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STYLE - Vintage Clothes on Celebrities

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Pure Silk Flapper Dress of the 1920's - made by Martha Battaglia & Louise M. Battaglia
in their factory in New York City. Sold at auction in  2000

When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s it was easy to come by the vintage treasures of the 20s/30s and 40s and even farther back to the ethereal clothes from the Victorian era. Beaded embroidered dresses, velvet opera capes, oriental satin kimonos and fur coats could be picked up at flea markets for very little money. I remember the crocodile handbags with heads on the catches, and the fox fur stoles with heads and tails attached. I was tiny in those days and often wore unimaginably fine cotton children's smock dresses which were adorned with hand made lace and embroidery with my jeans and boots.  Over the years and the many moves they were lost in time.

Victorian child's dressvictorian elegance




Fox shawl


Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac rocks the top hat
with her own design clothes and vintage mix.
 
Many people wore vintage items, especially celebrities. The look for women was very feminine with a touch of Hollywood starlet. Although some were more restrained than others it was also okay to pile it all on together making for a real vintage queen bohemian look. Janis Joplin wore her vintage clothes all the time, not just onstage.


Janis Joplin, the cover shot "Pearl" album cover,
Hollywood, California, 1970
 
Men went through a period of romantic revival as they strutted in their finery like the dandies of the Victorian and Georgian ages. Dickensian orphans meet steampunk before steampink was invented. Some men took to wearing ladies blouses with mixed results. Roger Daltrey was one who really wore it well.


The Who shot by Jim Marshall. Roger is pretty in vintage pink. Pete is a Pearly King.
 
THE SHAWLS AND QUILTS

Victorian embroidered shawls and diamond patterned patchwork quilts were draped over sofas, hung at windows and piled high on beds with cushions. Sadly some were cut up to make clothes which perished with wear or were discarded as fashion moved on. But how bright they blazed while they lasted!


Vintage embroidered 'piano' shawl



Jimmy Page wearing a coat made from a vintage shawl and in his peacock chair adorned with one.


Victoria Vanderbuilt in her victorian patchwork blanket coat.

VINTAGE JEWELS



When I was a teenager I inherited some beaded 1920's necklaces from one of my Grandmothers. They were good quality glass bead. Intricately put together necklaces, many strands twisted into plaited strings, long and with larger more beautiful beads forming tassles at the end. They were definitely evening wear but I remember wearing them all of the time. Once while dancing a strand broke and the floor of the dancehall was covered with tiny glistening beads. We were all immortal then and although I was sad to lose my necklace it never occurred to me that it would be hard to find another. Or that one of the precious links with my Grandmother was gone forever.



Kate Middleton and the tiara
Of course the vintage look comes most naturally to those from old families. On her wedding day Catherine Middleton kept to the tradition of 'something borrowed' by wearing a tasteful but stunning tiara from the royal collection. The Cartier 'Halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen was made in 1936 and  purchased by King George VI for his wife, Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) just three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Elizabeth II by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday. As the tiara is part of the Crown Jewels, it can only be lent to Catherine, and will return there when she dies, or when the Queen requests.


THE VINTAGE LOOK TODAY


Over the years the vintage look peaked and was replaced by the power dressing of the 90s with the horribly large shoulder pads and the tight short skirts. I kept as many of my old items as my gypsy lifestyle allowed. After much searching for a wedding dress I decided to wear a 1960s Chanel style little black wool and lace dress I'd bought at Antiquarius in the King's Road for £6.00 many years before. I have always preferred vintage to modern. It's better made, the fabric is higher quality and it fits better. Unless you can afford couture the high street shops just do not compare to vintage. Of course vintage couture is the ultimate!


Jo Wood wears a vintage green
beaded dress

Recent fashion saw the bohemian look return and vintage is massive with nearly everyone admitting they look in charity shops or at markets. It is nice to see but does make it harder to find bargains. I dream of finding out that a long lost Aunt has left me trunks full of her clothes and jewels.
 
Many modern celebrities have kept the vintage look alive for a new generation of fans, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and still all of those rock stars and their ladies who rocked the vintage look so well that they remain icons 40 years later.  
 
Television and film wield a mighty enfluence on fashion - or is it the other around? The Victorian look has been in for sometime on television with  Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes and films continue to showcase vintage costume. I love the Dickens meets Vivienne Westwood look. Today the clothes which we wore in the 80's are making a comeback, but I will always prefer something older and more elegant.
Helena Bonham-Carter wears vintage costume
 for a photo shoot in North London in February 2013
Matt Smith as Doctor Who in the Tardis with the HG Wells victorian time machine look
in a frock coat, bow tie, waistcoat and pocket watch.
 

And those victorian shawls? Some did survive and are still entralling beautiful creative people (and cats!) today.


Jane Aldridge of Seaofshoes
Her blog




CELEBRATIONS - May Day

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The Maypole by Peter Miller

It is a glorious day today. The sun is shining, Bluebells are blooming in the woods, Swallows and House Martins swoop overhead, bright Brimstone Butterflies flit amongst the May blossom in the hedgerows and the children at the school in the back garden have celebrated the first day of May.

The old ritual of dancing round a Maypole would not be with us today had the Puritans had their way for they banned this ancient tradition of paying homage to Nature and to the feminine in particular.  When the throne was restored under Charles II he was more tolerant of merry making (he was known as The Merry Monarch!) and the day was celebrated all over Britain. According to Tradamis, 'a notable one was in the Strand. This was 134 foot high (41m) and stood there until Sir Isaac Newton used parts of it as a base for his telescope!'

Alphonse Mucha
Nature Sculpture 1899-1900
Mucha Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

We can credit the Pre-Raphaelite John Ruskin for the Maypole as we know it in the present day. He was very keen on Nature and believed that along with learning to read and write children needed to  take exercise. He thought this should include being out of doors and learning to dance.  In 1881 while at Whitelands College (a training college for teachers) he initiated a May Festival for which he created a series of dances. His idea was embraced by the teachers who passed them on, and carried them with them on their teaching assignments.  By the time of Ruskin's death in 1900 this vision  he had was looked upon as tradition. 

Some of these early Maypoles survive on village greens and are still used today for festivities. I love these countryside traditions and they are quite wondrous to see knowing that people have enjoyed them for centuries. 

The Bluebells at Queen Charlotte's Cottage in Kew Gardens

 
 
 

ENCHANTED - Edinburgh

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The dark and gothic Edinburgh skyline

It is impossible to be in Edinburgh and not think of gothic horror stories. The skyline is hopelessly romantic, all dark tracery cut into stone towers jutting out over the city. Just being there sets the imagination off.

The Scott Monument, a Victorian Gothic monument
to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott
The Frankenstein Pub pays homage to Mary Shelley's classic gothic horror story

 

You can see that Harry Potter might have been very different had JK Rowling written it in a cafe in London or Dublin instead of here.

The Elephant House cafe, beloved of authors, where Harry Potter was born.



 
Diagon Alley is Edinburgh more than any other place. Potter is here!

 
Diagon Alley in the Potter films


Edinburgh is an enchanted gothic wonderland full of arches, crowns, Stags, Unicorns
and spooky gates that beckon you inwards - if you dare.




Doctor Who is represented in Edinburgh too


I fell in love with the city.
There are evenancient pink timbered houses!

 

OBJECTS OF DESIRE - Willow Treefox Designs and DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols

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Dior 1950s. Sparkly, yes. Gorgeous, yes.
And yet I would not buy this. 

I like to share the work of artists I admire. Like most ladies my eye is attracted by a bit of sparkle but to hold my attention and make me part with hard earned monies items need to have more. Much more.

What I really love are things which sparkle AND tell a story. This skill is known to a few wordsmiths, painters, and the magic hands that can bring life to a lump of clay. What these artists create are my Objects Of Desire.

I have always been interested in folklore, the telling of it and how it came to be. My dream home would be in a wood. We live close but not quite in amongst the trees. I need a pale hound to walk beside me while I ramble. I have caught sight of many beasts therein, some real, some imagined. Some timid as this Roe Deer, some clever like a Fox, some fierce like the Wolf.

A Roe Deer in the woods by our cottage

I think that wild things beckon to us because we see something in them which we have lost or hidden deep inside ourselves. I have Native American ancestors whose beliefs enthralled me while growing up. I was alternatively fascinated and frightened by Totem Poles and the ancient carvings of beasts you see all over Europe remind me of them. I like the stories that lie within the images of Totems and Idols.

So it is no surprise that I am attracted to the work of Joanne May of Willow Treefox Art and Midori Takaki of DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols. These two artists both create stunning items which tell a story. Their lives are shared with beautiful animals, Joanne often writes about her magical Bengal Cat Zigsa who was the inspiration for her Fairy Cat illustrations and Midori shares wonderful photographs of all the animals who inhabit her life including the dogs Pearl and Topaz and the Hen named Pumpkin.


Fox Moth by Joanne May
Willow Treefox Designs Etsy Shop

Willow Treefox Design artist Joanne May lives in the Wiltshire countryside which inspires her to create her beguiling fairytale illustrations of creatures known to us,  and not known to us.

On her Etsy profile she says, "Jo is inspired by natures woodland magic, fairy tales and the Victorian fairy painters such as John Fitzgerald and Arthur Rackham. The Pre-Raphaelite arts movement and the Celtic myths and legends greatly influence her work too.

Joanne also creates unique handmade jewellery using gold and silver findings with semi-precious stones, ceramic and glass beads".

I love this Moth Fox illustration she has created.  I like to imagine he lives in the old willow tree at the bottom of Jo's garden, and that maybe, just maybe, some of his relatives can be found in my woods by the stream. The photo does not do him justice, he is exquisite and this print has so much detail it is very close to a real painting. He will have pride of place in my bedroom where he can look out the window to the trees beyond and listen to the song of The Thrush that lives in the woods.

Willow Treefox Design Fox pendant
by Joanne May

This fabulous Fox pendant is one of her stunning jewel creations. This Fox was made from clay and hand painted and he has two faces, it is so detailed that both the front and back of the pendant are painted!  Each of her designs is unique, no two are alike. I adore the small charms hung from her items.  I was torn between an Owl and a Fox pendant but the Fox won my heart. It was a hard decision!

Her creations are in her Etsy shop and on her facebook page where she sometimes has giveaways of her work. Her Etsy shop also sells cards of some of her illustrations and magical little Fairy stickers. But you have to be quick as they sell out fast! She makes new designs from time to time so keep checking. This one is currently available and is greatly tempting me!

Snowy Owl Spirit pendant
http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/128978658/snowy-owl-spirit-pendant-made-of-clay?ref=shop_home_active

Willow Treefox Design Etsy Shop

Joanne May Illustration & Jewellery Design on facebook

Her blog: Willow Treefox Art by Joanne May


Midori of DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols lives in Canterbury, England and is a sculptor who can turn her hand to the discipline required to produce a perfectly shaped traditional bowl or jug and yet she can also give her imagination free flight to create items of fairytale origin.

I especially love this most perfect little milk jug adorned by the rabbit on the handle and a paw mark at the lower end of the handle.


