tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50511323473640610012024-02-19T05:10:14.005+00:00Snow Black's dressesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-91399250216812483922013-06-04T21:44:00.003+01:002013-06-04T21:44:49.530+01:00Moi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-80459771951015796452013-03-31T21:53:00.001+01:002013-03-31T21:53:42.226+01:00Snow Black the Victorian Bride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been a bad blogger of late mainly because I have been away and without a computer whilst I delved into the world of flowers...of course I still got a chance to play dress up, here I am as a Victorian bride, with bouquet and headdress put together by yours truly. They kicked the arse of my own wedding flowers (which I did not do) If I were to do it all again there would be asparagus fern. Everywhere.<br />
Normal blogging business will resume once I have had a few days off....<br />
For more floral fancy see blog #2 <a href="http://jackfleuriste.tumblr.com/">http://jackfleuriste.tumblr.com/</a><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-84778966309910453442013-03-11T21:12:00.002+00:002013-03-11T21:12:42.755+00:00Ruby Red's trapeze show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Latest Trapeze offerings....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-35102235392499805422013-02-08T22:34:00.001+00:002013-02-10T20:52:17.137+00:00Foliage...the new black<p dir=ltr>Does my bum look big in this? </p>
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Some years are just a bit rubbish, the kind of years where you feel like you are losing at everything, 2012 was one of those years, some people don't believe in luck, they are the kind of annoying people that say "you just have to work at something to make it happen," yeah whatever, i hate those smug people, one day bad luck will strike them all down, that'll learn them!<br />
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At the start of 2012 I told myself I had to get out of my job by 2013, and it happened 1 week before the end of 2012, thank.god. I used to have to wear the worst uniform ever made, cargo trousers, steel toe cap boots and a fleece, yuk, all in black which makes me look dead! fleece is the worst material ever made and all examples of it should be burned. I used to unload lorries and when it rained the only rain coats where in big man sizes so i used to look like a kid playing dress up, Luck had better be on my side for the rest of my life so that I never have to start a job again that involves a fleece.<br />
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Now i am starting my own business as a florist and I get to wear whatever i like which is ACE!So that i don't go penniless, and so that I get to see people once in a while, I also work part time as a receptionist which means i can wear what i want there too, and I am getting stronger to do more trapeze routines which means i can dress up for that with crazy make up aswell, ACE, ACE ACE! life is just like one big game of dressing up, inbetween balancing all of that and still drawing inbetween. I think I knew from a really early age that when I grew up I'd be creative somehow, I loved my sindy dolls and my favourite was "artist" sindy, she wore a tiny neon pink miniskirt, a white crop t shirt and paint splattered tights, she had a hole in her thumb where you could make her hold a paint palette, I thought she was amazing and used to wish I could grow up and wear her outfit, now that i am a grown up, I'm really thankful that its not the 1980s so I don't have to wear anything like it.<br />
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As a florist I only think its fair that I wear clothes with flowers on them, so for now my uniform will be my flowery pencil skirt that i can wear with a t shirt and my new black shoes that have cats faces on them, it beats a fleece and steel toe boots any day, thank you good luck, you have saved me from another year of bad uniform, never will i wear black again!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-66332019967081877252012-12-03T18:25:00.001+00:002012-12-03T18:25:40.653+00:00(Completely unrehearsed) Christmas show on the silks<br />
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This term I have mostly been learning moves that are really sore (like balancing on your back) or that a a bit scary and so i am too much of a wimp to practice them a lot, and so I didnt have any time to rehearse a performance, but I couldnt let christmas go by without putting on a hat and getting on with a show...so here it is (unrehearsed!) i am much better when no one is looking....honestUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-7917567532422678952012-11-23T21:58:00.001+00:002012-11-23T21:58:02.830+00:00Snow Black's Sleepy Cinema Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Shining is one of my favorite movies ever...maybe it is because its a horror film that doesn't leave me with nightmares afterwards, or because of how good the casting is, of how Jack Nicholson is so right in the role, but i know it has something to do with the 70's styling of the hotel and the clothes the characters wear..<br />
The uncut version was played at the Edinburgh Filmhouse just after Halloween and I couldn't wait to go and see it and see what bloody bits they had cut out, I like old cinemas because they normally have funny patterned carpets and let you drink tea or booze whilst watching the film, but the downside is you have to sit really close next to the people around you and sometimes what is really bad about art house cinemas is that some people laugh a lot at things that aren't really funny, just a bit ironic or subtle, i think it makes people feel better about themselves, to prove to the rest of the audience that they are squashed up next to that they are clever enough to get the joke, it just makes me think that they should stay home and watch it on dvd, the worst is when they clap at the end of a film, it always has been, and always will be, a bit alien to me.<br />
Anyway, I wore my new white dress with white tights, i like to think, that combined with my new brighter red hair it makes me look a bit like a ghost, the dress is a bit victorian in style, with a high neckline, and reminds me of the ghost twins outfit in the film....<br />
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Of course I doubt anyone got the connection as they were too busy calculating where to laugh to sound clever (annoying) i am starting to think i should be the one at home watching it on DVD now...<br />
Later on in the film i started to get a bit sleepy (anaemia sucks) and so i had a nice little cinema nap, I didn't feel so bad because of all the uncut scenes that i saw, they were all un-exciting and contained no gore, and the uncut scenes at the end of skeleton ghosts just ruined it...<br />
My favorite outfits in the film, besides the twins dresses, is Wendy's red jumpsuit with a pinafore over the top, and Danny's Apollo jumper, infact all of his wardrobe..<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-8799206849913561272012-10-30T19:27:00.001+00:002012-10-30T21:28:41.334+00:00Blood for DraculaBeing told that you are anaemic makes sense when you wake up some mornings and resemble this...<br />
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Having to go for another blood test make me think of this...<br />
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But at least in the meantime I can carve a pumpkin, get my hair dyed a brighter red and take my mind off the impending attack on my veins by going out to watch the uncut version of this...<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-39339934094708625402012-10-22T13:39:00.000+01:002012-10-22T22:12:18.563+01:00Snow Black's Traumatic Tuesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For as long as I can remember my body has adapted the same strategy for coping with injections, blood tests and cuts (no matter how minor)..it gives in and passes out, it is out of my control and so I just have to go with it. I hate fainting, the horrible feeling you get just before you go, the mental dreams you get when you are out and the horrible feeling of not knowing where you are or who is infront of you when you come round, or why your head/face/legs are so sore (because you bashed them off the hardwood floor/table/cupboard) it has all happened to me so many times, followed by the usual questions of..are you epileptic (no) does this happen a lot (yes) did you eat breakfast (yes) and are you normally this pale (yes, unfortunately, i am)
Last Tuesday was the most horrific of them all, I had to go in for blood tests and I had a week to wait for the appointment, a week of fear! I know it doesnt hurt, the pain doesnt scare me, it is knowing I am going to pass out. The nurse was really nice but she made the mistake of showing me the bottles that she had to fill my blood into, bad start. As I laid on the bed (I cant hack it sat up) I turned my head away and listened to some music but as i felt the needle go in all i could think of was the bottles and the blood...and my veins, and the needle...having a vivid imagination can be a really bad thing. And so it wasnt long before that horrible fuzzy feeling happened and no amount of water or putting my head down was about to stop my blood draining from my head, and so I passed out...and had a fit...and had a dream that I was dying...it was the worst faint ever...i came around mumbling "MY LEGS!" they were so sore, in my dramatic faint i had managed to move myself down the bed and kick my legs off a cupboard, i had to have my legs and arms pinned down whilst i was out.. i still have bruises a week later. The only good thing about a big faint is that when you have came around and had a bit of water you can rest in the comfort that its all over, but not this time, as i sat up my head did the fuzzy thing again, i panicked, and off i was again...ugh, I left the doctors an hour after my appointment, wrapped up in a travel rug in the back of the car, praying there will be no more blood tests for another 5 years at least..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-79829460283734939812012-09-25T16:26:00.001+01:002012-10-22T22:18:52.920+01:00"All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer has finally gone, I spent last night getting woken up by the wind and rain battering against the windows, and now autumn is here it means I get to wear lots of red and brown and burgundy, kick the leaves around, hide bad hair days with a hat, wear leather boots and gloves, use my shower creme that makes me smell like a bucket of popcorn, and dye my hair a brighter shade of red.
