Dressed for the Occasion

How we have evolved from stone-age people where animals and nature provided the material for early humans to cover themselves as protection against the elements using animal hide, tree bark and grasses, to the post-modern age, where we dress according to the occasion.

I was curious as to why time periods were given different names, but the answer was quite obvious, as some of the names are a dead giveaway!

• stone age was when... stone...was used as weapons and tools;
• along came the bronze age, and yes, you've guessed right, metalwork was discovered and the material used was...bronze; however, copper and tin alloy were also used.
• the iron age was when humans learned to heat and forge iron and metal.

Source

There are many other ages before the so-called post-modern era that we live in; middle ages, medieval, and modern.
Makes me wonder just what our current age will be called in the distant future as we surely cannot be called post-modern then - the age of pollution perhaps?

That was just an aside, not a history lesson, so no need to do homework, which we all disliked, just as the little boy said was the worst thing about being young, in a video where a young boy and a man 57 years apart, ask each other questions about life, as shared by Hive account@shadowspub in her wonderful blog Keep Right On To The End Of The Road; full of wisdom from folk who lived long lives.

I love to dress for the occasion, so when my special outfits stayed in my cupboard permanently during Covid restrictions; it was quite exciting clearing out my cupboard and discovering special outfits I'd forgotten about. My casual at-home outfits are looking a tad tired and are in need of replacement!

The clothes we wear often are an indicator of the kind of occasion we're off to, not so, just as it can be a dead giveaway as to what of job or activity we are involved in - the office worker, executive, fitness instructor, tradesman, healthcare worker, priest, detective, entertainer, sportsman, and woman...the list really is endless.

Running our BnB we have hosted a real mix of people booking a stay with us, for all kinds of purposes. I find it fascinating meeting people from all walks of life and seeing how different cultures celebrate special occasions, live life, work hard, and generally make up a mishmash of amazing guests.

The motoring companies and other institutions who send their staff for training, have really been our rock when Covid restrictions were first lifted, as they had to catch up big time.

Before Covid, we had many international guests ranging from young adventurous families to ex-pats visiting family, to holidaymakers as well as a motley of sportsmen and women; Comrades marathon runners, swimmers, darts players, cyclists, BMX riders, and bodybuilders, to name but a few.

We have hosted entertainers as the cottage is spacious enough to store their gear and outfits - a dancing group and a hard-rock band. I can just imagine how difficult the restrictions were for the entertainment industry, and we hope to see more of them now that restrictions have been lifted!

Guests book for happy but also sad occasions.

Pastors and leaders from various faiths have stayed over the years; we've even had a baptism in our swimming pool, on one of the coldest and wettest days of the year!

We've hosted honeymoon couples, as Moms start worrying long before the wedding about their fledglings who will soon flee the nest, and need a place to rest before the long trip to their honeymoon destination.

Can you see how everyone's gear tells a story of what they're up to?

Post-Covid - we had riots and looting on a scale like never before last year, and then in April devastating storms resulted in road closures, bridges washed away, and mudslides that took buildings and lives, so of course, Durban is not seen as the perfect holiday destination, and it's going to take a long while for our tourism reputation to be restored!

It currently is the mid-year school holidays, but we do not have one booking for families holidaying; unheard of in the past!

Thankfully, when I changed our marketing strategy to attract business people as well as up-country families needing accommodation for family and friends' special celebrations, we have been seeing an influx of that kind of bookings.

This past weekend was a whirlwind of special celebrations when a wedding took place; celebrations started two days before the actual wedding already.
Thursday night the bride's family and friends have their own celebration, as does the groom with his. We were blessed to attend a wedding of the daughter of Indian friends of ours; what a jolly affair that was!
We attended the actual wedding the next day, and even though that was more sedate, it was a truly sumptuous affair!

I will share some of the outfits our recent guests wore, a real feast for the eyes!

Despite all the frivolity and busyness of running from one occasion to the next, these were awesome considerate guests, so there was not much to be done in the way of servicing the two units.

Guests like these make our job so very worthwhile; by the time they left, it felt like they were part of the family.
I really love my post-retirement job, and am thankful we survived the difficult restrictive period!

Many in the hospitality industry were not so lucky!