Buy this wonderful cup here:
http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/123079403/handmade-rabbit-porcelain-creamer?ref=shop_home_active


I am enchanted by her interpretation of the story of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf which she has shared with us on her blog. I hope that she will not mind me posting this here.


Red Riding Hood plaque by DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols
http://dogoo-midori.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/test-pieces-before-firing-and-pearls-joy.html

I think what she has written on the profile of her Etsy shop perfectly captures the spirit of her work and explains her strong tie to nature and the world around her which she has great love and respect for.

"I make ceramic figures inspired by nature, fairy tales and myth. I was fascinated by metamorphoses in Greek myth, and love the world of Narnia.

My figures usually have stories behind them. When I make faces, they often start talking to me and they build their own characters from there. Although I make shapes for them, I don't feel I create them. I just help them appear. The deep almost unconscious dialogue that I have with the subjects is the source of my joy of making them.

My work will bring smile to those who see them. That makes me happy.

I also make tableware too. They are inspired by plants, especially flower buds and leaf buds.

I am taking an MA course in Applied and Fine Arts in Canterbury Christ Church University as a part-time student. I used to work as interior designer in Tokyo. I had my first exhibition at Artists' Open Houses in October 2011.

I have studied sociology and anthropology for BA and MA, and interior design at a professional level. My most favourite place to visit is V&A, and the place I have liked to visit most is Hermitage at St. Petersburg.

I live with the husband, three parrots, two dogs, one finch and one chicken in a beautiful old city in Kent.

I love life, feel optimistic and lucky. I am sometimes too imaginative for my social reputation!"

DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols blog

Midori's Etsy Shop



I believe that both Jo and Midori take commissions. Why not allow something from your own imagination to come to life under their magical hands?



Red Riding Hood meets a wolf, by Arthur Rackham
My favourite Red illustration which graces a wall in our cottage.

I keep meaning to write a post about Little Red Riding Hood but my love of this tale is so great that I am frightened of not doing it justice. Where to begin? Where to end? While I continue to collect, disect and mull it over in my mind and eye, Kristin over at Tales Of Faerie has posted this recently about Red Riding Hood and werewolves in Europe, and it offers another bit of informaton in the unravelling of the story.

http://talesoffaerie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/werewolves-and-little-red-riding-hood.html









THE POTTERY - Portmeirion

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Botanic Garden

Introduced in 1972, you could be forgiven for thinking that Botanic Garden was the only design Portmeirion produced such was it's popularity for at least two decades. It was charming. Delicate illustrations of garden delights in feminine hues with Moths and Butterflies recalled the then highly sought after Victorian and Edwardian botanic drawings. The shape of the china was beautiful too.



But this well known design is only one of the many wonderful collections produced by Portmeirion.

My favourite era for the pottery is the 1960s when founder Susan William-Ellis had just begun to design shapes.  Everything about her early designs scream 60s from the astonishing shapes, colours and magical glazes.  I love the raised patterns she borrowed from native American Indians on Totem, hence the name she gave it.


Totem coffee set

Totem was produced in amber, olive green, dark blue and white. The white items are hard to find today and considered rather rare. They produced coffee and tea sets, dishes, bowls and cheese and serving dishes.

The coffee set was iconic but proved not all that practical with it's tall pot and thin handle and spout. Many were broken, but the glaze held up and although examples may now be crazed it is usually superficial. They are such beautiful designs that even to have them to look at is a joy.


Coffee cup in the dark blue glaze

Totem tea pot and cup
From here:
Totem plate, canister and tureen.


They say copying is the greatest form of flattery and copied it was. This is my own teapot, a Scandia design. I love it, it's short strong silhouette, glaze and raised decoration recall Totem, but I do long for the real thing which is so much more refined. 


My teapot
Another look-alike, this one is by Lord Nelson Pottery.
It is nice .... but still not quite Totem.

Portmeirion Village, where it all began.


For those who do not know, Portmeirion Pottery was founded in 1960 when pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis (daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis the creator of Portmeirion the fantastic fantasy holiday village where The Prisoner was filmed) and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis took over A.E. Gray Ltd,  a small pottery decorating company in Stoke on Trent.

Susan had been commissioning her designs with A.E. Gray in order to produce items to sell in the gift shop at Portmeirion Village.  In 1961 Susan and Euan expanded when they bought Kirkhams Ltd, another small pottery. This which allowed them to manufacture pottery, and not just decorate it. Having previously only designed surface pattern she now began to design her iconic shapes as well.
These two businesses were combined and Portmeirion Potteries was born.

Susan Williams-Ellis' early Portmeirion designs include Malachite (1960) and Moss Agate (1961). In 1963 Susan launched Totem. Totem's bold, tactile and abstract pattern coupled with its striking cylindrical shape propelled Portmeirion to the forefront of fashionable design. they stayed there for many years to follow.

In the latter half of the 60s she remained right on target with her visions. In the era of hippies, pschedelia pattern and colours fuelled by the trippy drug culture her designs had a fairytale air about them.

Magic City

The original design was sketched while at the 'Monte Sol' hotel in Ibiza, the 'Marrakesh' colourway with its striking lime green colourway appeared a few years later, 1960's.
From Flicker Here:

Susan died in 2007 but her great talent lives on in much coveted pieces she designed which are still being copied even today. 


Further reading:

Portmeirion Own site

Retro Wow site

THE JEWEL GARDEN

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I've had a blog absence caused by summer finally arriving. The garden is just too magical to resist. After all the rain and extended cold weather there is a lot to do outside.

When we moved to the cottage there was an ugly but functional pond at the back of the garden. It had a cement brick border and no plants around it. What had once been the lawn had been covered with black plastic and then piles of pebbles. No doubt the previous owner liked the beach, but this was more like a desert. There was a small border, overgrown with ivy, and brick planters had been built all around the whole back. No shade for wildlife to hide and live.

The old pond, in the desert. 

 We were surprised that despite this inhospitable environment there was life. Before the pond began to cave in we discovered two species of Newt and several common Frogs. We decided that eventually we would build them a new home and in the meantime we moved them to a safe place where they could hide and hibernate under some large stones.  The cottage needs as much work as the garden and so the Newts and Frogs have had to wait. until now.

 
The beginning of a new pond.


It is a work in progress but as soon as we had the liner down and water in the Newts reappeared.

The bright and dark 'Jewel Garden'

Nature never ceases to amaze and delight me. Suddenly the garden which only a few weeks ago was dead stem is lush green and dark moody bloom, full of buzzing.

Mrs House Martin sitting on her eggs.

Our cottage is very simple, nothing grand. But it has charm not just to us, but for the House Martins who have nested here every year since Victorian times. Those raised in the nests on the cottage return from their long and perilous journeys from South Africa in April and build new nests around the village. This year we saw a few, then a storm raged and they disappeared, then a few returned. One nest on our cottage remained empty and a source of constant sorrow for me. It had been built two summers ago, by a House Martin who had fledged from our cottage. Last summer she and a mate raised a brood there which were only ready to fledge in October. We worried that the dangerous journey they make may have come too late and they and their small offspring had perished.

The first week of June we heard excited chirping and there they were! A flock of both House Martins and Swallows had returned and joined the earlier arrivals in excited flying and talking. There are now a few new nests on the side of our cottages. The Swifts returned this Spring to their homes in the church, but sadly only a few. Numbers are really down. Last summer was disastrous for them and they returned to South Africa having been unable to raise any young due to the torrential rain. If this glorious weather continues this summer might be a good one for them.


A Poppy seed head. A perfect work of art, by Nature.


Oriental Poppies about to bloom


As soon as we moved here I planted a lot of Poppies. They are such a romantic plant.  I love everything about them, the buds, the fern like leaves, and best of all the big blowsy blooms in fairy tale colours. But we must not forget the seed heads either. After the blooms are gone the plant creates such magical shapes to hold it's seed. I love the way it has a small crown on the top and inside is beautifully marked and furrowed.
 
 
 
 
 
The borders at our cottage were covered with ivy which when removed revealed ancient varieties of plants with blooms in shocking colour combinations. Their jewel like shades of orange, magenta,  midnight blue, acid green, purple and deep red glowed. We were inspired by BBC television gardener Monty Don. Monty was a jeweller before becoming a gardener and has what he calls a 'Jewel Garden' at his home. Monty has written a book about his garden and how it saved him after his business failed. I think most gardeners would agree that there is something healing about being amongst nature and creating a personal haven. We really loved the idea of his Jewel Garden and how he had chosen plants in jewel like colours. Throughout my life I have thought of my garden as a kind of jewel box, full of exquisite surprises, provided to me by Nature. We decided rather than dig out all of the old plants and start anew with a more subdued colour palate, we would keep our Jewel Garden and add to its dark and moody ways. I have begun to think in jewels instead of colour and now see the garden in terms of Citrine,  Pink Quartz, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Emerald, Amethyst and Ruby. I added a lot of white scented climbers to diffuse the brightness and attract Moths and Butterflies.
 
 
 
 
 


ENCHANTED CHILDHOOD - of Peter Pan, Pirate Ships + tempests

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From NeverNeverland on tumblr
 

Midsummer always makes me languid and dreamy. This time last year I was obsessed with Mermaids and now I feel like Wendy waiting for Peter to appear and whisk me off to Neverland.


A favourite Peter Pan illustration by Flora White


When I was a child the very English tales of Peter Pan, Alice and Winnie the Pooh fascinated me and planted the first seeds of my love affair with England. I never grew tired of them and as a teenager I read the biographies of their authors and remained determined to one day visit the places where they had lived and which had inspired them to write the stories. Despite liking the idea of being a pirate I possess a hopeless sense of navigation and upon my first visit to Kensington Gardens I spent a considerable time searching for Peter Pan. The bronze is perfectly located in a site chosen by author J.M Barrie about half way along the west bank of the Long Water. The statue is by Sir George Frampton, R.A., P.R.B.S. (1860-1928).   It has a special atmosphere about it and thousands of people, young and old make the pilgrimage to see it. Looking at it made me feel a loss for my own childhood, even though at the time I was a mere girl of twenty-something.







So many children's stories are bittersweet rather than sweet, if you learn to read between the lines. Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up is a sad tale and yet ..... a part of him lives in all of us who treasure childhood and enchantment and do not want it to end nor do we want to face the inevitability of our own mortality.


painting by Margaret W. Tarrant  (1888—1959). 

I'd not forgotten Peter, no, never, but I had neglected him over winter when I tend to think of darker things, of Grimlings and wild woods.

On a recent trip to Scotland a friend took us to a magical gift and tea shop in Kirkcaldy, called appropriately The Merchant's Garden as it is located in The Merchants House, on the sea. Being near a wild sea reminded me of how much I had loved The Tempest and the illustration of Miranda by Waterhouse who painted versions of Miranda at the start and the end of his career. The sea has played a running part in my life too. I had a cat named Miranda and a parrot named Prospero, sadly both long gone now.

Miranda from The Tempest so divinely captured in oil in 1916
by John William Waterhouse






The shop keeper had two old carved wooden galleons as decoration and I fell in love with them. Alas, they were her treasured keepsakes and not for sale.