For more floral adventures (and sometimes fashion..) follow me on my second blog
<a href="http://jackfleuriste.tumblr.com/">http://jackfleuriste.tumblr.com/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-80139976903395385402012-09-23T22:14:00.003+01:002012-09-24T22:23:59.781+01:00Dear Santa...Dear Santa
I have been good most of the year, so i am giving you 3 months notice to save up to leave me these Gucci dresses under the tree..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-36175275488206781722012-09-14T13:10:00.002+01:002012-09-24T22:19:47.135+01:00Seeing Red at the Opera Garnier restaurant, Paris<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPD-WPNxpmU" target="_blank">Francoise Hardy Le Temps De L'amour</a><br />
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Last year lots of design blogs wrote about the new restaurant at the Opera House In Paris, and so I'd be a bit late to the party if i wrote a design report/building history/conversion post, instead you can find them on sites like this...<a href="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/16601/odile-decq-phantom-opera-restaurant-paris.html" target="_blank">design boom blog</a>. After visiting last week for breakfast (dinner was too expensive, and breakfast is the best meal of the day anyways, breakfast there was pricey too, but affordable, the honey was the best I've ever eaten, and besides,you can milk it and sit there for ages) I realised something was missing from the blog write ups that I had read...no one had mentioned the toilets, and how could they not have?! I think its essential when you get to visit a well designed hotel/restaurant/public building to take a trip to the bathrooms to see if the good design continues, and here it was AMAZING. The space is divided into three sections-cublicles in a private room on one side for women, the same on the other side for men, and a shared hand washing/mirror area. The toilets themselves were painted out black with a red light and were a bit nightclub style spooky for me, but the vanity unit/sink was the best designed piece of bathroom furniture ever; some sink units look really well designed and sleek but designers don't always think out how they work and the handsoap goops out over the counter top, or the taps splash water out at you and you can't put your handbag down anywhere without it getting soaked, but here they had thought of everything, it looked ACE and it was ACE (or form was equal to function if you want to be more eloquent about it); as you hovered your hands over the sink unit the water came out from underneath and the whole unit changed from glowing white to red, this kept me entertained way more than it should have, then, the drier worked in the same way, blowing up heat from below (very handy and more elegant for discreet emergency hair drying incidences than bending over under a standard drier), the only thing they didn't manage to integrate into it was the handsoap, which came out of traditional style units, which was a bit boring, and it was a shame that they were probably made to put up small signs saying "hot water" just incase some idiot tourist sued them for a burnt hand; but i cant really hold those against them because overall they were cool as hell.<br />
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On a "what i wore" note--i wore my new red peplum skirt, peplum top (i didnt think i could pull off a peplum but i'm giving it a go anyways), and red brogues with my blue satchel, so pretty much, I camouflaged into the interior, which is always a good thing in my book. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-2053954718874706852012-09-14T11:57:00.006+01:002012-09-24T22:20:53.316+01:00Paris when it sizzles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWst7490zezZb1oKVjIryPPvDmzmAL3C7BqkJe9dggbEOrURMDDdV3nxMJibR9mhKqUEwLaOmNOeJkjir706vyvN8ZY99UR29fF0v9Su76Y92d8yUuorimxqwndtUu9oAFj_9GVAn95M/s1600/SAM_0261.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989849476422530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWst7490zezZb1oKVjIryPPvDmzmAL3C7BqkJe9dggbEOrURMDDdV3nxMJibR9mhKqUEwLaOmNOeJkjir706vyvN8ZY99UR29fF0v9Su76Y92d8yUuorimxqwndtUu9oAFj_9GVAn95M/s400/SAM_0261.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a>Steps us to the top of the Sacre Coeur<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-cAM2TS8dEa7a_QgZogSYKAuvhP2vXQUGhgeXL-sncy9u0-0he6HdWT3akY-HjO0gPxIQ5cPpwspxe2jZslwIXzOy833iLjOtRnG28Nr0aMXCLn-iY9d1wGOhTrOzJmAUQAF97FrbjE/s1600/SAM_0224-5.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989834681481746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-cAM2TS8dEa7a_QgZogSYKAuvhP2vXQUGhgeXL-sncy9u0-0he6HdWT3akY-HjO0gPxIQ5cPpwspxe2jZslwIXzOy833iLjOtRnG28Nr0aMXCLn-iY9d1wGOhTrOzJmAUQAF97FrbjE/s400/SAM_0224-5.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 380px;" /></a>Petit Dejuner at L'opera restaurant<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmhGAaB4Xwf4d6H0iM1rO74A10gijBD4UoRJTCKPBGtrCcKT2ivfC7HRFBYkiZhJWDaviUitws6LU1hrVPIrt9BycXxb_WkV36udkQz3fsn5PdzWQHE_-FQOHJzQT-grRfoK-MrCxDzQ/s1600/SAM_01239.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989860324160978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmhGAaB4Xwf4d6H0iM1rO74A10gijBD4UoRJTCKPBGtrCcKT2ivfC7HRFBYkiZhJWDaviUitws6LU1hrVPIrt9BycXxb_WkV36udkQz3fsn5PdzWQHE_-FQOHJzQT-grRfoK-MrCxDzQ/s400/SAM_01239.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 152px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>"I'll be special and I'll be rare, i'll be noticed because i'll wear a smile and a ribbon in my hair.."<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LwSLXqCS_M497CnvIqE-PIVu8Cg1Xa25d3miaWX2mkMevTcYoGSzBT82VxiXPELIosA_vlQLbbD4P1banyei0ANYH2QhiPBRbC9usJbfRKhAin5k-SXzkzVuZZX2mNpi91ukHSBkAsw/s1600/SAM_0138.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989112005931298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LwSLXqCS_M497CnvIqE-PIVu8Cg1Xa25d3miaWX2mkMevTcYoGSzBT82VxiXPELIosA_vlQLbbD4P1banyei0ANYH2QhiPBRbC9usJbfRKhAin5k-SXzkzVuZZX2mNpi91ukHSBkAsw/s400/SAM_0138.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Overpriced eclair<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqIF8UWIupqBOFSGYkPJ8GHCGpfBacxNi3bQBXslmxybL596Z5rb950wx_KapRHb5exenvZBH897NBSc-lp5owEy7d02tEB3swo4bNaPRzelpwaj58MVePOTZd751-oHL62m7M4sy7yQ/s1600/SAM_0113.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989098587834450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqIF8UWIupqBOFSGYkPJ8GHCGpfBacxNi3bQBXslmxybL596Z5rb950wx_KapRHb5exenvZBH897NBSc-lp5owEy7d02tEB3swo4bNaPRzelpwaj58MVePOTZd751-oHL62m7M4sy7yQ/s400/SAM_0113.