Most of November has been about Lockdown Lite or Lockdown V2.0 and hasn't it felt different to the original version?!  With more shops open (due to being classified as 'essential') and it only being four weeks but also as it is winter and cold, no sitting outside, or enjoying the spring flowers in the woods.  Plus, my son has left home and my daughter is still away at uni - I have a quiet house!  I have not made banana bread, filled the freezer, done any extra cleaning or queued outside a supermarket.  Life almost feels normal - I say almost, there is nothing normal about 2020.  After I wrote this intro we then got our tiers announced.  Oh dear.  Is this actually just Lockdown V2.5?  

In the spring I really enjoyed dressing up and posting on Instagram, even if I wasn't going anywhere, it isn't so much fun when I can't wear a summer dress!  Most of November has seen me wearing jeans or leggings and warm knitwear.

Anyway here is a little round up of what I have been doing to 'be fifty and fab' this month.  I am also sharing some useful info - a menopause survey which I'd love you to help with and an interactive activity to help improve our understanding of food product labelling and your input will give better guidance to food regulators!

A short update this month I think, it's been a funny month and now finished off with the start of Lockdown V2.  I hate all these 2020 words ... lockdown, bubble, social distancing, masks, self-isolating, covidiot ... I am beginning to rebel and refuse to use them.  I don't have a bubble.  I have a family and I want to see them.

When I looked back at my September #beingfiftyandfab post I was still wearing late summer clothes.  Now I have moved to early winter!  The clocks have changed and the heating is on!  I am not a fan of the colder weather and heavy clothes, I do love my boots and scarves but mostly I hate being so trussed up in layers.  I'd much rather be in a light summer dress or a bikini!  There is so much more to think about with winter dressing.  

If you are on Instagram do join in with #beingfiftyandfab and tag me `@fifty_andfab so I can find you, get to know you and share a few posts!

Hello and welcome to my little monthly round up of what I have been doing to 'be fifty and fab' and the last month has been busy and fun but exhausting.  I think I will avoid the dreaded virus talk, that is driving me insane.  So how are you?  I really do appreciate every read and view and your support of my blog so thank you for stopping by and do get in touch if there's anything you'd like to see or ask me.  

I hope to inspire you with my regular chatter, with my outfit ideas and beauty and fitness thoughts.  It isn't my aim to be wearing unrealistically glamorous outfits every day that means you need to buy something new!  Rather that you might see something I have put together and be inspired to shop your wardrobe and find new outfit combinations.

In September my daughter went back to university, we visited her for a Sunday lunch, we still had amazing weather, I've only just started swapping my wardrobe over, I have started getting back to exercise, oh and my dad booked three holidays for next year, he's more optimistic than I am!

Read on though for more details, my latest news and some outfit inspiration!

Hi, how are you all?  I know I popped up last week with my 'new year goals' but I am hoping that this week is my proper return to routine.  Is there really such a thing post-lockdown?  I cannot believe what has happened in 2020 ... it still feels surreal and well you couldn't make it up could you?  I have gone from mild acceptance in the early days back in March to feeling totally lost and confused and frustrated with the conflicting decisions and the inconsistency.  I really worry about the long term implications that I suspect could be far worse than the number of Covid deaths, whilst these are all terribly sad, any loss of life is, but we are ignoring the implications for mental health, for disadvantaged children, for victims of domestic abuse, for those with dementia, the lack of healthcare and testing for cancer, heart disease and the like, the rise in the number of suicides, I could go on and on.  We have virtually shut down our travel industry.  We were asked to 'eat out to help out' at the same time as the Government announcing that we had to tackle obesity.  I appreciate that any Government put in this position would have struggled but I am feeling more than a bit let down I will be honest.

From a personal perspective, my plans for 2020 changed rather rapidly!   I had been expecting an empty nest from early spring.  My son was in the process of buying his first home and then it got delayed.  My daughter was at uni but had to come home.  So a lot later than expected, some sort of normal is back this weekend.  My son has finally been able to move and my daughter heads back to Bath on Sunday.  I appreciate I had it easier than most though, although there were times when things did get pretty bad!