You can see one of their old galleons on the shelf with gift items.


 It was an inspiring place you can feel the age of the building, the romance of the sea and the ochre colour sings. On the upper floors when they restored the building they found an ancient wall painting of a galleon which has inspired them in their decorations. 


They have a facebook page: Merchant's Garden at The Merchants House


As summer finally arrived my dreams turned back to the sea and all things watery and I started thinking of galleons and pirates.


by James Coleman

One of my history teachers was descended from Sir Francis Drake and the way in which he taught seafaring history kept my interest in pirates and galleons alive. It has not waned through all of these years and is one of the reasons I had first wanted to live in Devon. I miss the sea and am always drawn to water.

Having just attended Royal Ascot the subject of hats has been much on my mind as well. I've never been a great beauty and do not like to stand out in a crowd but I must admit this galleon hat was very tempting! It is magnificent.

It is the creation of artist Amanda Scrivener of ProfMaelstromme on Etsy. Have a look at her designs and find out more about her on her blog at Professor Maelstromme:

 From: ProfMaelstromme on Etsy


When you collect things or get an idea for a design theme I often find that items which fit are attracted to you, or vice versa.

Treasures of the sea


My treasures of late include this wooden pirates chest from a charity shop, (the jewels did not come with it!) a small oil painting of a sailing ship from ebay and strings of shells from the 'Shore' section of online store Re. I have many gathered shells which I could have strung myself but this arrangement is so well done, and so reasonable that I bought two. The site is well worth a wander, they have wondrous things!


Seashell strings from : Re  

I have saved the best for last. I found my galleon! It's a little broken and faded, but then it is very old. You can just see the lions on the masts, and all of the flags which fly depicting royal arms. It may be a model of  a real ship or just a fantasy. The seller did not know, I will need to do some research.

My very own Galleon!

HAPPILY EVER AFTER - The fairy tale lifestyle

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Fairytale mug by Julie Dodsworth

I'm always delighted when I find some little item which I know will bring a bit of magic and enchantment into my every day life. We cannot all live in a castle or storybook cottage but it is possible to find small inexpensive items which give great joy when we see them and use them in real life. 

I loved this mug when first I found it and could not resist.  The floral design with it's fine tendrils captured my interest straight away .... and then I read what it says inside the rim.

This is a wondrous design by talented Yorkshire artist Julie Dodsworth. This is what she says about this mug:

"Fairytale - Another one of our favourite haunts are the woods at Bolton Abbey. Come late spring, the bluebells form the most incredible blue haze, the walk is intoxicating. As a child I thought the tiny blue bell flowers were fairy bonnets! Fairytale is my tribute."

Drinking my morning tea from it makes me cheerful all day and when the day has worn on and I am flagging a lovely cup of Earl Grey with lemon refreshes me for the evening.




You can get it from Julie's own website, or if you have a Waitrose local to you they are stocking them too!

You can add your own old chair with comfy cushions and fairytale Bunny or Fox!

Have a good look around her new website, she is offering a lot of wonderful items. 

from Julie's own websiteJulie Dodsworth


Julie on facebook: Julie's facebook page

NATURE - Tell the Bees

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A favourite tiny plant pot
from The Cliff House,  San Francisco
 
Although I grew up in California and spent my teenage years in the heady rock concert culture of San Francisco and Los Angeles, my family were not modern, well off or well educated. Our ancient English/Irish/Dutch & Native American heritage came through in quaint unexpected ways which I just accepted as a child and only began to wonder and investigate when my parents were elderly and I lived in England. My Great Grandmother lived simply, in an old wooden shack, having little nor need for it,  but apparently had come from a wealthy Irish settlement family from Missouri who disowned her when she married a farm worker who was half Native American. She had much wisdom of the old days when mankind still had the knowledge of living in harmony with Nature. My Father, although not related to her, also had Irish and Native American heritage. He knew much folklore from these two cultures. He spoke sometimes of the importance of Bees, and reminded me that you need to Tell the Bees which always fascinated me. 

A honeybee on an old teapot
I bought at The Emporium, Hungerford

The Oxford Dictionary of Myth and Folklore has this to say about it:

"In medieval, Elizabethan, and Stuart times, Bees were regarded as mysterious, intelligent, and holy; their wax was used in church candles, honey was a biblical image for God's grace and the joys of heaven, poets praised the hive as a model for the perfect society, grouped around its ‘king’ (it was only in the 1740s that English naturalists admitted the large bee was female). Something of this awe remains in a nursery riddle from the 16th century, with the answer ‘a bee’:

Little bird of Paradise,
She works her work both neat and nice;
She pleases God, she pleases man,
She does the work that no man can.
(Opie and Opie, 1951: 82-3)
 
Folk tradition about bees stresses how easily they might take offence, in which case they would cease to give honey, desert their hives, or die. They had to be treated as members of the household; in particular, they must be told about deaths, births, and marriages in the family, their hives must be appropriately adorned, and they must be given their share of the festive or funereal food. They would then hum, to show they consented to remain."

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/bee#ixzz2ZgkAY4eZ



One of the Palmate Newts in the pond
like tiny Dragons!

With summer in full bloom there has not been much time to continue the quest to find, rescue and re-invent vintage items. We are too busy being in awe of nature and all it offers. The wildlife pond continues to attract new inhabitants even though it is very small. In the current heat wave it seems very welcome with the local birds, bees and beasties.


Tiny striped Spiderlings begin to disperse from their egg ball.
They will soon sail off on the wind.

This photo taken in too bright sunlight
does not do this handsome guy justice.

These pretty green flies appeared en masse. They have very bright luminous eyes and body parts and the wing tips of the males are prettily marked. They are called long-legged flies, Poecilobothrus nobilitatus. I found this out from one of my favourite blogs, called 'Bug Blog'. It is written by Africa Gomez, a biologist interested in Evolution, Behaviour and Ecology based in Hull, England. I love her insights and how she has not lost the wonder with which a child views Nature. Have a look.  

Find her Bug Blog  here:

Long legged flies need a pond to mate. Like most people we tend not to be very fond of flies, but they are brilliant pollinators and unlike common flies these guys do not bother with food, they like nectar instead. Africa starts her post about them by calling them, 'flies dancing on water' and I like that. Nature does dance - we just need to open our eyes and hearts to it and we should dance to the seasons too.

Read more about these bright green flies here on Bug Blog Bright Green Dancing Flies

The pond spider and his web lie in wait like something out of Alien.

When they came we saw that a predator followed closely behind. We do not know what this spider is called but he is pretty impressive. He made his web across the lily pad and underneath it and could stay in the water for awhile. After a few days he disappeared as mysteriously as he had come.

The dancing Tree Bumblebees

The most exciting visitors were the new Bees which took up residence under the clay roof tiles of the old bakehouse in our garden. Our Victorian cottages were built in 1870 in Arts and Crafts style by a benevolent benefactor who gave them to the estate workers. Now enclosed by fences and hedges it was once an open plan community of six who shared a 13th century church, church school, a well, outhouses and washing facilities for clothes and themselves and a bakehouse. The bakehouse and the cottages were roofed in hand made red clay tiles and I love the way the roofs have a higgedy-piggedy look.


The courtyard of Victorian cottages and their outbuildings of flint and red brick with red tiled roof

The Bees first appeared while we were building the pond but at that point we did not think about them. We have a lot of solitary Bees who we know gather leaves and mud to make their little nests in holes in walls. The Bees were very interested in the old mud we took out of the bottom of the pond. They like mud with a high nutrient content because they put this in the nest to feed the young. They were non aggressive Bees and they often buzzed around us while we worked on the pond. We kept the old mud wet for them so they could take what they wanted. After a few days they stopped coming to the pond for the mud.

A Tree Bumblee resting.
Note the bites taken out of this plant from our solitary Bees
who use it to close their nests.

We began to put the story together when we noticed new Bees one morning who exhibited a habit we had not seen before. They were in a small group and were very small themselves but looked to us like Bumblebees. They were very furry and a bright orange colour. They had a non menacing 'buzz' and sounded happy. They were also doing a little dance above the roof, which was quite delightful. We loved them at once. Remembering what my Father taught me about Telling the Bees we told them they were welcome and asked them what they were but they took no notice of us so we resorted to the trusty internet. We found that they were Tree Bumblebees. This species is European but has over the past few years begun to spread across Britain. They look very different to other Bumblebees, if you look closely.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on our Clematis

A Tree Bumblebee on our Clematis

They usually nest in trees, hence the name, but they also like roof spaces. They are particular about where they nest though and chose the sights carefully. We can only surmise that they chose us because they liked the area, the wildflowers, Bee and Butterfly friendly plants and the perfect roof space where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. They have also nested on our next door neighbours roof and they buzz around all of our plants all day.

A Tree Bumblebee hurries off into the nest

Apparently the Tree Bumblebee commune has different kinds of Bees in it, the Queen is about the size of a normal Bumblebee, the workers who dance around her nest are doing so to protect her and to impress her in case they get a chance to mate with her when she emerges. It is believed that they are not able to sting. Inside the nest are slightly larger drone Bees who can sting, if you disturb the nest. The community does not get very large having only a hundred or two at most. Ours are very small, perhaps 40 Bees and dwindling all the time. The Bees are so active that they appear to wear themselves out and we have found several dead. By September they all die except the new Queen who will leave the nest and go to ground to hibernate. She will emerge next Spring and find a new nest, although sometimes they return to an old one. We now have another small nest on the other side of the bakehouse roof as a second Queen emerged from the nest.

They have been delightful companions in our garden and we hope that they continue to grace it with their presence.



No matter where you live, however small you can help nature and it will reward you. I am always shocked by how little some people care for nature, not realizing that we are only a very small part of it and without the other parts we would cease to exist. I am also grateful and inspired by those who remember Nature. This garden is at the back of a rented flat in a busy high street. How lovely that it is and on the day I visited the song of Birds and the sound of Bees was wonderful.



Thomson's Delicatessen and Winebar in Pewsey, Wiltshire is a delight. The building is very old and it's topsy-turvy windows and thatched roof are so charming that many tourists take photos of it. It has delicious things to eat and drink too. It lies in the High Street just in front of a roundabout on which a statue of King Alfred The Great was placed. It is a place of ancient history and great beauty. Well done to them to plant their boxes and not to forget the Bees and Butterflies.


Mrs Black is loving the weather and forgetting her house and shoppe keeping tasks. The sun is soothing on her old bones and arthritis. We hope that all of you are enjoying summer wherever that you are.



DESIRABLE RESIDENCES - A Chelsea Houseboat

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Wanted. Serious lottery win to buy
Chelsea Houseboat. Please.


I've had a lifelong love affair with the river Thames. A map of it adorns our hall wall. I read about it and dreamed of it for years before being overjoyed to dip a toe into it.  It has never disappointed me and I fully understand how that the Pre-Raphaelites fell in love with it and why they chose to live beside it on Cheyne Walk and later at Kelmscott Manor the Cotswold jewel that William Morris found and at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith. One who was perhaps the most romanced by The Thames was John Atkinson Grimshaw who moved to London in the 1880s and began to paint the river often.  For me he captured it better than anyone, even Turner or Whistler.



