What’s in Stratford Girl’s bag?
Is it meme as in ‘them’ or meme as in ‘game’? I never know, having only ever seen this word written down. Either way, Princesse has tagged me with this very exciting one and I’ve been looking forward to writing this post all weekend …
During the week, I carry a very boring black rucksack. Princesse was right when she predicted that it would contain lots of SLT paperwork. I won’t bore you by writing about that though. Instead, I’ve decided to write about the contents of the bag I lugged around with me for most of the day yesterday.
I took a photo, but it didn’t do it justice, so I’m not including it here. Perhaps I’ll try and take another one at some point. The bag comes from Accessorize and is made from a brown suede-like material. It looks small, but it’s amazing how much stuff I can fit in it - kind of like Mary Poppins.
This is what was in it when I emptied out the contents yesterday evening …
Looks like a load of old junk, doesn’t it?!
Reading material
I met A. and E. for lunch at a restaurant near Swanley in Kent. It was about a two hour journey door to door from Stratford, so I needed to take something to read on the tube and train.
I don’t often buy newspapers during the week. I tend to get my news fix from the internet, the (highly addictive) BBC News 24 or from reading the free newspapers on the tube. However, I love buying a big, fat newpaper at the weekend. I often buy The Guardian on Saturday, although I do find it a bit annoying sometimes. Although I live in London, I hate the way it’s totally London-centric, and how, although they try to be a left-wing, all inclusive, right-on kind of publication, they often fail miserably. (Nowhere is this more noticeable than in the ‘Family’ section of the paper, where yummy mummies write in for advice about finding retro swimming hats*, or whether or not to send little Rollo to the local comp or “go private”).
Having said all that, I do quite like Weekend magazine. Some of the articles are obscure, but there are often one or two interesting ones. I also love the Q&A section at the front of the magazine, (where a famous person is interviewed), the Experience bit (where a reader writes about an unusal experience they’ve had) and the Weekending section towards the end of the magazine (fashion, food, where to move to, gardening etc.).
Also in my bag was a book in German (”P.S. I love you” by Cecelia Ahern). I studied German at university, and I’m ashamed to say that I’ve become a little rusty recently … so I’m hoping that this book will get me back on track.
* You can get them in Harrods, apparently.
Make up
All this was in the little back pouch, just about visible in the first photo, above. I hardly ever wear make-up to work. It’s not that I don’t need it (I think I do!) - I just never have time to put it on. Yesterday morning before going out, I didn’t have time either, so, I became one of those people that everyone hates and did my make-up on the train. Luckily, my carriage was virtually empty, so I was able to beautify myself without too many people seeing.
I love the stuff in the silver tube - it’s a Body Shop rip-off of Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat, and is great for covering up bags under the eyes. The little brown balls are a bronzer/ blusher thing and are also fab (also from The Body Shop). Unfortunately I forgot my blusher brush yesterday, so it looked a bit crap when I put it on with a manky old tissue.
More stuff to beautify myself
I really can’t believe that all this stuff was in my bag …
Hand cream - couldn’t live without it. I hate having dry hands.
Superdrug cleansing lotion. Not sure how this got in, but it’s lovely stuff. It’s really cheap, but smells gorgeous and leaves my skin feeling lovely!
Wet Wipes/ paracetamol/ hair band/ tissues. I’m not usually this organised. I’m usually rummaging around in my coat pocket for a crusty old piece of loo roll if I need to wipe my nose.
Contact Lenses case. I don’t leave the house without it. Well, I often forget it, so that’s not quite true, but it’s a nightmare if your contact lense falls out or you get something in your eye and your haven’t got anywhere to put the thing. Anyone who wears contact lenses will empathise.
The important stuff (and some more crap)
My mum always jokes that I’m like the queen as I never carry any cash around with me: here I’ve a grand total of 46p. (Thankfully, that’s where the similarity with her Maj ends: I pay my taxes, and she …er …well … what is it she does again?). My mum’s right, though. I am very bad at remembering to get cash out of the machines and end up buying newspapers and pints of milk with my debit cards, which she finds hilarious.
Also, in this photo is my old phone (you may recall that my lovely Nokia was pinched the other day). This phone doesn’t actually work, but it still has some people’s numbers on it, so it has come in handy. There’s also my credit cards (definitely recommend First Direct), some receipts, some tickets from the Bluebell Railway, where I went with my nephew a few weeks ago, and some train tickets from my travels over the past few days. Not sure where my keys were …
And finally …
Two tube maps. Why two?
An M&S brochure.
The Dorothy Perkins gift card I was sent following the Green Slime Incident (still haven’t bought anything with it yet).
An empty chocolate peanuts and raisins packet. Delicious and er … kind of healthy …
A random empty plastic cotton wool bag and, mysteriously, two tags from clothes I bought a while ago.
*******************
And that, my friends, is it. I am shocked that I had so much stuff in such a small bag, and think I might need to have a clear out.
Now I believe it’s my turn to tag some other people. Mathschick, Gastropunk, Mya, Uncle Norman, Soph, Brennig, and (the blogless) Pierre -what’s in your bags/ wallets?
pierre l replied:
Wow! Are you actually able to lift all that SG?