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>This man REALLY wanted a shot of that lamp-post<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabETAq8p1dEtEFErTcjHdYgBuPN7Bip1gDZj87rX5cUiFci3QkaIXTRCrqXQHMsqOnG7GK-WL836LCheys7vOgDH9kfWiqOisCjj9QoqOLFrwLmdl_r3xzG_Pemxgs11-ABWT5AsKGB4/s1600/SAM_0172.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787989120228272722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabETAq8p1dEtEFErTcjHdYgBuPN7Bip1gDZj87rX5cUiFci3QkaIXTRCrqXQHMsqOnG7GK-WL836LCheys7vOgDH9kfWiqOisCjj9QoqOLFrwLmdl_r3xzG_Pemxgs11-ABWT5AsKGB4/s400/SAM_0172.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Cooling down in the Catacombs<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCcWswoW2xanBbug-jry8iWY-sAmIPaXfTF3IfbVci62yKU10oFYzkE4TEZQBObRqeQP8R19cafCJFnp9GycWxm5PZpI7bo5qhSZVYBAcP5xRB83guqLzefZJJFko03-tvV29rsN5YeQ/s1600/SAM_0097.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787988228051752402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCcWswoW2xanBbug-jry8iWY-sAmIPaXfTF3IfbVci62yKU10oFYzkE4TEZQBObRqeQP8R19cafCJFnp9GycWxm5PZpI7bo5qhSZVYBAcP5xRB83guqLzefZJJFko03-tvV29rsN5YeQ/s400/SAM_0097.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a>Flowers outside a church<br />
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Last weekend I went on my second trip to Paris, It was good to go back and skip all the main tourist things you feel like you have to do the first time round. This time I went to a huge flea market with endless stalls of old magazines, badges, taxidermy, clothes and postcards and came back with two weird jugs; I went to a flower market that also sold birds and bunnies, ate a lot of ice cream and steak, found some of the cats that live in Montmarte cemetery and went on a midnight shopping trip to Sephora-a whole store full of make up and perfumes but didnt buy anything after inhaling too much expensive but overpowering perfume and feeling sick. I did some tourist stuff like climb to the top of the Sacre Coeur which was knackering but worth it, visited Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde's graves, which were disappointing and felt a bit tacky, and went down to the catacombs, which was nice to get out of the 35 degree heat,but felt weird, its just wrong for your skull to be buried seperate to your leg, plus I didnt see anthing other than skulls and leg and arm bones ( its too long since i studied biology to know the real words) so, where did all the hips, hands and feet go?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq4k58a-5pNO05g2KFFBCqAxqh2Y5LgKfKLSKQQx14diCaCGHxcUIG8wIlJ4AtXuD2a4a5VXxBPflHy1tEIpHWfjg5luNqm29P0o3mVY5fnwCTw36I8G16ZERu7kYOgtBmmGff2Vl2DU/s1600/SAM_0265.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787988241771366930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq4k58a-5pNO05g2KFFBCqAxqh2Y5LgKfKLSKQQx14diCaCGHxcUIG8wIlJ4AtXuD2a4a5VXxBPflHy1tEIpHWfjg5luNqm29P0o3mVY5fnwCTw36I8G16ZERu7kYOgtBmmGff2Vl2DU/s400/SAM_0265.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 149px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Paris, France48.856614 2.352221948.773036 2.1942934 48.940192 2.5101504tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-49902397590908877722012-09-02T01:27:00.002+01:002012-09-02T01:28:25.918+01:00Hydrangea: flower of choice for Snappy and Snow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_l92obawQAUfUW8c-KHNWx3BY8bdrqckNbHnbj2HfWX71k9d9Pu93YP5C4Cr1POXNkH-KAGGECiY5RldS8pKCcFTM_fZ_yFGFn7hzZDf5ogTWQdfUT7mVK69WP-LoY0u6qMS3mcN82I/s1600/snappy+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_l92obawQAUfUW8c-KHNWx3BY8bdrqckNbHnbj2HfWX71k9d9Pu93YP5C4Cr1POXNkH-KAGGECiY5RldS8pKCcFTM_fZ_yFGFn7hzZDf5ogTWQdfUT7mVK69WP-LoY0u6qMS3mcN82I/s400/snappy+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5783369736279822114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-15724488042803464512012-08-17T19:06:00.003+01:002012-08-17T19:06:30.340+01:00Travel rug tartan and camoflage (Pimping out my ride)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I always wanted my first car to be a ford capri, or a fiat 500 (preferably 1970s) but sometimes you have to accept that you can barely parallel park a city car, and that you're not strong enough for the lack of power steering, and that the person you are sharing the car with wants something sensible, and annoyingly, sensible always wins out. And so I will wait patiently for my mid life crisis when hopefully i will have enough money to be ridiculous and buy my un-drivable car even if it is just to drive to the supermarket. Shopping for a modern car was depressing, the reason i love vintage cars the most is for their interiors, the patterned fabrics, huge steering wheels, leather trims. It makes me sad when people dismiss interior design, when they say that the design of a space doesn't affect the user, they are so wrong. I don't know anything about the car industry, but i do know that today's interior fabric choices of grey or black is depressing when you have to spend so much. Nothing excites, nothing has any personality, can someone please take inspiration from past car interiors and do something new? My new car's interior is black, its plastic,its boring, and so i am pimping it out, with a tartan travel rug to start with.</div>
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Living in Scotland, I don't feel like i can wear tartan anymore in fear of looking like an American tourist, back in the early 90's, when i lived in England and was starting to buy my own clothes, tartan made some sort of brief comeback (i think it was the john paul gaultier influence) i had a pair of proper travel rug pattern trousers that i loved, alongside 2 tartan pinafore dresses that i used to wear over long sleeve silky satin shirts, i dont think i could get away with the trousers now but i wish i still had the dresses, i would get someone to upholster all the car seats in matching tartan and travel around camouflage style, so it would just look like a floating head and hands driving the car. It reminded me of a scene from the film "garden state" where the main character gets a shirt made for him to match his mum's bathroom wallpaper.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-23293899485115227582012-07-17T17:43:00.001+01:002012-09-24T22:21:21.420+01:00A few of my favorite things...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Making a (very wonky) ombre cake, serves 12, will be consumed by 2, going to have to do a lot of running this weekend....