John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893­)
Reflections on the Thames: Westminster

In my youth I toyed with the idea of living on a houseboat on The Thames. We lived in a small terraced house in Twickenham, across from the river with only an old ice rink and an alleyway to walk before being right on the river front. We could watch Richmond Bridge from an upstairs window, but plans were afoot to convert the whole sight to a housing estate and block all of our views. We looked at some boats for sale in idyllic spots along The Thames, but never really settled on one. Would our 4 cats take to living on water? Would the Parrots fly off? Did the pipes freeze in winter? And how would we ever afford a mooring on a desirable part of the river? It is amazing to think that back then I was probably far more sensible than I am now.

Instead we moved to a 4 story artisan made Italian style villa in Isleworth, again just 5 minutes from the river Thames. And now I live a very long way from The Thames indeed, but I am quite neat the Kennet Avon. I miss The Thames and the idea of living on it haunts me still. I often wish that I had just done it.

Who could not fall in love with this bohemian abode just by the Cheyne Walk in Chelsea?






And the boat even has it's own story too, besides being in the middle of a Pre-Raphaelite and 60s rock star paradise for history, art and architecture lovers. Not to mention the King's Road being a mere 10 minute walk with stunning views all the way.

The estate agent said:

"A wonderful opportunity to purchase this historic vessel located on the coveted Cheyne Walk Moorings, Chelsea enjoying views towards Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge.

A bonafide war hero, having seen active service in WWII, 'mtb 219' has been converted into an atmospheric home exuding shabby chic and is comprised of 1013 square of accommodation including 3 bedrooms and a large deck area.

All houseboats at Cheyne Walk have the benefit of a night watchman, full maintenance team and CCTV for added security and are eligible for a Kensington & Chelsea parking permit."




Alas, as you can see from the photographs, it is now under offer. Good thing too, as it was totally out of my budget and though the family cats of old are long gone I doubt very much if Mrs Black and her Kitten would want to live with no garden even if the shops are nearby and it is bigger than our country cottage.

I hope that the lucky buyer appreciates that view and the gentle sounds of the lapping river as much as I would have.

Next time I will post about an amazing and inspiring visit to Kelmscott Manor with illustrator, sculptor and jewellery maker Joanne May.

Footnote:  You can read more about John Atkinson Grimshaw and his paintings of The Thames on:

The Public Catalogue Foundation  website here

The Pre-Raphaelite Perfection - Kelmscott Manor

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An illustrated edition of
News From Nowhere or An Epoch of Rest
Being some chapters from a Utopian Romance by William Morris
Photograph from the UIOWA online resource 


Every now and then I still have to pinch myself to think that the ordinary California girl who was a confirmed anglophile by the age of 9 is really living here amongst all the things which she loved, castles, Shakespeare, Arthur Rackham, Alice and William Morris. Each time that I visit Kelmscott Manor the old house on The Thames which captivated the pre-Raphaelites I feel blessed,  and the latest visit this June was made very special by having as my companion a modern day pre-Raphaelite in the form of illustrator, sculptor and jewellery maker Joanne May.

A modern pre-Raphaelite comes home
Joanne May at Kelmscott Manor



The front of Kelmscott Manor as it is today

It is no surprise that much has been written about Kelmscott Manor. The house is a beautiful Grade 1 listed Tudor farmhouse adjacent to the River Thames that dates from 1570. It was a star in the life of William Morris, writer, designer and socialist. He, his family and his circle of friends were all captivated by it and the spell continues to enchant all who visit. William found the house to use as the summer retreat of his family. He rented it from 1871 until his death in 1896 at which time his widow Jane continued to live in the house with his daughters May and Jenny. Jane purchased it in 1913.  When May Morris died in 1938 she wanted to ensure her Father's legacy would be preserved so she bequeathed the house to Oxford University who she thought could allow public access. The University were unable to preserve the house as 'a museum piece' and passed it and the manor to the Society of Antiquaries in 1962, who still own and manage it. 

So great was Williams love for Kelmscott Manor that when he found his London house, at Hammersmith, he named it Kelmscott House. He considered it so natural in its setting as to be almost organic, it looked to him as if it had "grown up out of the soil"; and with "quaint garrets amongst great timbers of the roof where of old times the tillers and herdsmen slept".

You can read about the history of Kelmscott Manor, who built it and lived in it before and after the Morris family, in my links at the bottom of the page.

The village of Kelmscott is in an idyllic setting which we know from his writing of it contributed to William falling in love with it. It lies hidden from the everyday noise of modern life and being there
you cannot help but feel that you have stepped back in time. Such is the tranquillity of this part of the Cotswolds countryside with the river Thames running behind it that it is shocking when you come upon a coach whose passengers are visiting the Morris family home. The village has a lovely old pub, The Plough,  and many beautifully built stone cottages. 

When you visit you park about a 10 minute walk from the manor and wind your way down to Kelmscott past sites with Morris family connections. On the day that we visited we were greeted at the car park by a handsome black cat who strolled across the car park to see us. He was very affectionate and with no prompting at all leapt into our car and settled himself down for a nap!


A Kelmscott village cat in our car


The first building you come to is the William Morris Memorial Hall designed by Ernest Gimson and his pupil Norman Jewson. The hall was opened by May Morris in 1934 which was the centenary of William Morris. The Kelmscott Manor website tells us that George Bernard Shaw delivered the opening address and the then Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (the first ever Labour prime Minister) arrived, un-announced and had difficulty gaining entry to the packed hall!


William Morris Memorial Hall, Kelmscott. View of rear elevation.
Designed by Ernest Gimson (1864-1919), but not built until after his death.
The building was commissioned by May Morris, daughter of William Morris (1834-1896).
The Hall was officially opened by George Bernard Shaw in October 1934.

  © Copyright Julian Osley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence


The hall is used every Wednesday for craft shows and was crowded when we visited.

A little further along the walk you will come to two lovely stone semi detached cottages which Jane Morris asked Philip Webb to design in the memory of William in 1902. They and their gardens are picture perfect and adorned by a carved stone plaque designed by George Jack of William under a tree in the meadow at Kelmscott Manor.

The William Morris Memorial Cottages


The plaque of William in the meadow at Kelmscott



The gate and garden of the cottages to the side of Kelmscott Manor
Further on are two 1914 cottages by Ernest Gimson, a disciple of William, commissioned by May Morris in memory of her Mother. The left-hand one she designated the village school teacher's house.
 
In June the gardens are at their best and it is a must to visit then to imagine how they looked when William lived there. There are two paintings in the house by family friend Maria Euphrosyne Spartali, later Stillman.  It has not been confirmed who the girl is in this painting of the Long Walk in full bloom, but it is thought to be May Morris. I love the jewel like quality of this painting.


The Long Walk painted by Marie Stillman

We took hundreds of photos of the glorious blooms and their haunting scent filled the air as we walked down the Long Walk and through the grasses.


The gardens at Kelmscott in June with Jo disappearing in the long grass wilderness
 
The gardeners maintain a wildness which would have been here when William was, and they are returning the yew hedge guardian to it's former form - the Dragon Fafnir.  It is not yet finished but you can see the shape of the Dragon forming!

The Dragon Fafnir is returning!

So, on to the manor house itself. The trust who keep it have curated items which were in the house when William lived there, and also from his other houses, Red House and Kelmscott House. There are embroideries made by Jane, May and Jenny and William himself and pottery which he collected. The walls are covered in Morris designs and the wooden and flagstone floors are adorned by hand made carpets. Some of Rossetti's things remain there, as if he has only gone for one of his travels to Italy collecting works of art, decorated pieces of furniture and a few hearts of fair maidens along the way.

It  does not feel like a museum, although due to the large numbers who now visit the house, you are not allowed to touch anything or to take photographs in the house.

Items are laid out in a way which makes you expect Jane or the children to walk through any minute.
Lots of thought has gone into how items are displayed. These curated and displayed items make the visit poignant and you pause longer than normal to save them in your memory. On a simple coat hook in the parlour hangs William's long woollen winter coat. We had to contain ourselves not to touch it.



There is too much to recount each room here, but perhaps we can do other more detailed posts about them later. The minute you enter your senses are sharpened to every detail.

Downstairs is so stunning it is hard to take it all in during the time allowed to visit each setting. There are helpful guides in every room who have further details on anything you want to know more about.

The Green Room from Kelmscott Manor own collection

The flood damage of a few years ago means that the flooring has been replaced in The Green Room but the old tapestries, the Delft tiled fireplace and the wonderful heavy oak table designed by Philip Webb remain. The window seats here are for stopping and sitting while you admire the room and the views. Kennet chintz, an 1883 Morris design is hung on the walls. Laying on top of an old oak chest are two wood printing blocks used by Morris to print the Kennet design onto fabric.

Kennet designed by William Morris


The Panelled (or White) Room
 the Turner crest is sculpted in relief on the fireplace
from Country Life images

In the white panelled Drawing Room fireplace dates to 1670, and 18th century painted wooden panelling reflects the light from the large leaded windows which streams into the room.  This part of the house is an extension done by the previous owners. Here you find one of the house's real art treasures, Jane Morris, age 20,  posing in a dress she made herself for the Rossetti painting The Blue Silk Dress.

Depending upon what time you are in this room the light plays upon the painting and alters the shade of the dress, and her hair. But her eyes are always the same. Sorrowful.

The Blue Silk Dress, 1898 (oil on canvas)
 Dante Gabriel Rossetti

If you can tear yourself away you go up the ancient heavy oak staircase which is believed to have been original to the house from the time when the previous owners The Turners lived there in the 1600s, and you are in the bedrooms of Jane to the right and William to the left. Through William's bedroom is the Tapestry Room which was where Rossetti lived and worked. It feels as if you are intruding, an air of a light melancholy hangs in the air and it must have been strange for William to sleep while Rossetti painted away in the room above his.

The oak stairs from Country Life picture library

The Tapestry Room looking back through to William's bedroom.
May Morris in the Tapestry Room.
The table designed by Philip Webb remains there today.
The other end of the Tapestry Room
with the old thread bare chaise lounge
and the Cabinet of Curiosities.

From here you go up to the very large attics on an amazing modern staircase which allows people to pass without taking up a great deal of space. It is not certain what was once here, it is thought it was a
steep kind of ladder which only the servants and later the children used, as at the other end of the house is a very old (and now quite wonderfully wonky!) staircase which winds it's way down into what was once the original kitchens.

One side of the Attics leading into the little garrets,
from Country Life images
 
The attic is perhaps the most magical place in the house with it's ancient bleached beams, wide Elm and Oak floorboards and the small garrets which were variably used by weavers (in the time of the previous tenants and owners The Turners in the 1640s) or servants and the children whose bedrooms now house dark green painted furniture designed by William. The guides tell you stories of how the children used to climb out of the old leaden windows onto the roof and run about playing. It is hard to imagine any child being allowed so much freedom today, and it is a pity I think.

