post: Postcard

Chairs in Paris, thanks Claire!

London Happenings

Rain, Southbank at night, teeny tiny kite flying, pirate instructions, before the big day and a lot of Charlies.

Windows of Bristol

My favourite thing about Bristol was all the lovely windows.

The Dogs

On Saturday we went to watch the greyhound racing at Wimbledon Stadium. It was like being in a Blur photo shoot, everything looked exactly as I had imagined from the colours of the stadium to the crowd of people gathered and when the sun went down it looked even better - surely all greyhound racing should take place at night, preferably wrapped up in a scarf on a cold evening. We had a blast and the evening just flew by. Astonishingly we even won back all of our money.

AUGUST

The Museum of Broken Relationships

I visited the Museum of Broken Relationships last week, an exhibition of items that are left over at the end of a failed relationship and eventually given to the museum with a short description as to why the owner had held on to it and why now they were ready to donate it.

It makes for a strange collection of assorted inanimate objects that have been given a meaning and value beyond their purpose. At times sad or angry, amusing or hopeful it's overall poignantly nostaglic and well worth the visit.

It has found a temporary home scattered around various locations in Seven Dials and closes this weekend.

What More Suitable Present for Your Friends at Home?

I seem to have accidently started a collection of old Athens travel guides. This latest one is probably my favourite.

Foxy Floating Cinema

On Friday evening we went to the Floating Cinema at Three Mills to watch The Fantastic Mr Fox. Luckily the weather held out and we had a really lovely evening, the highlight of which was seeing the Bean, Boggis, Bunce and Mr Fox maquettes.

Approaching schoolgirl levels of excitement

Peckham

Just the sun setting over Peckham

JULY

Gin, Pool and Rainbows

A glass of gin and a game of pool and the brightest rainbow I've ever seen at the Earl Ferrers

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.

Papercuts

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.

Peacocks and Paintings

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.

Robots

Clearly a productive day at work

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.

Cardiff Castle

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

Coast

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

134mph

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