This is London

Mr & Mrs That's Not My Age are leaving town for a few days. The royal wedding and the smog are a blight on our lovely city so we're getting away from the cloying atmosphere. Maybe Kate Middleton will be wearing an anti-pollution mask? Anyhow. It'll be a different matter next year, when during the 2012 Olympics we'll be exuding national pride - and hopefully catching some of the world-class action. We've just put our bid in for tickets (athletics and cycling) so fingers crossed everyone! Actually, could you cross them after you've left a comment? Anyhow. Whatever happens, I'll be wearing my new Stella McCartney Team GB T-shirt (above):

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip out to the Olympic site, stopping off to check out the iconic Olympic rings, and the London 2012 shop, at St Pancras station (where I picked up the t-shirt, but there are other outlets and you can also buy online.) Then we headed across London, and took the DLR to Pudding Mill Lane. There's a lot of construction work going on but I like the view as you walk out of the station and up towards the site:



And there's a lovely café called the View Tube, where we stopped for lunch, coffee and a cake. Oh yes, I'm not as fast as I used to be but I still have the appetite of an Olympic athlete:






All the building work is going to schedule and tah dah! - the main stadium is complete. The Anish Kapoor sculpture, which incorporates the five Olympic rings, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, is under way. Pity you can't see Zaha Hadid's gorgeous Pringle-shaped aquatics centre, it's hidden by the spectator stands on either side of it (to the right of the Anish Kapoor's red pylon):




Definitely worth a visit. And if you're feeling energetic, you can take a walk along the canal at Old Ford Lock. We're quite nosy so we'll be popping back to check on progress and visit the View Tube cafe before the end of the year.

Mum shoes

That's Not My Age has problem feet. And this means that ballet pumps and super flat sandals are out of the question. So when summer comes, I'm always on the look out for a shoe with a comfy rubber sole or low wedge heel. Sadly, said footwear is often high in frump factor and low in style. Last year whilst visiting the brother in NYC, I was delighted to find a pair of APC wedge sandals that weren't too steep - well, the gradient of the wedge was fine but the price was a bit on the high side. So delighted in fact, that I wore them out of the store, and walked all the way back to brother's apartment, only to be told as I stepped through the door that, 'They look like something mum would wear.'



Now I realise that ironic footwear doesn't work so well as you get older, I spent most of last summer trying not to look like a pensioner on a coach trip. Teaming my comfy sandals with rolled up skinny jeans and a boyfriend jacket seemed to work, and this year I'm going to try them with a shirtdress. The shoes may be a tad Mrs That's Not My Age Senior, but I'm not ready for Crimplene slacks just yet.

And, yay! Good news has arrived via The Sunday Times Style Magazine. Mum shoes are in vogue! As seen on the S/S 2010 catwalk at Stella McCartney:





Mum shoes are also available from Margaret Howell (top black & white picture), and in descending order below; Clarks Originals, Camper (with hidden mini heel) and Land's End. Just be careful how you wear them.






Don't you love it when something easy to wear slips onto the fashion radar? Or am I showing my age?

Photos:

Stella McCartney: Mitchell Sams from Marie Claire