Style Imitating Art- Spring in Chicago

Greetings, Mortals!

Spring in Chicago by Blink of Aliens

I have a Style Imitating Art outfit today.  If you have missed the umpteen posts I have done on this theme before, the concept is that one of three great bloggers chooses a piece of Art-work and then anyone who wishes, creates an outfit based on it- loosely or very specifically.

This week, Erin chose a photograph taken by her friend, a Chicago-based Photographer. You can visit 'Blink of Aliens' to see more of his work.

Here is my take on the inspiration. I will take you through it and explain my choices because I am nice like that! This time, I knew INSTANTLY, that I would begin with my Cath Kidston Cloud print skirt because the Sky is the thing that struck me first. Next, I saw the metallic buildings with their windows appearing like a square pattern: I am about to say goodbye to these Melissa shoes as I just find them terribly uncomfortable once I've worn them for a while and I have too many items so I think someone with slightly smaller feet would be happy with them.  However, since they are still in the house, I thought they mimicked the building colours and pattern well.

Next, you saw this green vest-top last week with my Ace McShane Doctor Who cosplay, that is a nod to the green stems and leaves of the tulips.  

Finally, the tulips themselves: This pink pashmina and pink belt were a nod to tulips themselves- a little bit of pink but not too much!

So what do you think?  Do you think I have encompassed all the elements of the Photograph in my outfit? If so, do you think they are cohesive or are there too many different and diverse elements? Please do leave a comment, good,bad or indifferent: it is always good to know how to improve.

Head over to Erin's to see how everyone else did on Tuesday the 1st August.

xx

Scrap card challenge

Last week, I shared a post with two cards made entirely out of scrap materials. I like the challenge of this so I thought that I would give myself another Scrap challenge where I tried to make a few different cards using the same scrap materials in each one but also incorporating other materials as necessary

The scrap involved in this challenge was:

A mint base card which was the back of a card someone sent to me.

A pink envelope written to me

A Purple envelope written to me.

A piece of pale pink card which a work college cut two templates from and then put into the recycling bin.

And here are the three cards I made.

I ended up punching a whole load of flowers from the pink and purple scrap so I used these on all 3 cards.  In the top right card- I layered two on top of each other whereas the other two just used a single flower each time.

The floral centres on the left two were drawn on in silver gel pen whereas the right one had pink mirrored punched centres.

The only materials used that weren't scrap were the black card, the pink mirrored elements and the silver outline stickers on the bottom one.

I'm not going to teach Grandma to suck eggs by explaining how I made each one as you are all intelligent enough to work it out for yourselves but if you do have any enquiries, just leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer it.

What do you reckon?

xx

P.S.  I'd love to see you take part in a Scrap card challenge!

Linking with Claire Justine at Creative Mondays.

TARDIS Tuesday- Ace McShane- Battlefield

Hello there!

I hope you are well.  Alas, last week, I missed TARDIS Tuesday due to the school concert and great tiredness. I didn't have the energy to think about wearing something Dr Who related that worked for the weather.

I thought I'd go back to Classic Who again and a companion that I have not cosplayed before. The wonderful Ace McShane.

Image borrowed from this Pinterest. Original images belong to the BBC

Ace was really MY companion as a child. I loved her totally. I met the wonderful Sophie Aldred who plays her at Panopticon '98, a Doctor Who Convention in Coventry when I was 16. She admired my turquoise nail varnish and was charming.

Anyway, her most iconic look is her Black Bomber jacket covered in patches and badges but I thought I'd try a less well known look.

Battlefield is my favourite Sylvester McCoy serial- it deals with Morgana and King Arthur- the scary Jean Marsh played Morgana.
 In this episode, Ace discards her ubiquitous Bomber Jacket and wears a largely dark outfit.

Here's my version of it.  It is essentially a Black trousers, cross over top with a green vest top underneath which is very easy to recreate.
The green vest was from Sainsbury's, the cross-over top was from All Saints originally, but came from my local Sue Ryder charity shop. My black trousers are from Asos originally and I am wearing CBC's shoes.

Image borrowed from Altairsnail blog.

I was delighted to remember this very 80's hair style of having the sides of your hair clipped up with a clip and then a scrunchie. My work colleague gave me this green velvet hair scrunchie for my birthday last year and worked very well to copy Ace's.

The final touch was the earrings. I always remember Ace wearing big dangly earrings.  In the gif below, she seems to be donning some sort of trapezium-shaped gold earrings but it is unclear of the exact shape.

I have this pair of lovely gold-leafed oak leaves (charity-shopped of course) which seemed to be my closest match to them.