Does anyone else live in a really old flat where nothing is level meaning that all cakes come out lopsided, or is it just me being a rubbish baker?....<br />
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The Kurt Geiger shoe sale, problem is, you can never stop at one pair, even if you know the most wear you will get out of them is when sat at your dressing table spraying perfume and fixing your make up.<br />
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Feeding deer, I wish deer were domesticated, I would have this one thanks, he was really greedy, I think we'd get on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-47782369560186332722012-07-05T12:59:00.003+01:002012-09-24T22:21:54.038+01:00The Owl and The Pussycats aerial show<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1HfW-qtbuu4" width="560"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IKNOiro-MGEe28UbtkkyltU6uNTQ64B1jsusn4eEbTfcVQlA1Iuw2HD7K5ehThiyDehP_WXz0w6MrHbqGTn_c7fv5Mc4tohmRW-Kg5SGa4IvIiECMc3fLQDBJNbTr3lF4LFA-kj5Ay8/s1600/DSCN0964.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761655743120294354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IKNOiro-MGEe28UbtkkyltU6uNTQ64B1jsusn4eEbTfcVQlA1Iuw2HD7K5ehThiyDehP_WXz0w6MrHbqGTn_c7fv5Mc4tohmRW-Kg5SGa4IvIiECMc3fLQDBJNbTr3lF4LFA-kj5Ay8/s400/DSCN0964.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-1u4C9323uVqxkkdKRfS4F0goMZjdjexwIN-lNYH8WFnKxYby6axdgcR6OXjDRVgctUZf_P6BHq9tUKUPcQ5CSUukIb8HS2xOzsNys4KvgytyDeScv21hKFoTJA6DvhrVllEOlCWA6A/s1600/DSCN0955.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761654306986345362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-1u4C9323uVqxkkdKRfS4F0goMZjdjexwIN-lNYH8WFnKxYby6axdgcR6OXjDRVgctUZf_P6BHq9tUKUPcQ5CSUukIb8HS2xOzsNys4KvgytyDeScv21hKFoTJA6DvhrVllEOlCWA6A/s400/DSCN0955.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-1922995342460795842012-06-28T21:53:00.008+01:002012-09-24T22:22:27.853+01:00Ich bin ein BerlinerDuring my 7 years of learning German at school the subjects we covered included the contents of our pencil cases, animals, asylum seekers, and by the end of the seventh year I could put up a convincing argument for reasons against abortion (I was, and still am, pro choice, but turns out all the vocabulary for cases against was easier to learn-lots of things about God- anything for an easy exam in those days) <br /><br />Ten years after finishing my studies and I can just about order a McDonalds breakfast and ask for cream with my cake (all the important stuff then). I managed to spend a week in Germany this summer without having to tell anyone that I carried a pen, pencil sharpener and ruler in my bag, or that I own 8 guinea pigs and a pony. I've avoided entering a heated debate about the influx of asylum seekers into Germany (which is lucky as I remember only the word for asylum seeker and <span style="font-weight:bold;">nothing</span> else), and during the past ten years I have managed not to get pregnant whilst in Germany and had to convince the father of my unborn child that an abortion was out of the question, something about it not being "in der will von Gott", maybe. <br /><br />My first visit to Germany was a trip to Hamburg in August 1989 (aged 5) a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. There is a photo of me with my family sitting on a fence at a border point, I remember the guards with guns, my face in the photo looks really serious, like I'm really aware of the meaning of the wall, but more likely, I was probably just wanting to get to legoland. <br /><br />The east/west division was something that intrigued me from an early age, and as my German education has clearly failed me, I've had to take it into my own hands to learn something useful about their history, with my only idea of east German life coming from the film "Goodbye Lenin." During my visit to Germany last month I visited the Stasi Museum in Leipzig and the DDR museum in Berlin.<br /><br />The Stasi Museum Leipzig was ace ace ace! The museum is housed in what was the Stasi (secret police of the GDR) headquarters. The Stasi operated a regime of spying and terror, and walking through the museum, you can see the rooms from which they worked, what I loved was the eerie feeling whilst in the rooms alone, which was not something created by design, it was just something there in the building.<br /><br />Thinking that my 7 years of German lessons would mean I could understand all the information, I opted out of the English headset and wandered around, pretending to look clever and understand everything, whilst really trying to work out what was happening through the displays. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRI_xtLZF4cpQCxYo-g6H0yvCmzZpfCrkwGbJygQG-zyRU5RjTvePycaF58P1npZRrP1472YmhZTgShYbRSWHyUCO3uJbSTwkqgTBnSx_qJZQDDpgcqg6V6zM8DGSbr0ZyOfuZTIunl28/s1600/DSC04971.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRI_xtLZF4cpQCxYo-g6H0yvCmzZpfCrkwGbJygQG-zyRU5RjTvePycaF58P1npZRrP1472YmhZTgShYbRSWHyUCO3uJbSTwkqgTBnSx_qJZQDDpgcqg6V6zM8DGSbr0ZyOfuZTIunl28/s400/DSC04971.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759223320790868178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N_tqiNbB_I8IJFmtnqDK37eUmajMYs_No3yxUEoKJzbSkO6vwRPYrgBaTyxLfGnFPC0bGURf63nY_h0UeB8KMmHe59S98IF6tOHjqfYoWhuE9pdSzipDS_EqFdShtfc5P-kZpg8wK9Q/s1600/DSC04959.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N_tqiNbB_I8IJFmtnqDK37eUmajMYs_No3yxUEoKJzbSkO6vwRPYrgBaTyxLfGnFPC0bGURf63nY_h0UeB8KMmHe59S98IF6tOHjqfYoWhuE9pdSzipDS_EqFdShtfc5P-kZpg8wK9Q/s400/DSC04959.