Tuesday 26 July 2011

Morning Coffee


On the train this morning I had what I will call a Cold Attack where my cold practically attacked me. There I was immersed in my book when it quite suddenly grabbed me by my throat and throttled me until I was swimming in my own tears and coughing up my own lungs. Not a great look; everyone near me took a visible step back lest they catch whatever lurgies I may be harbouring.

I got off the train at the next stop and bought myself a coffee at the delightful Bertie and Boo in Balham. Sadly I spilt some of it on the train ride home. Happily none of it spilt on my new white dress.

Thursday 21 July 2011

Papercuts

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I've been trying some really basic papercutting recently, this is an older one that I started out with. If I get good at it it might develop into a little project.

Saturday 16 July 2011

Peacocks and Paintings

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Last week we went to the Cult of Beauty exhibition at the V&A. Walter Hamilton first wrote of the Aesthetes in his book The Aesthetic Movement in England and the exhibition attempts to piece together the people that made up this period. Given that it stretches over 40 years, is more of an ideal than a movement and revolves around largely unconnected people, it is not strange that this is the first major Aesthete exhibition.

As we visited during the penultimate weekend of the exhibition the five rooms were almost overbearingly crowded but it really added to the feeling of claustrophobic and dense opulence. The rooms are dark, mostly decorated in rich tertiary colours and corridors lead up to rooms within rooms; like voyeurs we were able to look through peepholes into a life size replica of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's bedroom and step into the cylindrical panoramic Peacock Room.

Here peacock feathers represent art for arts sake, the display of feathers fanned out are seen as a type of beautiful abandon and their iridescent colours recall jewels and the exotic. As such peacock feathers feature heavily throughout the exhibition from wall projections, to Liberty prints and large peacock friezes.

My favourite pieces were the James McNeill Whistler Nocturnes showing the everyday smoggy view of industrialised London through the beautiful shrouds of night, Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations, heavily influenced by Japanese art and parodying the decadence of the age and Christopher Dresser’s silver teapot which looks surprisingly modern alongside the rest of the display.

Sunday 10 July 2011

Penarth


A few minutes across from Cardiff Bay is the Victorian seaside town of Penarth.  There's something comforting about old seaside towns that have somehow survived the changing of time.  The tide was out when we arrived and the wet sand was full of etched hearts.  We visited on a Sunday afternoon with the idea of eating dinner by the sea but absolutely everything was closed except The Fig Tree where we sat on the roof terrace watching the tide coming in.

Saturday 9 July 2011

Cardiff Castle

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Last weekend we spent a couple of day in Cardiff.  Our first stop was Cardiff Castle.

Friday 8 July 2011

Coast

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I don't remember the ocean being quite so blue as this.

Thursday 7 July 2011

134mph

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Another evening at Wimbledon cheering on Nadal against Murray and fulfilling a dream of finally seeing Ivanisevic.

Tuesday 5 July 2011

JUNE

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Things you should know about this motion picture before buying a ticket:
1.) If you're long standing fans of Miss Davis and Miss Crawford, we warn you this is quite unlike anything they've ever done.
2.) You are urged to see it from the beginning.
3.) Be prepared for the macabre and the terrifying.
4.) We ask your pledge to keep the shocking climax a secret.
5.) When the tension begins to build, try to remember it's just a movie.