Gif borrowed from The Fashion of Doctor Who

The funny thing is, as I was uploading these photos, I was watching some Doctor Who interview videos on Youtube coincidentally and Sophie Aldred happened to be on this one wearing a gold-leafed oak leaf necklace. Scroll to 1:40 to see it! How spooky is that?!?!




And here we are side by side. I was quite pleased with this one!

What do you think?  If you are a classic Who fan (Bobbi, I am namely looking at you as I know you are the classic Who expert amongst my illustrious blog friends!), do you remember this outfit of Ace's? What about the rest of you?

I almost added my Bessie pin badge which Melanie Folly Bird gave me for my birthday but in the end, I was in a rush in the morning! Maybe next time!?

xx

P.S.  Do you have any suggestions for any Doctor Who cosplay or dress up for me to try? I do have lots of ideas waiting in the wings, but it would be interesting to hear from you. And if you wanted to join in at all.

I haven't linked for ages with the lovely Patti at Visible Mondays, so I thought I would do! I feel very visible because this is not my usual look- everyone at church commented on it along the lines of, "You never wear black!"

Water

One of my favourite bloggers is the wonderful Julia.  She truly is the most humble, hard-working, kind and generous person who I am honoured and humbled to know.  Her comments are a ray of sunshine and her motto is "always leave a place in a better state than when you entered" really does describe Julia.

She wrote this amazing poem about water back in 2015 and it really spoke to my heart.  I feel very worried about our environment and this poem is, I think, a very powerful way to get across the importance of our precious liquid and all its different uses and aspects of our life. I wanted to share it with you too.

I hope you enjoy it. Please go and visit Julia too to share your thoughts.

Much love,
xx

WATER, A GIFT, A RIGHT, A COMMODITY
Oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and streams
Babbling brooks, water falls, puddles, wells and pools
Geysers, clouds and rain torrents
Currents and waves, drip, drip, drip
Glaciers and ponds, hot springs, cool springs, juices, ice

Who will give me water for my tears?
Who will provide water for my precious cargo? Dehydrated womb
Who will provide water for my blistered hands and feet?
My tongue is cleaving to my palate. Thirst

Who will provide water for my pused pimples, for my sweat?

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink
Contaminated, dehydrated, salty, dirty, mineral
Gurgles, spittle
Who hears my cry? I have no tears left.

Lines and lines of bottled water,
Profit margin, stocks and bonds, truck loads
Warehouses full.
Soft and hard, clear and fresh. Who will buy my water?

Soaked, drenched, down pour
Going under, swimming
How will I get across?
Where will I go for a cruise?
Mirror image, glass full or half empty

Water, a gift, a right, a commodity

Baptism, Holy, shared and poured
Come bathe in my pool.
Come and get the water of Life, refresh yourself
Pool of miracles, well of salvation

Here, let me wash your feet

Millions of snowflakes falling, glistening and not two the same
Snow angels, foot print to follow, season of hope
Frozen breath, storms, ice pellets and snow banks, slippery, thawed
Smiles on children's faces, skating, sliding, building snowmen
Curses from grumpy old folks, chilled to the bones

Flushed down, sewers, gutters, lagoons
Muddy trenches, face down, drowning, sinking down below
Foggy night, sandy deserts
Dams, submerged land once fertile
Obstruction in my path, lack of water

Open the flood gate, widen the canal, built a power plant
Irrigation, heavy water, nuclear waste
Floating, drifting, message in a bottle, tossed over board
Lost at sea, watery grave, tidal wave
Boat wrecks, desperate family waiting, hoping

Parched land, cracked, wilted green
Merciful gift from heaven, drizzle, rain, coming down
Renewing, refreshing, life giving
Renewed resources millions of years old
Thankful hearts, dancing, quenched

Drunken stupor, bloated, swollen
Caffeinated, decaffeinated, coolers
Spirited water, tea, Coca Cola
Can I offer you something to drink?
Something hot, something cold?

Water fountains, washing machines
Golden faucets, whirlpool bath, hot shower, sauna
Which one to choose,? Water bills, hydro bills
Which one to pay?

Luxurious eau de toilette, bubble bath, dish water
Soapy water, boiled, distilled, potable, deep shallow
Come fill your bucket, come fill your jar
All this for you at no cost
Gift from the creator, oasis, clear blue

Douse the fire, put out the flame
Rinse your hair, sprinkle the kids
Cool your drink, hose down the lawn
Bucket empty, well dried up
Desperation, smelly armpits


Water, a gift, a right, a commodity

By Julia Bourque
November, 18, 2005


sdsdsd

Friday letters

Dear All,
It is time for another Friday letters. I should point out, which I often fail to do, that this wasn't my idea- it was an idea that I read on a blog somewhere a while back- it was a proper link up and then I forgot about it and then Bev at Confuzzledom reminded me of it by her consistent competition of it!