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759223315548100082" /></a><br />The museum has, it seems, been set up on a very low budget, which gives it a certain charm. It seems like, when the peaceful revolution brought an end to the GDR, and tens of thousands of people stormed the Stasi headquarters, what was left behind has remained, in the same place it had always been. Many items are placed in glass cabinets, information is stuck to the wall on corrugated cardboard sheets that resemble a primary school project, but the original wall tiles and curtains remain. I love how un intentional the decision to keep these original parts of the interior probably was, it was maybe not even discussed, but without them, maybe the eerie feeling (and musty scent) would be lost.<br /><br />I hope they never get rid of the net curtains.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtn83AyydDAY2zXpsjWrevGEWY35pZcxvHtyyCfSBkFAxlFET7tO07GENyDmSopkG0EkpGyWs6NzmY_z_QeTxmlTVSUXTYfzLfcbHABDViLyvulieCQNN8q1At0V_5OMTJcMRaMR2Xhs/s1600/DSC04969.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtn83AyydDAY2zXpsjWrevGEWY35pZcxvHtyyCfSBkFAxlFET7tO07GENyDmSopkG0EkpGyWs6NzmY_z_QeTxmlTVSUXTYfzLfcbHABDViLyvulieCQNN8q1At0V_5OMTJcMRaMR2Xhs/s400/DSC04969.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759207608586197122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWveMVJk4IaJJcn9g3kay6SKsgHrq06Tbx3r3ePBTA7JEMk9Uo-txKBTiT01Nqv7hOxqVJ9SQfwMcuGO8-Y6eLpP_6CEr5F-1hl3yO8m19h-q1oQkc_zKVYKCpf1E4Okrl9IAQ_UifZfc/s1600/DSC04967.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWveMVJk4IaJJcn9g3kay6SKsgHrq06Tbx3r3ePBTA7JEMk9Uo-txKBTiT01Nqv7hOxqVJ9SQfwMcuGO8-Y6eLpP_6CEr5F-1hl3yO8m19h-q1oQkc_zKVYKCpf1E4Okrl9IAQ_UifZfc/s400/DSC04967.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759207596524670434" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcQSp3Alg4cWZzWVyV9khKpSH4ASxX6ubXSAW6Irque8TsXOXwNq1mB7mhw5nTsemaOnARFWJHyKmmBFXup5-fAynCWoIMOAqTNgUKMW2G9yV5RD6RAC986EPURWojuNgnBqj8RB9OAM/s1600/DSC04965.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcQSp3Alg4cWZzWVyV9khKpSH4ASxX6ubXSAW6Irque8TsXOXwNq1mB7mhw5nTsemaOnARFWJHyKmmBFXup5-fAynCWoIMOAqTNgUKMW2G9yV5RD6RAC986EPURWojuNgnBqj8RB9OAM/s400/DSC04965.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759207588778739138" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwHnz5IN043r3MdqTAXPVmn5ys23iT3zUQ2anz_NzH8xf6TAo14BZe2p1UhUlfLnc31w19zxvvXITevQdxL_Yh2srgZK5Coh3mbcFkCeNXBDSo7vBddP3YLyvSAaSylu6sn3-RPjupdQ/s1600/DSC04977.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwHnz5IN043r3MdqTAXPVmn5ys23iT3zUQ2anz_NzH8xf6TAo14BZe2p1UhUlfLnc31w19zxvvXITevQdxL_Yh2srgZK5Coh3mbcFkCeNXBDSo7vBddP3YLyvSAaSylu6sn3-RPjupdQ/s400/DSC04977.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759208242696585442" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHDU983LMqJ-2cyZJb3OKT1K3PZO8Yw6bpldIphyphenhyphent9JnDpkCzlZZtiWBuHVC4kUYAmMBUrorPF1J2oc79pzDofq4gBf1GQLsUryLJugHIPVMPuL71jTSl88s6WcvNxDpOE1TJzcAFZg4/s1600/DSC04973.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHDU983LMqJ-2cyZJb3OKT1K3PZO8Yw6bpldIphyphenhyphent9JnDpkCzlZZtiWBuHVC4kUYAmMBUrorPF1J2oc79pzDofq4gBf1GQLsUryLJugHIPVMPuL71jTSl88s6WcvNxDpOE1TJzcAFZg4/s400/DSC04973.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759208240714895138" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9E9DksJWoQLvjyzRA08rmatrC3lAiDLb-qqnLwmqjQPnl0t9IwHI2FHF9VcANPdT4XPKBhxyy_dFeXh78qarT5zJ_ZuXHTs3JgWiPJuXwB9AdjBzCFFcIn5g2g5ZlfxIdZHdR-m2POM/s1600/DSC04961.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9E9DksJWoQLvjyzRA08rmatrC3lAiDLb-qqnLwmqjQPnl0t9IwHI2FHF9VcANPdT4XPKBhxyy_dFeXh78qarT5zJ_ZuXHTs3JgWiPJuXwB9AdjBzCFFcIn5g2g5ZlfxIdZHdR-m2POM/s400/DSC04961.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759208263202615362" /></a><br /><br />I hope that the Stasi museum forever remains how it is now, and probably how it always has been, in all its musty,fluorescent lit glory, I hope the floral curtains are never replaced, but left to fade and age with the building, that the corrugated cardboard displays remain and that the wigs and fake moustaches look more and more ridiculous with age.<br /><br /><br />Travelling away from former East Germany, and into the once divided Berlin, I decided to take a walk around the streets that were once in East Berlin (but that's another blog post altogether) what a place! I decided to visit the DDR museum to find out more about life in East Germany. There is no hint of the Stasi regime, or border control here, this museum was all about "Ostalgia" which is a term used for those who miss the old east German way of life.<br /><br />Unlike Leipzig's stasi museum,The DDR museum has a really modern layout and encourages visitors to be "hands on", with a Trabent car to sit in, a set up of a typical apartment interior, a wardrobe of east german clothes to rummage through, and lots of drawers to open up to see different items. I can see why its popular, especially with children, but, I just didn't like it.<br /><br />Maybe its because it was really busy and so you couldn't really experience life in an east German apartment when there are 20 other tourists around, opening up the cabinets and posing for photographs. Maybe it was because after learning of the terrors of the Stasi regime, you just cant buy into the idea that there are some people who still want to live back in those days, with a wall around them, the possibility of being spied on, and the only choice of car being one with no fuel gage.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03F94rBtgCp8IPwNd7WZ8T_sXJPACcU7r90oD9m-7LvzcDkIBh7l7kQ7OGdsliY49eGTnjcwyLxbfRomOrrYXEwnJz_eV61d-h_Zlet8LoL8ppnIJXBsu81v8lMPi5tyuKRbqrPvFgeQ/s1600/1157863966.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03F94rBtgCp8IPwNd7WZ8T_sXJPACcU7r90oD9m-7LvzcDkIBh7l7kQ7OGdsliY49eGTnjcwyLxbfRomOrrYXEwnJz_eV61d-h_Zlet8LoL8ppnIJXBsu81v8lMPi5tyuKRbqrPvFgeQ/s400/1157863966.