Thursday 22 May 2014

Rescue Me

The past few weeks have been immensely hectic but also very rewarding and fun.
I am thrilled to announce that both Mark and I are now PADI Rescue Divers, huzzah!
The course consisted of one classroom session, three pool sessions and the open water grande finale at Dogfish Reef, Loch Fyne last Sunday.
To say that the course was physically demanding would be an understatement, there were times when I was seriously wondering if I'd be able to get through it. 
To surface an unresponsive diver, giving rescue breaths and towing him or her to the shore whilst removing their and your own gear, then dragging them onto the shore before performing CPR and instructing others to contact Emergency Services (or having to do this yourself) is a TALL ORDER! However when you succeed in doing it, you feel totally flipping awesome.
The Rescue Diver Course made me realize the utmost importance of personal fitness and also that I still have to gain a fair bit of diving experience before I get to grips with the Dive Master Course.
So the aim for the coming months will be to go diving whenever the opportunity presents itself.
There are plenty of great dive sites to explore here in Scotland and with any luck we will have a great summer of doing just that.
I'm also hoping to do a few more courses with Aquatron; the Search and Recovery one is at the top of my list.

Last Saturday it was time for Frocktasia to roll out the rail again at Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair
This time the fair was held in the fabulous Wasp Artists' Studio in The Briggait, which is a tremendously impressive, wonderfully light building and hands down the best venue we've ever had the pleasure to trade at.
Much like the last Judy's we did, we were kept busy pretty much from the beginning to the end and our complimentary necklaces and lollipops went down a treat.
I'm not sure when the next Judy's will be held in Glasgow but the fair floor manager on the day said that there might be one in Edinburgh during the festival and hopefully by then we will have a car.

Here is my May (thus far) in pics...
The first thing we sold at Judy's last Saturday was the 90s knitted RAVE hat.
May it go forth and have a wicked summer on the head of the wee girly that bought it.
The obligatory SIFOS (seller in front of stall) pics.
Cut-offs are evidently still going strong. I remember tutting at the prices of these when Vix (VOTE VIX) and I went to the London Fashion Weekend in 2010, I think they've come down in price since then?!
Tallula Vintage had some exceptionally pretty frocks up for grabs but alas I am still on a buying ban. 
Tania was our delightful stall neighbour on the day. Her fabulous Etsy shop is stocked to the hilt with eclectic vintage finds and upcycled discoveries.
The fetching retro print curtain in the £3 bargain bag of another seller made me think of The Queen of Curtain Couture (VOTE VIX).
I had to take a sneaky-snap of this fabulous shopper because I loved her psychedelic print mini frock and hippie head-chain get-up.
So much vintage and retro finery under one roof...truly something for everyone! 
I wish every day was a Judy's day :)
What I Wore: 70s psychedelic print dress (Chiswick car boot sale), 70s suede waistcoat (Vintage dealer friend), layered tights (99p stores & Aldi), African mask necklace (Princess May car boot sale) and suede pixie boots (gift from my mum-in-law).
On Sunday I brought my camera to the dive site in the hopes that I'd be able to take some cool snaps of us after the Rescue Diver Course but as soon as we left Glasgow the sky ripped open and it poured down pretty much the whole time we were at Dogfish Reef, so no luck there.
To be honest I was too shattered afterwards to even entertain the idea of acting photographer or even pose for pics...Yes, I really was that tired ;)
We managed to take a couple of pics in the morning before we set off.
This is what the house looks like the day after diving. Drysuits & BCDs in the bathtub and a plethora of gear drying out on bath towels scattered throughout the flat.
It makes me feel very proud to see these pages of my training record signed off and I think Mark and I will have yet another wee celebration when our PADI certification cards come through.
Before wrapping up, I'll just share a little picture medley from when we went to see Maiden Scotland play here in Glasgow, they ROCKED! 
Last time we lived in Glasgow back in 2000 we had a band together with Dave who is pictured with his lovely girlfriend Emma and Allen who now plays bass for Maiden Scotland.
Hope you are all doing grand and if you haven't already VOTE FOR VIX!!!
I'll love you and leave you with the soundtrack for the Rescue Diver Course :)
All the best,
Jennie
xXx



7 comments:

Panty Buns said...

Congratulations to you and Mark for having achieved PADI Rescue Diver status. In succeeding in doing all that you are flipping awesome! It's also awesome that you're aiming for going even beyond (impressively) being Rescue Divers to being Dive Masters!
I'll look forward to reading about your dive sites explorations in Scotland (any in Loch Ness?). I would imagine that the cameras and lighting for underwater photography can be expensive so I won't get my hopes up too high for seeing those.
"the best venue we've ever had the pleasure to trade at" is high praise indeed for Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair at the Wasp Artists' Studio in Briggait! What gorgeous looking rails of frocks!
I did vote Vix for Vintage Personality at the National Vintage Awards. If you'd still been living in England I'd imagine you and that velvet finger pistol of yours might be up for an award as well.
The 70s psychedelic print dress you wore is beautiful. The long trumpet sleeved swirl pattered pink and rose maxi dress over your ( and Mark's) left shoulder in the second, third and last photos is gorgeous!
I can easily understand your being too tired for photos in the rain after that Rescue Diver course finale at Dogfish Reef. I'm very impressed that you successfully completed the course.
What a hoot leaving us with the song "Rescue Me"! I love it!

http://www.full-brief-panties.blogspot.com/2014/05/shadowline-and-victorias-secret.html

Vix said...

Happy Birthday to Mark and well done on your diving - another step closer to living the dream!
Your pitch (and your outfit) looked fabulous. That girl with her psychedelic dress on looked wonderful, hope she bought the hat.
Funnily enough I had that £3 curtain and made it into a bag which I use for my shopping!
Yes, remember us tutting at the prices of those shorts? They have come down in price a fair bit now, maybe the youths have clocked how easy it is to buy a pair of jeans and cut the legs off themselves.
Have a fab weekend and thanks for the big up! xxxxxxxxxxx

Connie said...

Congratulations! I KNOW how hard this is. Both of my brothers are divers. And such an important thing to do. Bravo to you and Mark. Also important is your quest to improve the wardrobes of the locals. You are a girl of many talents. Of course I voted for VIX!!!!!!

Connie Staccato said...

Congratulations! You two are inspirational.

thorne garnet said...

I love how the market has that outside in side feel (vote for Vix). Congrats on you diving course (vote for Vix) I don't even know how to swim!

Becky said...

Congrats on the diving course!! Your dress is incredible!!!

Curtise said...

Well done for passing your diving course, and for your continuing selling success. Your pitch looks fab, and I adore your dress. xxx