The misery of colds means but one thing. Shopping!

Colds, coughs, flu, sore throats...welcome to autumn!

Actually I love autumn, it's just the fear of some disgusting, attacking sickness that unnerves me.

Mum works at a college and she's been surrounded by the dreaded freshers flu and guess what...looks like I've picked something up, so rehearsing is most definitely out of the question for now.

Beechams All in One ~ Blueberry menthol sweets ~ Max Strength Cold & Flu Relief Sachets ~ Cherry lozenges ~ Lots of water and pineapple juice.

Prepare to battle.

So, if I can't rehearse, what else can I do?

Now, I'm not usually much of a shopping girl, but being an entertainer comes hand in hand with the task of looking good, so I've been out doing a bit of research into shoes and er, shoes and maybe some more shoes.

Seriously, Marks & Spencers have an embarrassingly dreadful selection of attire - not that I expected much really, but I took a snap for your viewing pleasure.

I can only imagine that the display designer was a) intoxicated or b) confused as to which department s/he was dressing the mannequin.  

This is not just a farmer girl outfit, it's an M&S farmer girl outfit.

So whilst there doesn't appear to be anything less than the modern day farmer's wife costume farce available in the shops as we speak, there is a fantastic selection of massively impractical shoes that come with a warning attached to them stating that wearing for more than the suggested time of an hour (seated of course) can lead to purple toes, raging blisters or sprained ankles. Thankfully, I only have to endure the excruciating pain for the duration of a performance.

Evidentially, 6 inch, psycho killer heals were designed for me. Not sure how they'll look with a farmers jacket and waterproofs though.