 


Kelmscott South Attic
from Bridgeman Art images


Turning right you pass into the South Attics and displays of Morris connected items and books of William's designs, fabrics and wallpapers which you can touch and examine closely. This is a wonderful idea so that the public can see and feel closer to many designs not available to the general public. By a small window there is an old door, either from the garden or from one of the doorways in the house which has been painted with figures, a swan and a lake which for some reason every time that I see it brings to mind Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream. On one visit there a guide told me that the door had been painted for a party for the children, and I had assumed that they meant May and Jenny, William and Jane's daughters. When we asked again on this visit though the guide had a look at the guidebook for that room which said that the door had been painted in the 1940s during the time an artist had rented the house after May had died. There was no mention of the children and I am still left thinking the origins of the door and the painting are a mystery. But a lovely one. 

The house has been well curated, laid out and maintained by the trust who are now responsible for it and you can see that they struggle constantly to keep a balance between the fragility of the house and
it's artefacts, and the ever growing number of people who wish to visit. Not being able to take photographs in the house, or to touch the many precious items on display does take away from the experience of being 'at one' with the spirit of William Morris, but it is understandable that the foremost responsibility of the trust is to preserve his legacy.

The gift shop in one of the old barns

The gift shop is well stocked with books, post cards, tapestries and fabric items. It is hard to resist and we did not even try!


There are several moods that prevail through the house and gardens. In the attic Jo and I were sure that we caught, high on the breeze, the sounds of children laughing while in other places it felt as if the house missed those who had once found it, drawn comfort from it and spent so many years and much effort preserving it. Although it is a very real home and it has a humble and loving spirit, overall you have a feeling that you are in the presence of immense talent and skill the like of which is not often seen.




May Morning, Jane Morris,
taken by J. Robert Parsons.


Jane Morris as a soulful and sensuous Proserpine from Roman mythology,
painted by Rossetti.
Proserpine was kidnapped by the god Pluto and trapped in the
underworld after eating seeds from a pomegranate,

which she holds to her mouth in the painting.
 
This photograph shows Jane Morris, in dignified old age with her two daughters.
May's older sister, Jenny, had been a very bright, scholarly child, but when she was a teenager
she developed epilepsy. In the 19th century the illness was treated with drugs that tended to
dull the mind
of the patient. Jenny spent most of her life as an invalid.
It was on May that the hopes of the family fell.

CAGM1991.1016.31.1 From the Emery Walker Library.
 From the Arts and Crafts Museum Cheltenham

 
As you come back downstairs you half expect to hear the rustle of silk as Jane passes down the hallway. You feel reluctant to leave the house and it's spirits behind. You think you might just like to sit awhile in the Drawing Room where the incredible light falls on the painting of Jane in that dress and plays with shadows in her hair. But you must go now and so you cast a longing look down the hall towards the Green Room where there is the large old table designed by master craftsman and Morris friend Phillip Webb. You imagine, just for a moment, that William is there, bent over his books, pen in hand, but looking out the window at the gardens and beyond to the Thames which he loved so much.

William in his study,
From the Kelmscott Manor collection


No visit to Kelmscott Manor is complete without paying a visit to St. George's Church, the only medieval building in Kelmscott. It is situated on your way back to the car park, to the left. William, Jane, May and Jenny are buried in a simple grave away from the masses and near an old tree.
It speaks volumes that this man who changed the way we think about our houses and whose vision and courage returned us to nature chose not a great monument in some city cemetery where thousands could come to pay homage to him, but a quiet leafy backwater in the English countryside to rest his soul.

LINKS:

Kelmscott Manor website is HERE:

The Society of Antiquaries of London is HERE:

Country Life image library is HERE:

Bridgeman Art Gallery is HERE:

the website of the William Morris Society UK, at kelmscott House, Hammersmith is HERE

Notes From Nowhere at The University of Iowa is HERE:

Illustrator, Sculptor and jewellery maker Joanne May's blog with details of her Etsy shop is HERE:

COLOURS - Mellow Yellow

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Although I have always loved art I have no talent in that sphere. From an early age I realised this (yet still delighted in art classes) and began to think in terms of colour and texture. I gathered and grouped items according to how they caught and reflected the light, how they felt underfoot or when stroked.

Woman in Yellow
Dante Gabriel Rossetti


I still love being enveloped by colour. There is some thought that colours equate to scent, and it is easy to imagine. For me colours have auras.

By The Style Files on Flicker
HERE:


I think Yellow is a hard colour to live with, often too bright, too weak or to uniform. Getting it right is difficult. Once upon a time I found a paint that was as marvellous as it's name, by the late great John Oliver, called Chinese Imperial Yellow. I painted all the walls in a small downstairs toilet in this, outlined the window in Turquoise and hung brass framed mirrors and pictures. It was a warm rich yellow that saturated your senses. By day it glowed with sunshine. The room was at the back of the house, off the kitchen. At night we left the door ajar and burned candles in mercury glass jars on the windowsill. The candles flickered on the glass casting shadows on the golden walls and the room glimmered like the dying embers of a fire. It hugged you. I shed tears when we sold the house and I had to paint the room in white to make it instantly saleable.



Our cottage is now so small all that remains of my Mellow Yellow days are accents. A glimmer here, a glow there. Isolde by Audrey Beardsley, some faded golden cushions on a pale green chair, and an old quilted throw made by an Auntie I never met.

Isolde by Audrey Beardsley


Aubrey Beardsley knew a thing or two about yellow. His illustrations for The Yellow Book, of which he was the Art Editor,  are outstanding.

From the Wikipedia page.

The Yellow Book, published in London from 1894 to 1897 by Elkin Mathews and John Lane, later by John Lane alone, and edited by the American Henry Harland, was a quarterly literary periodical (priced at 5s.) that lent its name to the "Yellow Nineties".
It was a leading journal of the British 1890s; to some degree associated with Aestheticism and Decadence, the magazine contained a wide range of literary and artistic genres, poetry, short stories, essays, book illustrations, portraits, and reproductions of paintings. Aubrey Beardsley was its first art editor, and he has been credited with the idea of the yellow cover, with its association with illicit French fiction of the period. He obtained works by such artists as Charles Conder, William Rothenstein, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert, and Philip Wilson Steer. The literary content was no less distinguished; authors who contributed were: Max Beerbohm, Arnold Bennett, "Baron Corvo", Ernest Dowson, George Gissing, Sir Edmund Gosse, Henry James, Richard Le Gallienne, Charlotte Mew, Arthur Symons, H. G. Wells, William Butler Yeats.






When Donovan released the album Mellow Yellow everyone wondered where he got the title from, and most guessed it was some kind of drug, probably hallucinogenic. They were wrong. Many rock stars were well educated and well read and their songs and album covers were strewn with literal references.  They were the modern pre-Raphaelites. The phrase "mellow yellow" appears on page 719 of the first American edition of James Joyce's epic Ulysses, where it is used to refer to Mrs. Marion Bloom's buttocks. It has not been confirmed in print that Donovan got the phrase from there. However I did ask him once and he replied, "Probably." I still love this album and really wish that I had continued to move my vinyl copy from house to house with me.








STORYTELLER - Daisy's Diamonds

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Carey Mulligan plays Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby
Diamonds by Tiffany & Co

There is something really retro about summer that makes us all dreamy and sleepy. Thinking back to past times, the 1960s flower children and the Summer of Love, and back further to that carefree era between the wars. Especially if you are old enough that when you were little elderly relatives told stories of that time, showed black and white photos and allowed you to play with broken diamanté and faux opal necklaces. Tea dances, beaded dresses, dancing on tables and in fountains. Real fur coats and feather boas. Aunties who made Prohibition Gin in the bathtub. Cars that were designed purely for looks rather than ergonomically.  Diamonds, emeralds and pearls for the well off.
 
Jim Morrison and Pamela Courson
 You can imagine that Daisy Buchanan became the Grandmother of some 60's Flower Child who  ran away to Laurel Canyon to live with a musician taking some of Daisy's jewels with her.
 
The San Francisco Cliff House
 
My Grandfather could do The Charleston, not just adequately, but very well. He and my Grandmother met at The Cliff House in San Francisco, at a tea dance, before the beautiful Victorian building burnt down.  When I was little this used to fascinate me and I remember that Grandma had a real fur coat even tough I never saw her dress up. I always wondered what they had looked like in those days of beaded chemise flapper dresses, sequins and long ropes of pearls and tiaras.

Flappers Dancing the Charleston atop the Sherman Hotel
Chicago, December 11, 1926

 It is hard to think of a more romantic story than The Great Gatsby. Only a few equals come to mind, Breakfast At Tiffany's, Gone With The Wind, Wuthering Heights.




I have always been torn between F. Scott Fitzgerald's tragic hero whose dreams of eternal love are let down by squalid reality, and Hemingway's Earthy scars and all portrayal of life. I cannot shake from my mind the oft quoted literal exchange between the two of them via their books.

Fitzgerald is quoted as saying: “The rich are different from you and me.” And, Hemingway is quoted as responding: “Yes, they have more money."


Zelda
Both of them were to suffer magnificent obsessions -  Scott Fitzgerald because of his own fragility and the beautiful irresistible wife Zelda. So wicked, so spoiled, talented and unrelenting and more than ever so slightly mad. Sadly she was to die in a fire in an insane alyssum.

While Hemingway had his inner demons. His incessant need to kill wild things and the loss of his wife in a car crash in Africa.  At least he had his 6 toed cats, whose progeny still hold court for the tourists at his residence in Key West. Like Fitzgerald he became one of his own characters when he chose to take his boat out and shoot himself at sea. 

Hemingway and one of his cats

Like his books, the cats live on

No summer ever goes by that I do not think of them both. And Zelda, or Daisy,  come to think of it.

The ability of a storyteller to bring life to their creations which live on to enthral future generations long after their own demise is nothing short of magic. And it is rare.


Zelda Fitzgerald
Daisy Buchanan played by Carey Mulligan

Daisy Buchanan is one such character and one cannot help but know there is a lot of his wife Zelda in Daisy and a lot of himself in Gatsby.


From tumblr


To those who do not understand Gatsby must seem a loser. He fails in his dream and he loses the one thing he cared about, Daisy, who he did it all to obtain. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock which Gatsby is always reaching for symbolises the American Dream that money can bring you happiness and you will get your Daisy. He is not a loser, he stayed true to his dream and it is instead Daisy who lets the hero down. She choses money instead of love and she is happy with that. Is he a fool? Hemingway probably thought so and yet envied him.






Like Zelda Daisy is captivating and you cannot help but fall for her. Yet she is ultimately disappointing. But it was her ability to shine which attracted us. And of course she had great diamonds.




She would have loved this collection.

Tiffany designers crafted a magnificent headpiece in platinum for The Great Gatsby,
named The Savoy Head Piece, bringing Daisy Buchanan to life.
Features a detachable brooch. Inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s film in collaboration with Catherine Martin.
Freshwater cultured pearls, 3.6-6.9 mm. Round brilliant diamonds, carat total weight 25.04.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
£162,500




The Tiffany Daisy ring for The Great Gatsby

An archival daisy motif of diamonds in platinum accented with pearls
beautifully reimagines Jazz Age fashion.
Inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s film in collaboration with Catherine Martin.
Freshwater cultured pearls, 2-7 mm. Round brilliant diamonds,
carat total weight 8.98.


