High Fashion Beneath the Disco Balls

This was my Christmas shopping destination on Monday -- Selfridge's, on Oxford Street. I am not really a shopping person, but I love this store. It's full of swanky designer clothing of the type that I don't often see, and it's always fun to browse through the Gucci denim with embroidered appliqués and the bright, floral-print Paul Smith and Ted Baker shirts.

I expected the outing to be dreadful, but instead, I found myself having fun. Yes, okay, it's consumerist and crowded and a little insane, but so what?

For one thing, the main escalators are bedecked with giant disco balls and there's a DJ on a balcony spinning Christmas tunes. Who doesn't love a disco ball? They make everything better. I even made a video to help you to simulate the full experience.

I did find a few things for Dave, though he's not really a floral-print kind of guy.

This is not for Dave. It's for me! Isn't it an amazing jacket -- not only the blue print but the way the light gives the fabric a purple sheen? And the lining is a silky green and brown botanical print. It probably costs a month's rent -- I didn't even look, because although I truly do love it, I know I couldn't afford it and besides, where would I wear it?

Anyway, feeling incredibly self-indulgent at the end of my store-wandering, I even took Dave's purchases to the gift-wrapping counter. But there was an hour-long wait for the finished packages, so instead I got a gift box, which does the job nicely.

And now it's nice to know that there are a few things under the tree for Dave. (There should be a few more arriving in the mail, insha'allah.)

As I mentioned, I also had a dentist's appointment Monday. He looked around my mouth and prodded my gums with that little hook thing and took two X-rays, one on each side, and pronounced me in excellent oral health. Then he cleaned and polished and the entire exam seemed, frankly, a bit perfunctory -- but at least there's nothing glaringly, obviously wrong. I was concerned about my sensitive back tooth, the one that gives me an unpleasant zing every time I drink cold water, but he said it seems fine. So, on we go!

And finally, on Monday night, we met some friends for a visit to the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, near Smithfield market, to hear a small choral group perform music by Benjamin Britten with harp and organ accompaniment. We've done this a few times before (most recently in 2013, I think) and I always enjoy it. Something about hearing those high, crystalline vocal notes in that setting, amid all that medieval stone and stained glass, is truly special.