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759221590934684178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUMkuqf3hLljnzlwJ0k7wPwXl_ThqS2kyISlT8Q7CCS-eU341Lt83kYj0GFU_04Kn5Qt1Rg21qpQ74LxbZ2rAQYCTVvTv1BmZ5v0gvoTdTRmi15KkU63fiyvxWtMnFWumJr8msdZDEyA/s1600/1156177621.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUMkuqf3hLljnzlwJ0k7wPwXl_ThqS2kyISlT8Q7CCS-eU341Lt83kYj0GFU_04Kn5Qt1Rg21qpQ74LxbZ2rAQYCTVvTv1BmZ5v0gvoTdTRmi15KkU63fiyvxWtMnFWumJr8msdZDEyA/s400/1156177621.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759221589016099474" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RrFMCYc5fd_8-Vdal69E4uBYV8Xe67UTTRB89e9i782t9GYgz6ViIO-cxVi_bfe7dUAUS8yrIFDBK1D3EtmTSwPIJRxCuT57poQkYQ-m9a3B_RLl17Dm2ZNm5TtkDyEg0VIeBYuIO-Y/s1600/1158857981.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RrFMCYc5fd_8-Vdal69E4uBYV8Xe67UTTRB89e9i782t9GYgz6ViIO-cxVi_bfe7dUAUS8yrIFDBK1D3EtmTSwPIJRxCuT57poQkYQ-m9a3B_RLl17Dm2ZNm5TtkDyEg0VIeBYuIO-Y/s400/1158857981.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759221576999394674" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79tYHs5jXyXC2jUdbCCYghsY_G-vRiNoiwBtY0NquhrxBhmCR9-BsMow4t6JIPRXGUsaGD5ZViy-pftp6HW3vVDGWtVU7uV3ZrenJvgJDn7-8G8fB1epyf_9GDwa8Ffu0frHQUw1XyEs/s1600/1156944677.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79tYHs5jXyXC2jUdbCCYghsY_G-vRiNoiwBtY0NquhrxBhmCR9-BsMow4t6JIPRXGUsaGD5ZViy-pftp6HW3vVDGWtVU7uV3ZrenJvgJDn7-8G8fB1epyf_9GDwa8Ffu0frHQUw1XyEs/s400/1156944677.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759221597451035730" /></a><br /><br />The ideas behind some of the displays made sense to me, but I got the feeling that the East German was of life was being glamorised which I just didn't buy into. With "retro" being so fashionable now, maybe visitors can look back romantically at the old car, the children's toys, the fashions and the interior designs, but then if it was all so idealistic, why was everything replaced once the wall fell? How many apartment interiors in former east berlin resemble what is shown in the museum now? More likely they are furnished in Ikea. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FgmjqOWVAxqYpy_alEGaJPADq5oyASh8YRSWGh1Y4Y8U_g0daBJzAmBH578Jbh1qwjQyWyGD_APaUBQcOKVFh4cHDcSueBayTu_-TQSO5jJapyJ-gchMIPjzpXTI4-GatM5UCcCUwyk/s1600/1156521801.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FgmjqOWVAxqYpy_alEGaJPADq5oyASh8YRSWGh1Y4Y8U_g0daBJzAmBH578Jbh1qwjQyWyGD_APaUBQcOKVFh4cHDcSueBayTu_-TQSO5jJapyJ-gchMIPjzpXTI4-GatM5UCcCUwyk/s400/1156521801.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759221815336745090" /></a><br /><br /><br />The one thing the Stasi Museum in Leipzig lacked was a cafe, whereas the DDR museum houses a "DDR restaurant" with the menu containing typical east German dishes (think lots of meat and potatoes) The weird vanilla ice cream/custard/cream dessert was the best thing about the museum for me, but I would have loved it more if the restaurant linked better to the museum, design wise. The east German menu contrasted too much with the spotlighting and sleek bar, the addition of a communist mural looks out of place. I couldn't help but think it would have gave a better experience if the furniture from the apartment set up had been transferred to the restaurant(but in a clever way,not a disneyland/obviously themed way), then, just maybe, as I ate my yellow cherry topped dessert, I could have been convinced, even if for a few minutes, that life in East Germany wasn't so bad after all.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnCB3WkFWVngDgYY3jOl39AJ_4BKSxHpjGcCGA7Dq0_l_5jGoUZF5OV8-LEzmyDsQiXgYg28p1MFBQy0LaFFadWITGvccKNoz2h2RByCh5dwSux1vPP2kt45F2_dZ8SkYqsLg2M-F-l0/s1600/DSC05032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnCB3WkFWVngDgYY3jOl39AJ_4BKSxHpjGcCGA7Dq0_l_5jGoUZF5OV8-LEzmyDsQiXgYg28p1MFBQy0LaFFadWITGvccKNoz2h2RByCh5dwSux1vPP2kt45F2_dZ8SkYqsLg2M-F-l0/s400/DSC05032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759223542200005522" /></a><br /><br />Whilst the DDR museum in Berlin is being nominated for awards and attracting the crowds, Lepzig's Stasi museum sits quietly. The DDR museum is purpose built to house its exhibitions, designed to let visitors experience East German life, every detail, lighting choice, material carefully chosen by a design team; in contrast the 19th century building which houses the Stasi Museum in Leipzig was not purpose built as the Stasi headquarters, but during its 40 year occupation by the Stasi, the history, the people and the memories of what happened in the building have etched their place into the building's story, and now, with little (or no) design intervention, the museum leaves an impact on the visitor far greater than the experience of smiling for the camera whilst posing in an east German car.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-78240068360256989272012-04-12T14:38:00.003+01:002012-04-12T14:38:55.032+01:00Cate Le Bon vs Bonny Prince Billy<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rVu8uxA-eJo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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As a huge birthday favour I would like someone to make it possible for me to see two gigs that are on at the same time on the same night in Edinburgh please, that would be a good present. Bonny Prince Billy is playing at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh on 25th April, and Cate Le Bon is playing at Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh at the same time. I am sorry Billy but I bought tickets for the Cate Le Bon gig, it was a close call though. If you live in Edinburgh please go and see Bonny Prince Billy and then tell me all about it so I don't feel like I lost