$75,000

F. Scott-Fitzgerald was a customer of Tiffany's and Zelda and he both wore their jewels. For the film Tiffany gave archive access to the directors and created a collection which Zelda would have approved of.

You can watch a short video on youtube about how the collaboration was born and worked for the film.

Tiffany and The Great Gatsby

I'm pleased that the film has been remade to bring the story of Gatsby and Daisy, and F Scott-Fitzgerald and Zelda to a new generation, but it does not and cannot reach the intensity of the book. I don't think anyone ever will.




PORTALS - Books

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This book proved impossible to resist.

We had a third floor in our old cottage in Devon which was comprised of a large 3 roomed attic in the eaves. The smallest room became our study, the cats lounged on the mezzanine central room overlooking the stair rails and the largest room accidently became a library.

 It was bliss, which alas, we had to give up due to the rather crippling mortgage. For 5 years we had collected books which lined all the walls, and more than half of them had to go when we downsized. We still have far too many books, and yet .... every now and then I must buy just one more.

I really need to live here, at Hereford Castle which has this magnificent Library. Even then I am certain that I could fill it in no time at all.

My kind of room - Hereford Castle Library From Here:

This latest acquisition is a rare edition of 'Nursery Tales, Told to the Children' by Amy Steadman with illustrations by Paul Woodroffe. Published by T.C. & E.C. Jack, London/E.P. Dutton & Co., New York circa 1910. 



 This is Number 24 in the ‘Told to the Children’ series edited by Louey Chisholm.This uncommon edition of fairy tales, includes eight lovely colour plates by the British illustrator and stained-glass artist Paul Woodroffe (1875-1954).

John Russell Taylor writes of Woodroffe (in The Art Nouveau Book in Britain, 1966): “His first illustrations, closely imitative of Walter Crane, were for Ye Booke of Nursery Rhymes (1895) … with music by Joseph Moorat, a friend of [Laurence] Housman’s. He would seem to have been adopted early by the Housmans, Clemence engraving his illustrations to The Confessions of St Augustine (1900), which Laurence supplied with a title-page, and his illustrations to Laurence’s translation of Aucassin and Nicolette (1902) … Once removed from the direct Housman influence he drifted into other artistic activities …”

Nursery Tales dates from Woodroffe’s post-Housman period, the illustrations similar in style to those in his lavish colour-plate edition of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, published in 1908.

I have only once seen this edition and that was many many years ago.  Despite having no space on any of our shelves I had to buy it!

As you can see this is the tale of Goldilocks and The Three Bears.






We have had the best few weeks of summer. Long languid days and nights, humid rain showers, wild flowers, Bees, Butterflies, Dragonflies and Birds -  and now the garden is full of change. It seems only yesterday the lush blooms of Peony, Damask Rose, Clematis and Honeysuckle were scenting the air and filling as far as the eye could see with colour. Now the seed heads of Lavender and Poppy have appeared and the upright stems have lain down. The Tree Bumblebees have flown their nest and only a few sleepy Wasps and gentle stripey Hoverflies remain. With Autumn on the way my thoughts always turn to the woods, and the fairy tales that tell of them.

Red Riding Hood and The Wolf



Cinderella, her black cat and her Fairy Godmother
in a red cape!
 
I like nothing better in Autumn and Winter than curling up with the cats and a book by the fire. I have discovered that many of my most treasured stories involve the colour Red. I have always loved Little Red Riding Hood, and was thrilled and delighted when Chocolat was published and later filmed that Joanne Harris used red in her stories and it was her favourite colour. I always feel empowered with cherry red nails and lipstick. Of course there are those Ruby Slippers too! And here, how fascinating that the Fairy Godmother of Cinderella has been illustrated with a red cape.

Brunhild by George Frederic Watts
oil 1880
I'm off to London tomorrow for a wander in Kensington and a pre-Raphaelite adventure with a German friend who is visiting London. Hopefully we will see some paintings by Watts which I have not seen before. But my thoughts will be straying home as I have two cats who are each a bit below the weather. Mrs Black recently had a funny turn. She is an ex feral and a mature lady of a certain age now so each illness has to be taken seriously. She was a bit off colour (but still black!) for a few days and after a visit to the local vet hospital she seems to be improving. We think perhaps she was over ambitious in her control of the moth population. Now that she no longer needs to watch her weight as a little plumpness is nice in older cats she cannot resist a mothy tidbit. She has rallied and is now busying herself in nursing her Naughty Kitten who is very poorly indeed. She has a high temperature and is under the care of our vet who has taken blood samples and given medication. She was allowed home because she frets so if not with Mrs Black and us. But she may have to be admitted to hospital if that temperature does not go down. She is curled up in a basket by the fire now. Please keep her in your thoughts.



NOTES:

Joanne Harris is one of my very favourite authors, I feel a part of her stories of Vianne Rocher and her daughters . If you have not done so read her books and see Chocolat. Her own website is here:
And she post witty and informative things on Tumblr, HERE:

ARABIAN NIGHTS - in Holland Park

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Dalziels Illustrated Arabian Nights Entertainments
London: Ward, Lock, and Co. 1870.
 


A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight `twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honeydew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A visit to London is a rare treat. I always enjoy the hustle bustle of the streets, people watching, window shopping and looking at the architectural delights which reveal themselves unexpectedly. 

Kensington and Holland Park are two of my favourite places because of close proximity to museums, architectural gems and parks. One day is not really long enough to see it all. As the afternoon came to a close I felt a bit like Cinderella as I rushed to take a few last photographs before running for the train back to the countryside. I think I will have many posts to share about this day.

Like most little girls I was fascinated by Tales from the Arabian Nights and I had a modern copy. These dark Princes and exotic settings entranced me. In one very dusty library in a seaside town I once lived in I found a Victorian copy of the tales. I kept it checked out as long as I could and then reluctantly took it back. I have never forgotten it or the way it transported me to far away magical places.

Leighton House Museum

Our main destination lay in an unbelievably quiet little road, just off Kensington High Street. When Frederic Lord Leighton the painter, sculptor and illustrator decided to build himself a home in which to rest his treasures he collected from around the world he chose well. Everything close at hand should one need it and yet very private and peaceful. From the outside you would never suspect what lay inside as the front of the house is unassuming. The back however reveals the wonderful gardens and the building is so much larger and prettier than expected.

Designed by the architect George Aitchison, Leighton House Museum remains the only purpose-built studio-house open to the public in the United Kingdom,  and it is in a neighbourhood rich with artistic names including G.F. Watts, William Burges and Millais. It was created to his precise requirements and extended and embellished over the 30 years in which he lived there. He had a vision of a ‘private palace of art’ which would feature a wondrous Arab Hall with a  golden dome, intricate mosaics and walls lined with beautiful Islamic tiles.

He must have been a very interesting man. And, from the paintings of him, a handsome one too.

Lord Leighton self portrait

Like many Victorians Lord Leighton was clearly enamoured of Gods and Goddesses and climes distant from his England, although he chose to give himself and all of many treasures a home in London. From the moment you enter you notice that the woodwork is painted black and the door frames are carved with the symbol of Turkey, the Tulip. These and other details are picked out in gold.


Black gilded woodwork
Photo by Colour Living
HERE:
You also cannot help but notice the magical turquoise tiles on the walls, or the stuffed Peacock who sets them off perfectly.


Photo by Tina Bernstein
from Colour Living
HERE:

The floor in one room is painted a bright rich blue, and another red. Ceilings are gilded. The interior is dark, yet so carefully planned that what light there is serves to embellish and make the interiors even more exquisite.  The carpets are a delight to see and to walk upon. In one room hangs an astounding Murano glass chandelier from Venice, a spun confection of clear, raspberry and turquoise glass.  Fireplace mantles and pieces of inlaid furniture are enlivened by Dragons.


Leighton House Arab Hall.
This view shows the staircase to the upstairs rooms,
the wonderful turquoise tiles and the detailed mosaic floors.
 
As with most historic homes and museums no photographs were allowed so we cannot share with you through our own eyes what delights thrilled us - but there are some images available which have been taken for official use, and we can share those. We have also shared a few images from the Colour Living blog, who visited the house in January of this year and were allowed to photograph it. The link is at the bottom of this post.

In his travels Lord Leighton had collected over a thousand Islamic tiles and wanted to build a room to display them. In 1864 the Arab Hall, a two story domed courtyard style room which is adorned by a central fountain was designed in the centre of Leighton House.


Photo by Tina Bernstein, Colour Living
HERE:

You feel as if you are intruding upon some very private scene in The Arab Hall. It reminds me of the Waterhouse painting, a favourite of mine entitled 'dolce far niente'.

John William Waterhouse, dolce far niente
translation literally 'sweet doing nothing'.

There are many influences here, Lord Leighton obviously wanted to evoke a Roman villa, a Turkish palace and some European palatial mansion which he may have come across on a grand tour. 

The decoration is jewel like in all of it's textures, colours and display. The floor in the entry hall is composed of tiny fragments of white and black mosaic and mythical animals and plants swirl their way across it towards the lavish oriental carpets. The walls are covered in turquoise wall tiles, both bright and dark at once, and detailed Turkish tiles depicting art nouveau style flowers. One of the first sights you see as you enter is a stuffed Peacock whose feathers match the colours of the hall. It is hard to take it all in and to appreciate it you need to visit on a quiet day and give each view time.


The Arab Hall showing the seating and the pool.
Photographer: Will Pryce
The domed ceiling in The Arab Hall

Casbah seating at the sides of the pool.
Photo by Tina Bernstein from Colour Living.
HERE:

The serene pool of water is flanked on two sides by deep Casbah style couches which you want to sink into. The window above is shuttered with intricate lattice blinds just allowing enough light to filter through to cast a dreamy aura over the room. If you look up above the entrance to the room there is a carved balcony, again shuttered and only allowing those ensconced upstairs a glimpse of what is downstairs.

The balcony overlooking the Arab Hall is only revealed once you go upstairs,

It is easy to image incense wafting up and music playing softly.  This is a room which needs to be graced by an Emperor, a rock star, a pre-Raphaelite muse and of course, Lord Leighton himself.

The Arab Hall and fountain fascinated visitors since
Victorian times

The Arab Hall is indeed the biggest jewel in the crown of the house, but the other rooms are full of surprises and delight as well.



The green silk room hung with paintings and lit from the skylight above.
Photographer: Will Pryce

The Dining Room with Pugin like red flocked wallpaper
and a collection of Iznik pottery

One end of the studio
with the fantastically painted bright blue wall.
You can just make out the print of Flaming June

Lord Leighton's studio
For me, although the Arab Hall was opium like in the intensity of it's beauty and yet I found that the room I most wished to linger was his studio. This is where he worked, showed his paintings and held music and art evenings for his friends and fans which included royalty and the art world.