Dear Books I have read,
I am so sorry I am so loathe to review you. It is nothing personal, it is just that I have got behind with it all and I have about 40 books to review and understandably, the whole task is a bit daunting. Please bear with me and perhaps forgive me if I skip a few of you.

Dear Children at school,
Thank you for your hard work this year. Especially nice polite ones.  Ones who do not listen, I will try to get less grumpy with you if you try to be more polite.

Dear Children who gave me presents and cards,
I was overwhelmed with all the kind gifts. Thank you so much for your generosity in the large amount of boxes of chocolates which no doubt will last 10 years!

Dear Child who cried,
Thank you for truly caring. I realise that you don't show your emotions much.

Dear Child who swore at another child,
How refreshing it was, when I asked if you had sworn at him,you responded immediately- "Yes, I did, but I honestly didn't know it was going to come out my mouth- I was just so angry with him and he wouldn't listen." You did the wrong thing and as I said, you should not be using that kind of language, but I am so used to adamant, angry denial and deflection that it was very pleasant to be able to get straight to the point instead of the usual denials and rudeness.

Dear Parent who handed me a kitkat
That was a sweet thing for you to do, to see my coming as you stood there with a present for another teacher and suddenly feel that you wanted to give me something. It really wasn't necessary, I don't need any more chocolate but thank you for the gesture.  TAs that I mentioned it to, I really appreciated the gesture but was embarrassed by them feeling the need to give me something- I don't need anything more!

Dear Vendors of house,
HURRY UP!

Dear Mummykins,
I haven't seen you for weeeeeeeeeeks! Hopefully we can get round to you with birthday presents asap!

Dear House,
If you could just tidy yourself, I would be grateful.

Dear Moths,
Be gone or you will die! You cannot eat my carpet or clothes.

What would your Friday letters say?

xx

Glorious skies

Good Evening,

 Summer yields the most sublime skies.  My cloud-gazing joy reaches its zenith in the Summer when there is such a range of clouds- varied hues, sizes, heights and locations.

 Particularly in the early evening. If you have eyes to see, there is a veritable art gallery to be seen.  Old Masters are free for the discerning eye or a range of new paintings on that old blue canvas. The interplay between the water vapour and the light is a palette of joy.

 These clouds above have a definite Flying Saucer appearance to them or some some of Aqua Ray

 Enjoy the show!

Origami outfit

This sounds a daft thing to say but I do really like the wardrobe that I have. I am very lucky that I have managed to acquire such a variety of fun and quirky clothes which make me and others smile.  Yet, there are often combinations and items that make my heart soar even more than others.

 The skirt I am wearing here was an Ebay purchase that was originally brand new from White Stuff and the skirt is completely reversible. The other side features a purple background with bottles of various sizes. This side has origami birds on it! It wafts most nicely on a warm day.

 My favourite shiny gold Toms shoes are comfortable to the extreme and this Henry Holland top that I first bought in Debenhams but when I saw this one, 4 sizes larger in the charity shop for £1.75, that I bought it anyway! Actually, this one is much more comfortable to wear!

And of course, the Custard Cream brooch from Nikki McWilliams, featured in last week's '5 brooches'.

Do you have outfits that you love more than others?
xx

Tunbridge Wells Opera House- AKA Wetherspoons

In my last post on Tunbridge Wells, I made allusion to the Wetherspoons.

Well, once upon a time, in Royal Tunbridge Wells, there was an Opera House for all the Ton and the stylish people to frequent.  In these times of austerity and cuts in the arts, alas, the Opera House ceased its regular performances and services.
But, it became the Wetherspoons!

Step inside to find out what it is like inside.

 It certainly didn't disappoint! Our friend, who lives in TW, was keen to point out that Wetherspoons was keen to retain the original features and keep it so it could still be used as a theatre/opera house again in the future in theory. According to a review I read of it, it is used for an Opera performance once a year.

 Here are the Dress Circle and the Upper Circle seats.

 The Stage itself houses more tables with a higher balcony level stage still retained.

 The boxes still flank both sides of the stage.

 What I loved was the sheer scale of the place. Wetherspoons usually feel very spacious and this one, with its ceilings, really felt opulent and a great place to visit.

 I don't know if you can actually get into the seats in the Dress and Upper circles but certainly they make for a great view.

 This is the view from the stage looking out to the audience.

 The ceilings are beautiful and you really could be in a theatre if you just looked up.

 There is a secondary bar on the stage although they weren't serving from this at 10.30am on a Friday morning though they seemed to do some great breakfasts!

 Looking up above the Stage bar.

 All the rigging and the pulleys and the curtain mechanisms with the access gantries were still in place.

 It is definitely the most impressive Wetherspoons I have ever visited.