out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-4841466345849569552012-04-12T13:56:00.001+01:002012-04-12T13:56:21.510+01:00Snow Black's Birthday plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For my birthday I am going to spend the afternoon doing what I said I would do last year, which is sitting in my favourite chair eating cupcakes and drinking tea, I think I will read my book too, or listen to some music and maybe take a nap, Lucky has been sat by my side in the windowsill looking for birds, she obviously knows it is my birthday, or maybe she just wants biscuits. I am going to wear my new tap dancing shoes to get used to them for my first lesson next week, they are not as good looking as I hoped they would be, they look a bit like the shoes Dorothy wore in Wizard of Oz before she got her ruby slippers, you know, sensible black farm girl shoes, that is what i will be tapping in, farm girl chic....i'm going to wear my peach dress with little orange flowers on it, It looks a bit like a dressing gown but I am still going to wear it out later today when I go to the arcades at Portobello and then for dinner and a cocktail... or two....maybe being 28 wont be so bad after all..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-55103173251447600912012-02-28T11:20:00.000+00:002012-02-28T11:20:35.080+00:00I'm your man<iframe width="459" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PqDwCj_g3dM?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-64456725338338762742012-02-27T20:28:00.000+00:002012-09-24T22:11:21.948+01:00mister deprez's trapeze show<iframe width="459" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NO2fAEcn7x0?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe><br /><br />first the moustache, then the hat, then the braces---3 wardrobe malfunctions in one show! enjoy!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-8650669422723794542012-02-14T22:04:00.003+00:002012-02-14T22:20:12.367+00:00Whats it called? Cumbernauld<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9NytY6xqJPBlhPFWBH9w1BMeBbpHgurrkTFBhdiS9p7ES-tqGTdpNI417kuEewwD0CBHcxsxwcxujGWkIHwv7enR4ykeeNudH-r4d74yhZLiHabxCkv8k_fqiqtAPdOO7vKlIlZf-0M/s1600/cisforcumbernauld.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9NytY6xqJPBlhPFWBH9w1BMeBbpHgurrkTFBhdiS9p7ES-tqGTdpNI417kuEewwD0CBHcxsxwcxujGWkIHwv7enR4ykeeNudH-r4d74yhZLiHabxCkv8k_fqiqtAPdOO7vKlIlZf-0M/s400/cisforcumbernauld.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709119083450715346" /></a><br />I've been working on a collection of drawings for a few months now, without giving too much away its a set of illustrations about ill fated modern architecture, i'm not going to say what it is exactly or someone might steal my idea, be much better at drawing than me, and get it published and make enough money to retire early and I will claim the idea was all mine but no one will believe me...one of my favorite drawings is all about the lovely town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbernauld">Cumbernauld</a>, its always getting awards for being one of the U.K's worst towns, but I have to disagree. Whilst I was doing some research for my drawings I found what has to be the best distraction from work ever, the Scottish Screen Archive website, you can type in a subject and it comes up with loads of films or clips from films from the past, there are some real gems in there, like a 1970s film for women about what it'd be like to work in a bank; when I typed in Cumbernauld I found an AMAZING film from 1970 (<a href="http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=2227&search_term=cumbernauld&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes">see it here</a>) when Cumbernauld was a brand new town, it captures the excitement about this new place to live, and I loved every 26 minutes of it, the old cars, the fashions, the babies in massive prams, grannies playing bingo, but best of all, 5 minutes in, is the clip of the lampshade shop with a sales assistant in an amazing outfit! I would have loved to have lived in Cumbernauld in the early 1970s, I would get a job in that lampshade shop and wear clothes to match the lampshades, I think i'd make a really good sales person there, then I could go shopping after work, maybe go for a game of golf, then join the grannies for bingo in the evening, what a life!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3myJDtLafPune2n5FbZCvl7mvfs05kJWA54LJbeUgSQiqKOObN78_jX0zqbmodwchBLfWmfNBo1vjpZQthLFr6hT5Wi38gQxKWNJwMD_Vo5J78qhn9sR9d15AnWYbNVn3oGP6ID5Vq6E/s1600/Untitled-1+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3myJDtLafPune2n5FbZCvl7mvfs05kJWA54LJbeUgSQiqKOObN78_jX0zqbmodwchBLfWmfNBo1vjpZQthLFr6hT5Wi38gQxKWNJwMD_Vo5J78qhn9sR9d15AnWYbNVn3oGP6ID5Vq6E/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709119402435925010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSKbMN371jdWmFqG3KZOe4-uL3mYMF7spKhqFpVVpoVoGlpk0VUsQMGD2Wd7rXEa7q6Xt83qrBYA63gjuG2ZbLlUrBEy34bhB479Q89l4QCBnIn5OeW9JhvevqZnT0rTyBJgbug7yhyI/s1600/Untitled-2+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSKbMN371jdWmFqG3KZOe4-uL3mYMF7spKhqFpVVpoVoGlpk0VUsQMGD2Wd7rXEa7q6Xt83qrBYA63gjuG2ZbLlUrBEy34bhB479Q89l4QCBnIn5OeW9JhvevqZnT0rTyBJgbug7yhyI/s400/Untitled-2+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709119378077551618" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5051132347364061001.post-39649044694247709712012-02-07T20:52:00.015+00:002012-09-24T22:23:14.026+01:00"If you can imagine it, Middlesbrough probably has it"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoBJbafaoR_4KsneSWegrNafvuzObL5yzi-i_faIOLe5X4jlMTqn3C1Fuyy0GKKH5IcZuLv_-2XhRXpTYVkHYo1oh9na_u4xfeR6u0UWli1gnxl04R5UtBliCG5KPxSW2EVWqchbdXzs/s1600/037.