I loved the way that he collected bits and pieces of ancient artefacts and they are displayed casually here. A citrine coloured scrap of fraying velvet fabric accents the ivory plaster of a relic. Letters to and from friends are left half read, a ladies silk shawl is draped over the back of a delicate looking chair as if a Goddess has just departed. Not everything here is valuable, you can tell that he did not chose what he collected because of what it would fetch at market but because he loved them. They were probably all priceless to him but upon one wall hangs a real treasure, an ancient carved piece of the Parthenon.

Following the death of Lord Leighton most of his belongings were removed from his home and the curators of this museum have done a remarkable job is getting so many of them returned to their rightful place, and recreating the look the house would have had when he owned it.

In the dome of the Arab Hall and in his studio are little bejewelled windows which are heartbreakingly exquisite. Although they evoke Arabian Nights they are also Elizabethan in their intensity.


Photo: FREDERIQUE CIFUENTES

Of all the items which we saw I most wanted to take a picture of them even though I knew no photograph would be able to really capture the quality of light through this glass. But I am grateful to have found these two.
One of the stained glass windows
Photo by Tina Bernstein of Colour Living
HERE:

There were not as many works of art displayed as I expected but those that were did not disappoint.  Some by Lord Leighton, others by his peers. Though he lived in their time Lord Leighton, like Alma Tadema, was not a pre-Raphaelite and he preferred Gods and Goddesses with a more Heavenly aspect and less sultriness than those immortalised by the pre-Raphaelites.

Clytie, by Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896)

Lord Leighton by G.F. Watts
His studies for some of his masterpieces show how adept he was at capturing the folds and the sheer quality of the dresses his Goddess like women wore in his paintings. His use of colour is remarkable as is the way that he could paint light into the sky or his subject's hair and clothes.

We did miss his best known painting, Flaming June, and we were cruelly reminded of our loss when we came upon a print of it in his studio. What a triumph she was and it is a shame that she is not here in his house. But works of art of this calibre, whether they be the Parthenon, or a Goddess captured on a canvas are always in demand by all who appreciate beauty and it will remain impossible to keep them all where they belong.

Flaming June herself
Glorious.
I have posted about her previously

 
Lord Leighton's small, austere bedroom
Although it is impossible to imagine a more splendid interior there was a sad note. His home has just the one small and austere bedroom. Beautiful wallpaper and prints cannot disguise the fact that this is a bedroom for one. He expected no guests to come to stay and Lord Leighton never married. No dalliances are known. It appears that this romantic man who built a pleasure palace and painted Goddesses lived his whole life bereft of love. He never found his Princess.



Perhaps like us he had given his heart to Flaming June. 

Queen Victoria raised him to the peerage just three weeks before his death and it was only issued the day before he died. Lord Leighton died on January 25 1896 and he left his home and all the contents to his two sisters. They cared not and sold everything, even the furniture that had been made for the house at a Christie’s sale which lasted for eight days. By the 1920s, ownership of the house had passed to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, who opened it as a museum.

If you have the chance visit Leighton House. It seems to me that those who have been entrusted with it's care not only wish to preserve the house for future art lovers but also the memory of a remarkable man.

NOTES:

Leighton House Museum is HERE:

Colour Living, the blog of house hunter, designer and writer Tina Bernstein is  HERE:

Lord Leighton Wiki page is HERE:



HISTORY - I Have a Dream

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Martin Luther King

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

~ Bob Dylan



I remember the long hot summers of my childhood spent in Northern California. Though memories dim as we grow older some sights, sounds and scents remain hauntingly fresh. Moments which changed not only your life, but the world. Few would disagree that 1963 was one of those years.

My family moved a lot but stayed in the same town. It was so hot the tarmac would melt and stick to your bare feet. Cars had no air conditioning and the seats burnt your legs if you were wearing shorts. I had a beach towel I would sit on. The outside world had not yet touched me. I was fascinated by the dark purplish red grapes on the vine at my Grandmother’s house, covered in wasps so dazzlingly bright they looked like moving jewels of black onyx and fiery amber. I was beginning to understand that our family were poor and that this limited my opportunities. My Mother made my clothes, they looked old fashioned and second hand. I dressed like a little girl and stood out against the worldly wise more mature girls and boys at the mixed sex predominantly black school. I was not alone in being poor, but I was rare on two counts, I was a white girl and my parents had married and were still married. Family life was fractured or non existent in our neighbourhood where we rented a small home.  By 1963 music had already begun to weave a soundtrack to my life but it was all home grown, The Beatles and the British Invasion was not to happen until 1964.  Cultures mixed, daring black boys taught white girls to dance, and Mexican and Puerto Rican girls taught us to speak Spanish and put on makeup. Their brothers took us for rides in their fantastic 1950s cars which had cost them a lot of labour and few months wages.

 
The Supremes circa 1963
 
We all tried to imitate our big sisters who wore tight shift dresses, stiletto heels and beehive hairdos. We coveted our older siblings clothes and record collections. My little mind struggled to keep up with history as it was being made. The tension in the air was constant, everything was changing. We were full of promise and Hope. We could dance to our emotions, but we did not know how to put it into words.


Bob Dylan and  Joan Baez
during the  'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom'August 28, 1963


But some people did. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.



From ‘This Is the Day: The March on Washington’ by Photographer Leonard Freed

Today is the 50th anniversary of  Aug. 28, 1963, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Jobs and Freedom March on Washington, at which he delivered his “I Have a Dream” civil rights speech at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.
 
Real signs of the 60s


I am certain that those who did not live in those times can never really understand what segregation was like and how just being seen with a black friend caused you to be an outcast from both black and white people. Even if you were a child. My best friend Cynthia was half black, her Mother a single white woman, her Father a black jazz musician. They had trouble finding a house to rent, landlords showed their disapproval by refusing to let to them. Cynthia and I had a lot of interests in common. I never fitted in either and always felt as if I were just passing through. I knew I was going somewhere but had no idea where, or when.
 
 
 
Her Mother encouraged us to read, learn about politics, attend concerts and poetry readings. She was exotic, she had long blonde flowing hair, wore lots of jewellery and African printed kaftans and sandals. Their life was very different to mine and I felt I belonged with them, that they were free of all the expectations and shackles most people faced. She was the one who first read Jack Kerouac to me, played Dylan, (and Woody Guthrie) and took us to folk festivals in that long hot summer.


She marched in protest marches and attended political rallies. We held hands and wept when we listened to Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. None of us could know what the future held or how prophetic his words were, and yet we knew that we were watching history unfold which would shape the world for decades to come. It was exciting and a little scary.
 
photo by Brant Ward 'Summer of Love'

We had a few summers together. Although the death of JFK was shocking it also spurred us on. We were interested in politics and we vowed to study law. We believed that we could make a difference - that our generation would change the world. Her Mother drove us to the airport to meet Jim Morrison when the Doors came to town. We were barely in our teens and yet felt terribly grown up wearing our Nehru collared pantsuits with Indian braid on them. The summer of 1967 is forever remembered as The Summer of Love but this was a day, a week, an idea. It was a swansong, riots had erupted as early as 65 and unrest continued.
 
 
 
 
In April 1968 we lost Martin and by June Bobby Kennedy was gone too. I think my family moved again late that June. My last memory of Cynthia is the day news broke about Bobby Kennedy.  We sat huddled together half the night with the lights off and a hundred candles burning while we played Dylan. They were wrapped in grief, but I was already looking for leaving.
 
 

My family moved far away to a more affluent neighbourhood so that I could attend a better school and we lost touch. No mobiles, emails or facebook in those days. No internet. A decade later when I left San Francisco for Europe and had to sort my belongings I found the Dylan album they had given me all those years ago. By then my life had for sometime been more influenced by European events than local and my soundtrack was British bands, The Animals, Yardbirds, Who, Stones, Led Zeppelin, moving on to the so called 'new wave' including The Clash and The Jam. I knew I was leaving never to return and I had one last romance with California in the summer that The Eagles brought out Hotel California which seemed for me to capture that indescribable loss of innocence that occurs as if summer has forever ended.

I was no longer the innocent wide eyed child who looked and listened in wonder. I knew that Summer had gone.

And yet a fire had been lit that will burn forever.

 
 

Thank you to the Rev Martin Luther King and to Cynthia and her Mother, wherever they are today. I hope their lives were filled with Joy and Freedom.


LINKS:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



VINTAGE AT - The Vintage Bazaar in Devizes

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The Vintage Bazaar at the beautiful Corn Exchange in Devizes

We're in the middle of a lot of building work on our cottage. it's been like the Mad Tea Party with electricians, plumbers and plasterers all in my kitchen. It is difficult to make tea with the water and electrics turned off! Perhaps putting in a new bathroom and kitchen whilst replacing the roof on the back of your house is not advisable. We are making progress but I've not been out much during all of this.

However, I could not resist attending the Vintage Bazaar at the end of August in Devizes. It's a very old market town in Wiltshire which is always a delight to visit. There is even a castle! The bazaar was brilliant, sadly my expertise with my new camera was not, so you will only get a few photographs from me for the day. Fortunately a lot of other bloggers have posted theirs so you can have a look at those to pick up some of the glamour and excitement of the day.

The venue was exceptional - the perfect setting for vintage goods. The Corn Exchange is a very beautiful building. The stalls were all laid out so well and I had to contain myself from having a buying frenzy! There were a few celebrities there, including Marc Allum and Lisa Lloyd of the BBC Antiques Roadshow and their magazine Homes & Antiques. Liz Van Hasselt had a stall there and is one of the co-ordinators of the Vintage Bazaar. Homes & Antiques featured her in the September issue of the magazine. You can read their post about the Vintage Bazaar with great photographs from the day HERE: 


Liz's stall with some of her collection of religious figurines.

Although I came home with lovely goodies, the highlight was meeting fellow blogger and vintage dealer Ted and Bunny who had a stall there.  I've loved her shop for years and it was such a pleasure to finally meet her. Her blog is always inspirational and I want her handsome horse Bruce!


The cute logo of Ted and Bunny
their blog is here;




I bought this wonderful old book from her with illustrations by Leslie Brooks. 

Vintage American quilt from Ted and Bunny

But this is the one that got away. This antique American quilt was peeking out from under her trolley and caught my eye the minute I saw it. It's made from old feed sacks and is absolutely gorgeous! Elaine told me that she had to wear it as a kind of shawl to get it on the plane home from the US. With all the work on the cottage I am bereft of monies or I would have snapped this up. It's worth every penny of the £150.00 she is asking for it. My photo simply does not do it justice and these quilts are real collectors items.

Here is a small collection of items from the day which somehow ended up in my shopping bag. None of these are destined for sale, although the lace may adorn some wool and tweed coats I am working on to sell in the shop in Hungerford.

Gorgeous old red glass necklace



All at £1.00 each! From a box of fabulous antique lace treasures.

 
I was so excited to be there and had limited time to wiz round to see everyone that I failed to get details of who I bought items from. This stall was tucked in a far back corner and had tons of vintage fabrics, lace and  thread.  I could have spent hours just with her! If anyone knows what she is called please let me know and I will update this to credit her.

Anyone who knows me will know that I have spent my whole life being obsessed with everything  pre-Raphaelite. Just as I was leaving some very pretty fabric remnants neatly folded on a table display caught my eye. I had already decided not to buy anything else ..... but surely these small tokens would fit into one of my bags?

