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I would like to tell a story of when I was 5 or years old in Ohio [Spring 1967 at 12:00 Noon]. I was riding my bicycle in the neighborhood. I had a little argument with my parents, left the house abruptly and rode my bicycle through different neighborhoods.
Everything was great until I started to get lost in the neighborhoods. [Remember that even in Ohio in the tumultuous 1960's there were kidnappings of children].
Meanwhile, my parents counted the minutes, and hours until they found out I was lost. At 7:00PM approximately, they called the Police and the Neighbors. One of the Neighbors who belonged to a Rock Group [the Rock Group later emigrated to London England] interrupted their sessions so that the Rock Group could find me.
Back to myself, I was scared and hungry. I stayed put in a well lit area of the neighborhood [which was on a hill]. At 8:00PM, My Parents, The Police, and Neighbors [including the Rock Group] found me and were overjoyed. This was the first and last time [during a long period] that I would experiment going far.
Complain about this postDown-siding. Love your program sat Live.
Here’s a new angle on down-siding.
(tried posting this in "contact us" but would not 'send'.)
I’ve recently come back from living in Brazil for the past 15 years. I left behind me my wife of 13 years and house with 7 bathrooms, a maid a gardener, pool and entertainments area. We lived the good life and never wanted for anything. We had no children a wide circle of friends.
My wife will soon be joining me after she completes her contract in Brazil.
I have returned to England with almost nothing hoping beyond hope that I will soon be working again and earning enough for us to kick start our lives once again.
My down-siding has been self inflicted but I have relished the idea and have launched myself into a very slimmed down version of life, eating very well, yet my cost of living and outgoings are so very little. I have reasons and methods for all of this.
However, this is not the reason I am writing. It is to illustrate the class consciousness that takes place when downsizing occurs and how to overcome this situation.
My wife is very fashion conscious and has always had good taste in all she wears, accessories, make up and perfume etc. She has a wide ranging wardrobe to meet all our varied commitments to support our business in publishing. She was my editor and could power dress as well as look red hot in next to nothing. Her tastes in casual clothes and shoes were excellent and she was always very aware of her presentation to the world.
As she is now about to leave Brazil she will have the usual international luggage restrictions which will limit her choice in what she brings to England with her. Her wardrobe at the moment consists of tropical clothing and does not even carry a sweater let alone all the variety of clothes we need here in the UK to face a business life throughout our four crazy seasons.
Unbeknown to her I am building a wardrobe to suit her taste and personality, for sure I will not be 100% successful in my choice, I am aiming at perhaps 75% – 80%.
And how am I achieving this. Because I know her size, weight , height, shoe sizes and body measurements, I have created a policy of buying something for her every week (she does not know any of this) but ALL from charity shops and ebay and classified ads from the local papers.
So when she eventually arrives, soon, she will have a fully operational wardrobe to greet her. I am most concerned with her welfare and health and that has taken priority. I have bought job lots of Size 12s, beautiful sheepskin coats and jackets, boots, shoes and hats (I bought a new Russian hat on ebay from St Petersburg because it was real, new and so cheap. A genuine one that goes with her winter ensemble, I had to buy the Military Stars to go with it, should she fancy displaying them!).
I have bought her Helena Rubenstein make up and Clinique perfume, super jeans and tops, suits and shoes, the full Monty.
Wherever I see an item that I think she would like I buy it. All from Charity Shops and the like. I have a very discerning taste myself and a good eye for a bargain and she and her friends will never ever know how or where they came to be in her wardrobe.
If she was to arrive and trudge round charity shops etc in her first couple of months here she would not like the stigma that stupidly is attached to such buying sprees.
I will be intrigued to see her face when she does arrive and see what she discards. Whatever items are not chosen I will donate back into the system. She will never know.
You may wish me to enlarge on this and the actual list I have managed to acquire and how.
Perhaps we will start to upsize once in the future again, but this exercise has sure taught me a lesson or two. And it ain’t over yet!
billp Not confidential.
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