So, to my pockets (I don’t carry a wallet as such). I very rarely go anywhere without my suit jacket or a blazer. I carry two sets of keys (each with a house key) which enable me to drive three of our cars (one of which is my son’s and not normally at home). I have a pen, a copy of my medical prescription, both parts of my driving licence, a nice little credit card case with the Lotus logo on it, a small torch (one AAA cell), a lens-cleaning cloth for my glasses, random credit-card vouchers for things I bought recently, a mobile phone,a few loose tissues, a black covered elastic for when I want to tie my hair back. I also carry enough coins to buy my newspapers (the Guardian and the Independent, but they don’t fit in my pockets) and around £20 in notes. I keep a Kent HeadHog hairbrush in my desk.I do not wear a watch (the mobile phone does that) or any rings. I do wear sandals pretty well all year round.
November 18, 2007 at 9:55 pm. Permalink.
princesse replied:
Yasssssssssss! You carry just as much stuff around with you as I do - in fact I do believe you carry more!!!
Those Marks and Sparks chocolate raisons and peanuts look delish! Oh and the book, I’ve read it in English it’s lovely, such a lovely but sad book, hope you’re enjoying it! (V v v impressed at the fact it’s in German by the way! You’re a clever cookie!)
One more thing - I am a contact lense wearer too and I ALWAYS mean to take my case with me because I ALWAYS end up needing it except I ALWAYS forget it and it ALWAYS drives me insane. You’ve reminded me to put the case in my handbag right now! Hooray! Thanks SG!
xx
November 18, 2007 at 10:03 pm. Permalink.
princesse replied:
See that’s one thing I never understand…men can fit EVERYTHING in their pockets - Pierre how do you guys do it?! Do you all have extra deep pockets or something? I can’t even fit my mobile phone in my pocket, never mind all the stuff I normally lug around with me!
November 18, 2007 at 10:06 pm. Permalink.
pierre l replied:
hello princesse. Men;s clothes do tend to have large pocjet
November 18, 2007 at 11:23 pm. Permalink.
pierre l replied:
Apologies for the dreadful spelling on the previous comment…, and I always check the pockets before buying anything.
November 18, 2007 at 11:29 pm. Permalink.
Genevieve replied:
My college bag actually broke, I had so much crap shoved into it…
November 19, 2007 at 12:11 am. Permalink.
pierre l replied:
Having slept on this, I would like to say how beautifully SG presented the contents of her pocked, with all these lovely pictures. Thank you for an enjoyable post.
November 19, 2007 at 5:42 am. Permalink.
Soph replied:
I will do my duty, as I have been tagged…but not tonight…since I left my bag at work. Duh. With my work keys in it. Double duh.
Soon…And I have a different meme thingy on my latest blog post…
Sophxxx
November 19, 2007 at 7:45 pm. Permalink.
Brennig Jones » Tagged replied:
[...] gorgeous Stratford Girl has tagged and bagged [...]
November 19, 2007 at 9:23 pm. Permalink.
Brennig replied:
Thanks for the tag! I shall respond tomorrow-ish.
November 19, 2007 at 9:30 pm. Permalink.
stratfordgirl replied:
Pierre: thanks for revealing all about your pockets! You must have *very* large pockets to fit all that in … And yes, I really do carry all that around! (ps thanks for the compliment about the post by the way!)
Princesse: yes, the peanuts/ raisins were delicious … but I felt a bit sick after scoffing the whole bag!
Genevieve: I see that Brennig has tagged you, so I look forward to reading what is in your bag!
Soph, Brennig: look forward to reading about your bags, too!
November 19, 2007 at 10:52 pm. Permalink.
Genevieve replied:
Yes, he has. I fear that it will be a very *large* post, as I currently have 3 bags I am using/that merit discussion.
November 20, 2007 at 8:54 am. Permalink.
ColbyPants replied:
Thats must be one mighty large bag. . .
November 21, 2007 at 8:22 am. Permalink.
Mr R Rabbit replied:
Meme as in ‘gene’, or ‘dream’, gene being the origin of the word in a way.
And how do you manage to carry all of that stuff? I know others have asked but I still don’t get it. I just carry a lighter, keys, wallet, cigarettes and my phone.
November 22, 2007 at 12:10 am. Permalink.
stratfordgirl replied:
Colby Pants: Actually it’s not that big; it’s just that it’s transcendentally dimensional
Mr Rabbit: Bienvenue! Thanks for clarifying the pronunciation of meme. I will go and check out your blog now …!
November 24, 2007 at 6:32 pm. Permalink.
Uncle Norman replied:
SG
At the moment as I type there is not much in my pockets or my wallet. I always carry about 50 pounds and 50 Euros in cash but at them moment I have about 50 quid in Bulgarian levs. I don’t carry photos but I do have each of the first teeth my two girls lost. I often think how silly is that but they stay with me because there wont be any more.
However I do have a goody bag that I always take with me on jobs. Thats a bit more interesting hbut not much.
I hope to do the tag properly next week.
November 26, 2007 at 3:56 pm. Permalink.
Don’t know what to write, so … « Stratford Girl replied:
[...] Things in my bag (reminds me of a previous meme!): See here for [...]
May 24, 2008 at 4:53 pm. Permalink.