The first one is large enough to make two cushions if I use a border and a backing. I think it is probably 1960s or 70s and is a heavy weight velvet upholstery fabric. It's beautifully coloured with deep rich blue, coral and green. I got this for £2.50!!!!


Remnant of a William Morris print on Liberty velvet
 


The kind lady who could probably tell that I really wanted these by the way I kept stroking them let me have this teeny remnant below for a mere £0.50 pence!

It is really small, but so exquisite. I do not recognise the fabric, and have a bit of research to do yet, but believe it to be William Morris from the early days of his fabric designs.

It is faded and yet still rich with it's red background and pastel blue and pink flowers and trailing green stems and leaves. I don't know what I am going to do with this one. It would work well as a top on a jewel box, or a tiny lavender filled cushion. I might frame it, although being able to touch it is part of the it's appeal. 

A tiny fragment of a REAL Arts and Crafts fabric
I was so thrilled that I forgot to find out who I bought these remnants from. So, if the lady who sold me these is reading this let me know, I'd love to credit you. And find you at the next Vintage Bazaar!

Lastly I did buy this to sell. It is an old Athena print of a Burne-Jones painting called 'The Beguiling of Merlin', created between 1872 and 1877. The print is a good one but I think that the mount and frame could be improved upon. I intended to reframe this and put it in the shop. Really I did .... but then I carried it upstairs to get it out of the chaos of the building works and it looked so perfect against the blue walls and carpet of the bedroom.

The Beguiling of Merlin
Edward Burne-Jones


 
Detail from the print
 
It is an amazing painting with an interesting history.  Burne-Jones was inspired by the late medieval French 'Romance of Merlin' to portray Nimue as a femme fatale whose spell proves too powerful even for the sorcerer Merlin as they walk together in the forest of Broceliande. I like the way that Nimue having subdued him, is reading from his own book of spells and how Burne-Jones has imagined her as having serpents in her hair reminiscent of Medusa. He is a master (like Lord Leighton) of painting the diaphanous folds of her dress and creating a play of light by using highlights of another colour. 

Boreas by john William Waterhouse

I also love the grey blues which he has used in this, which remind me of Waterhouse's 'Boreas'  painting. A previous owner of our cottage adored blue and the carpets and tiles throughout are a mid-blue. I do like this colour but it has been hard to work with having blue underfoot in every room. This print picks it up nicely and will help tie in the bedroom's colours. And it was a bargain at Oxfam for just £6.99!



SEASONS - Summer is Gone

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Chinese lanterns beginning to glow


Nobody on the road
nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
the summer's out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets,
the sun goes down alone
 
Don Henley, The Boys of Summer


We had some glorious weeks of summer, but the air has turned and the Autumn wind has begun to pull her amber bejewelled blanket over the land. The dew is heavier in mornings and it is dark before we have dinner. The glow of Chinese Lanterns has appeared between the foliage of summer flowers. Summer is gone.


Butterfly nectar

We watched the last Butterflies taking nectar from our Buddleia bushes.  Some only visit us here in England, they cannot survive the winters and die at summer's end. The Bees too have gone down in numbers, it seems silent without their gentle buzzing. The Swifts left us last month, House Martins and Swallows struggle on through the rainy colder days with their last broods before their farewell gathering and journey to South Africa.

Our tiny Dragons are leaving the pond to chose stones for hibernation.
 
 

Mrs Black soaks up the last of the sunshine

This years Hollyhocks were glorious


And us? We begin to gather our woollens, light the lamps and get out the books we plan to read in our winter nests.


Toast
 
Top of my list is the Autumn catalogue which arrived from Toast this week. perfect timing! Beautiful colour palette, mustards, rusts and clear greens with navy. I've been tuned to yellow this summer, it is a warming colour, think bowls of spice in a desert souk. It's such a gorgeous photo shoot it is a joy to look at even if you are not shopping. My favourites are the mustard hand warmers, and the white horse! All I need now is a cup of tea.


Toast
website HERE:





DARK DECOR - Abigail Ahern Collection for Debenhams

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Look who has arrived!
(The big guy, not the little one.)

This time of year my soul begins to wander towards the woods and all the wild things. Hares are always top of my list and I am very lucky to live near some woods where they frolic. I see them often. But not often like this!


Hare Lamp by Abigail Ahern
Her website HERE:
for the Debenham's Collection

Debenham's collection HERE:
Abigail Ahearn has been big news for a long while and yet she still surprises me with her creations. I LOVE her interiors which are really me, dark and yet with a sense of humour. I think it is very difficult to do a gothic look seriously (unless you live in a grand house or castle) and it often comes off better if you add a touch of relief. Her look suits both townhouses and country cottages. As proven by her own London Victorian which she trimmed in black. 


His handsome head and ears!

I've long admired her animal lamps but each time I saved up the money to buy one and finally decided which,  I found it had already sold. And it was so hard to chose from this selection!



So I was extremely excited when she did a collection for Debenham's and I saw that she had done one of a major obsession of mine - a Hare! And even more remarkable I managed to obtain one. Hooray!

His huge paws!

He arrived this week. He is divine! Photographs do not do him justice. He is perfectly flocked a light grey with enormous feet and ears. He wears a small bright pink shade a little like the Mad Hatter's very best top hat. This has a little bit of Alice about it and lots of whimsy. All who have seen him agree how very handsome that he is. We LOVE him and felt he deserved a name and decided to call him Harvey.


James Stewart and his big friend Harvey

It isn't all that original considering, but my Grandfather's name was Harvey and I have always adored the film with James Stewart and his giant  Púca  animal spirit in the shape of a Rabbit. Okay, so this is a hare ... but we think he is Harvey like.  



Abigail and her pet pooch at her fantastic home.
 
You can read more about Abigail, and this collection (but a lot of it has sold out so you may not be able to buy it) on her own website blog. The Link follows these images.

Her photographs of 'Harvey' are a lot better than mine too.



 I want everything in the collection ......

Abigail is on Pinterest too, her boards are full of inspiration. HERE:



Abigail Ahern Blog HERE:

CURIOUSER and CURIOUSER - The Throne Chair

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Oak Canopy Chair, Monarch Crown, Coat of Arms, Heavily Carved
$6,800 From Roberts Antiques at Ruby Lane;

 
I've always been curious about the origin of objects and as soon as I find an 'Object of Desire' I begin a discovery for it's story. The throne chair is an object which I love in all of it's forms, whether it was created for the Lord of the Manor or simply as a humble carver chair for the master of the house who carved the joint.

This one is most definitely not humble, although it is in good taste compared to some of the high Victorian gargoyle adorned examples which I have admired. Roberts Antiques who are selling it say this about it, "This oak canopy chair or throne chair is heavily carved and decorated. It is certainly one of a kind. Bought in East Texas from Mrs. Prater at Liz-Beth Antiques, who obtained it from a client in Scotland. It was said to come from an old estate in the highlands. It is oak and has wonderful and outstanding carvings. It is a reproduction of a 17th century style chair and was made around 1875. " You can read more about it on the link under the collage. I love everything about this, even the worn green velvet and would do little to it were I lucky enough to be able to purchase this. I imagine that Mrs Black would love sleeping on this!

I loved the heart shaped throne which The Red Queen sat upon in Alice.

Throne of The Red Queen
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

We associate thrones with royalty, but their history is far older. Once they were the seat of deities.

The word throne derives from the Greek 'thronos' which means  "seat, chair"  and the early  Greek (Dios thronous) which meant the "support of the heavens". In Ancient Greek, a "thronos" was a specific but ordinary type of chair with a footstool, a high status object but not necessarily with any connotations of power. Homer wrote that the Achaens placed additional thrones in royal palaces so that the gods could be seated when they wished to be. The most famous of these thrones was the throne of Apollo in Amyclae.


Throne of Apollo at Aachen

The Greeks were not alone in making their Gods welcome with thrones set aside for their use, should they turn up and wish to sit awhile. Romans had two types of thrones, one which was intended for the Emperor and one for the Goddess Roma whose statues were seated upon thrones, which became centres of worship.

Through history thrones have been the seats of bishops, known as a 'cathedra' from the Greek for 'seat'.  The cathedra symbolizes the bishop's authority to teach the faith and to govern his flock. From the presence of this cathedra a bishop's primary church is called a 'cathedral'. 

We lived near Exeter Devon for a few years. I often visited and admired the Cathedral, especially the Bishops Throne. Photographs do not do it justice, in fact it is so large that it is impossible to get it all into one photo and show any detail. You can read more about this, and Exeter on a link at the bottom of this post. It's worth a visit if you are ever in the area. 

The wooden structure made between 1312 & 1316 stands 59 feet high,
made without metal nails or screws, only wooden pegs were used.
Photo © Copyright
Julian P Guffogg  


The Bishop's Throne, Exeter Cathedral, Devon 

In the Middle Ages in European feudal countries, monarchs often were seated on thrones, based in all likelihood on the Roman magisterial chair. These thrones were originally quite simple, especially when compared to their Asian counterparts. One of the grandest and most important was the Throne of Ivan "the Terrible". Dating from the mid-16th century, it is shaped as a high-backed chair with arm rests, and adorned with ivory and walrus bone plaques intricately carved with mythological, heraldic and life scenes. The plaques carved with scenes from the biblical account of King David's life are of particular relevance, as David was seen as the ideal for Christian monarchs.

The throne of Ivan The Terrible of Russia
photo by Stan Shebs
 

Some thrones were unbelievably elaborate. The throne of the Byzantine Empire even included automatons of  singing birds! I'd love to see an image of that.

One of the most famous thrones still in use by monarchs today is King Edward's Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey. British monarchs are still crowned upon it.   The Lord Mayors of many British and Irish cities often preside over local councils from throne-like chairs.


King Edward's Chair, Westminster Abbey, London
this photograph by
Kjetil Bjørnsrud

So how did all of this equal the throne chairs which came to be made for domestic use? Good question. The first types would have been made for Lords of The Manor, such as the one from Scotland which Robert's Antiques are selling. Others, not quite so grand are from the Tudor period and can be found in churches and country houses throughout Europe.

old oak carved chair at Malmesbury Abbey

Whilst royalty has always sat on thrones I think that Victoriana further popularised the idea of the head of the family sitting in a carver which announced his status by resemblance to a throne and carried on through the years until it fell out of fashion with less formal eating habits became the norm. 

The dining room at The National Trust property, The Argory,
County Armagh ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel

I really love the whimsical 'throne chairs' but ordinary carver chairs are like mini thrones for us mere mortals and are sturdy reliable chairs for everyday use about the house. You can pick up fine oak  carved examples on ebay and at all antique fairs for a song. I'm sitting on an Arts and Crafts one as I write this. Mine is very plain compared to the one which inspired this post but I love it's honesty. And no, that is not me pictured here, I am not a Tortoiseshell Cat. This is the Naughty Kitten who snuck up here, stretched out and fell fast asleep when I went to make a cup of tea. Throne chairs, in all their forms, are a perfect size for a cat!




Wiki page about Thrones:

The Bishops Throne at Exeter Cathedral
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