 Out in the foyer and on the walls, there are historical photos and documents pertaining to the history of the Opera House and the area.

 Here is a view of the Opera House in its heyday.

It has an interesting history as it opened in 1902 as an Opera House, yet in 1931, it became a cinema, then a Bingo Hall at one point before finally being bought by Wetherspoons.  The building is Grade II listed.

 Here are just a few views from the Foyer which, if you didn't know was a Wetherspoons now,you really might think it was still a theatre.

 Obligatory Paradox photo of the two mirrors in the foyer. I cannot resist it!

What do you think? Would you be tempted to visit Tunbridge Wells to visit this architectural beauty?

Have you been?

xx

10 reasons to be thankful July 2017

I love to think of things that I am thankful for. Active Gratitude is essential for avoiding discontent and to help us to realise how much we do have. I read this lovely article by Sandra on the website she writes for and she talks about how gratitude should be a daily practice.   I was thinking about things I was really grateful for earlier and how I haven't written one of these for ages, so it was really appropriate that I just read her article.

1.  I am thankful that year 3 went to the Hindu temple today and gave me a lesson off in which I got some useful admin for the school concert done. It meant I was able to chase certain children personally for replies.
2. I am also grateful that our Deputy Head rearranged things so that my concert rehearsal on Tuesday would not be compromised by something that had been put into the diary over my rehearsal which was going to render the whole concert rehearsal and setting up a complete nightmare. Children need rehearsal time or they get anxious. It meant she will probably face a lot of stick now for it and I am grateful for her sticking her neck out.
3.  Oh my swim!  I am so happy that we have this great local swimming pool just by the station. It fills my heart with joy to be swimming. I swam once a week for the last few weeks and the sense of excitement I had to be able to go home and go straight to the pool was wonderful.
4. I am grateful that I had sweet potatoes, jersey potatoes, courgettes and fish cakes to cook for dinner tonight.
5.  Two mint plants that are growing abundantly so I can drink fresh mint tea every night.
6.  My two readers who I read with this afternoon. I have been taking 4 children for a reading session each week (though I haven't done it for quite a few weeks now) and their enthusiasm and enjoyment of the sessions makes me happy especially the boy who loves to then explain what new vocabulary in his own words with actions. Chasm? "That's basically like a bottomless pit!".  Condescending?  "Oh yes, SMUG basically!".  Sheer?  "Just like that brick wall- smooth and impossible to climb!"
7.  My flute.  It is really nice to have a motivation to practice. I have been asked to perform a Flute Concertino by our friend from Tunbridge Wells so I am practising for this as I really would like to play it from memory and do the best job I can. Consequently- practice is happening!
8.   I am grateful for Sandra's article in reminding me why I need to be praying. I just don't work properly. I am horrid, grumpy, mean and every other type of horrid when I don't pray and there is a reason I have been feeling so out of sorts for such a long time.
9. I am grateful for holidays. Especially the 6 week one. A chance to regenerate!
10. I am glad that YOU came to visit- thank you!

What are you grateful for this week?
xx

Postcards from Tunbridge Wells

Back in Half Term, we went to stay with friends in Tunbridge Wells.  It was delightful to see them and stay with them. On the second day, we went for a walk around Tunbridge Wells.  There are so many interesting things to see there and I was itching to explore the shops too!

Our first stop after walking across the heath was the Pantiles.  This is a lovely parade of shops and restaurants where there is often live music.

Here is the Spa building which made Tunbridge Wells a spa town.

The picturesque and historical Musician's Gallery.

Here is a view of the Pantiles facade.

Our friend says he finds the Corn Exchange really sad.  It is an amazing place which could be turned into something, a venue for dancing or music, but it largely sits empty.

Here's the inside. So pretty but all the shops are empty

Some work from the Tonbridge Art Society was on display but little else to see.

Continuing on our tour, we walked up one of the biblical sounding street names- Mount Sion!

It is pretty steep and cobbled, but achingly picturesque!

There's CBC and our friend in front!

It is very desirable to live in Tunbridge Wells.  House prices are high and you can see why!

We walked through the park to this very fancy avenue called Calverly Park.  The houses were all vast with great drive ways but they all share a beautiful set of grounds which are just left wild.  You could imagine Mr and Mr Darcy coming to visit!

 At the end was this arch back to normal civilisation

 The architect was Decimus Burton. I like the name Decimus!

 We then saw this Crescent which didn't quite have the Bath Crescent feel but was rather pleasant.

 We then walked up to the Assembly Halls which our friends perform in with their orchestra.  Another kind of interesting architecture, though more modern.

Stay tuned for the next part of our visit where we encounter the Best Wetherspoons ever!

Have you been to Tunbridge Wells? Would you like to?

xx