the ladies while her partner clutched a ‘work of art’ to his chest – a beautiful red leather creation although a ‘shopper’ it doubles has as shoulder bag. I wasted no time in discovering its cost and supplier.

I tracked it down and it proved to be a perfect accessory when having tea with the Queen last year (invited as my mother guest when she was nominated by the High Commissioner of High Wycombe for services to the community) .

It was a typical English day in July, raining heavily.  There was little shelter in the garden of Buckingham Palace for the commoners.  So … one’s bag contained everything needed for a rainy day in London and tea on the lawn.  A back-pack would have been more practical, leaving one’s hands free for the ‘afternoon tea’ but these I believe were considered a security risk and removed at the gate.  I, not wishing to part with my presently perfect bag, was smug; seeing ‘ladies teetering on heels to die for, with drooping fascinators, dampened pashminas and clutch bags that had the all the staying power of a wet paper bag, on a soggy lawn very nice for three hours, when I found a kagool and a pair of red ‘flatties’ that matched (another vital ingredient) at the bottom of my bag.

My bags are not a fashion accessory they represent my life and home, not only containing implements of communication (manual and electronic), instruments of beauty but the kitchen ‘just in case’ – they are a security blanket but are beautiful nonetheless.

http://www.conranshop.co.uk/222853/LEATHER_BUCKET_BAG/Product