MY CLOTHES TUESDAY WEDNESDAY

Writer Rachel Tompkins, 42, raised a few eyebrows with her choice of clothing

Pre-covid, I got a navy ball gown on ebay. Sadly, the ball got cancelled, but what better occasion to wear it than watching my eldest son Rory, nine, at his weekly football match?

Standing at the sidelines in my dress and diamanté hair accessory, the other parents looked me up and down. ‘You’re going to be chilly!’ one dad said. He was right. It was freezing, and I longed for my usual football-watching attire of long johns and a thermal vest.

It’s always such a mad rush on school mornings that the best I can do is wear a pair of jeans with a T-shirt or hoodie. So this morning as I flounced downstairs in my brightly coloured floral maxi the whole family was surprised. ‘Are you going to another ABBA concert?’ my youngest, Seb, six, asked, remembering the last time I’d worn it to an ABBA tribute in the summer. Despite the black boots to dress it down, I stood out like a sore thumb walking the boys into school. The eldest was so embarrassed that he refused to walk with me, while Seb hid his face in shame!