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoBJbafaoR_4KsneSWegrNafvuzObL5yzi-i_faIOLe5X4jlMTqn3C1Fuyy0GKKH5IcZuLv_-2XhRXpTYVkHYo1oh9na_u4xfeR6u0UWli1gnxl04R5UtBliCG5KPxSW2EVWqchbdXzs/s400/037.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706500706132566850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDrMLzIRXlINnEgo7ivFv_nJsaP1QuT8ZQ8dpQoiHcOrhGYMkCNB-mbqpIaZM5cGPtxKpvt-djvNXBDl7GxSZ_vuc5hF7PwqYC6E46FGWy62DPHSfWMOs9sHCxIFtFDic1nxjSfuXdtg/s1600/039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDrMLzIRXlINnEgo7ivFv_nJsaP1QuT8ZQ8dpQoiHcOrhGYMkCNB-mbqpIaZM5cGPtxKpvt-djvNXBDl7GxSZ_vuc5hF7PwqYC6E46FGWy62DPHSfWMOs9sHCxIFtFDic1nxjSfuXdtg/s400/039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706500699677298994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjKLRPACY8q9EPcAXE_FV-VpzyN2bbSiQ3w_1UqG9I83_sG-WoqapZ5-Ke98QIZq5hH2LO28pWc99vliFDvTHGTy-zd1aZ1ABtRQqN3Xr-DbPkZrFt-EXqxGTQ4pvFbLRqV2re9gru9w/s1600/036.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjKLRPACY8q9EPcAXE_FV-VpzyN2bbSiQ3w_1UqG9I83_sG-WoqapZ5-Ke98QIZq5hH2LO28pWc99vliFDvTHGTy-zd1aZ1ABtRQqN3Xr-DbPkZrFt-EXqxGTQ4pvFbLRqV2re9gru9w/s400/036.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706500695548738354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH21qqPyCU5lUekVQmbUifxqvwet27jVHAIkWfP5K6ZM1f3d7kq1KQVSrLaVFJIUhLe2GYlZbDrvh44AOGU7g5oqOpMLJ9B3xPXM-Ap6PR4NZy51K4lYLZgZMcMKAyNPTD1omB-zxWKlA/s1600/033.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH21qqPyCU5lUekVQmbUifxqvwet27jVHAIkWfP5K6ZM1f3d7kq1KQVSrLaVFJIUhLe2GYlZbDrvh44AOGU7g5oqOpMLJ9B3xPXM-Ap6PR4NZy51K4lYLZgZMcMKAyNPTD1omB-zxWKlA/s400/033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706500689634686738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrI46dohkzJemuuRh-sRKHlFSnwpvTgxJW2lRVf4xX-mINA9UMAI44-Y92dhSYfcZb-ru8Y9SFlNR_1sAHyaDryDL7ABjsd8ZprHtpQT7XoDeYB3n1-SxOAfiZNxGUex8-hLtbc_xXzc/s1600/031.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrI46dohkzJemuuRh-sRKHlFSnwpvTgxJW2lRVf4xX-mINA9UMAI44-Y92dhSYfcZb-ru8Y9SFlNR_1sAHyaDryDL7ABjsd8ZprHtpQT7XoDeYB3n1-SxOAfiZNxGUex8-hLtbc_xXzc/s400/031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706499961848852722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojZoQOKetkRUUGzKkxQqRq5GAmXFMK6XV-bfr2wlC1X1XnF6VOpL-SQlWrRnsEsW_l1YJI7XTcXy83bhxXNw6hsUirxmnYPDCIIkX6_GipjdAZEpCSCCCxTTu59Fj6v3rRk3t4ma9P-0/s1600/015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojZoQOKetkRUUGzKkxQqRq5GAmXFMK6XV-bfr2wlC1X1XnF6VOpL-SQlWrRnsEsW_l1YJI7XTcXy83bhxXNw6hsUirxmnYPDCIIkX6_GipjdAZEpCSCCCxTTu59Fj6v3rRk3t4ma9P-0/s400/015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706514275549694002" /></a><br /><br />A couple of weeks ago I took a trip to Middlesbrough, the town where I was born and spent my first 19 years, when I left 8 and a half years ago the area known as "over the border" was a no go area...prostitution, dodgy nightclubs (more likely gentlemens clubs...) and boarded up houses, that kind of thing. The nearby area known as Middlehaven was home to only three things which anyone ever visited, the Transporter bridge, The Riverside Football stadium, and the nightclub boat with a revolving dancefloor, given to Middlesbrough when Newcastle got a bigger, better boat. If you did a google or flickr search of the St Hilda's area (which is over that notorious border) or Middlehaven at that time you'd be likely to get images of gypsy horses, abandoned homes and maybe even the greasy spoon cafes. But then,a few years ago now, before the recession hit and the construction industry and property market went down the pan, Middlesbrough was promised a new Riverside development, apartments, cafes and shops...Will Alsop, FAT architects and lots of other big name architects came in and drew up a masterplan, it was full of colourful apartments and images of people on boats on the river, now if you google "Middlehaven" you'll get computer generated models of apartment buildings that look like sugarcubes and lots of people (who definately dont look like they come from Middlesbrough) drinking lattes on their way to work.<br />That was before 2007, then the recession hit, and everything came to a stop, a college was built that hurts my eyes to look at, then they invited artist Anish Kapoor to create some public art, and so "Temenos", or the "giant pointless fishing net" as I prefer to call it, appeared, and now the first apartment block, designed by FAT architects is near completion, when I was at Middlehaven, I had a look around (but couldn't get inside) the timber facade reminds me of one of those toys for toddlers where they have to fit shapes into the right holes on a ball and the apartments at the top reminded me of the old man's house from the Disney film "Up" which I loved. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgPpksokVFCOuVzlbKNEEX5tr637Y9YbJjh7VVxpiAkFEo9eulsAsoa2nCoxYPUE22CDV2hL6kUpP2mh09chel8cMZZinbcoOligoYe1bEF5KIQze9epvZ6R5Ec0uOaZ57BKQFBIrdR8/s1600/011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgPpksokVFCOuVzlbKNEEX5tr637Y9YbJjh7VVxpiAkFEo9eulsAsoa2nCoxYPUE22CDV2hL6kUpP2mh09chel8cMZZinbcoOligoYe1bEF5KIQze9epvZ6R5Ec0uOaZ57BKQFBIrdR8/s400/011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706514270032145858" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWW1QhruTpifsuhH1XaL55We9Vz-I6wEuVjxzCDrHwP8nNUqeghUtTIQYtePmmn2m8IM1T4r_jfXTJ12fd6vq6XWM7P-D5pZ_lk7s-fyQzoJJfo-1r74kKlv67I00xFf2nBDZlvuVhsE/s1600/028.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWW1QhruTpifsuhH1XaL55We9Vz-I6wEuVjxzCDrHwP8nNUqeghUtTIQYtePmmn2m8IM1T4r_jfXTJ12fd6vq6XWM7P-D5pZ_lk7s-fyQzoJJfo-1r74kKlv67I00xFf2nBDZlvuVhsE/s400/028.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706499953454828626" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTHWrsIvHMWqYxwP0O5Iw9wItuBORDgy93dkA6aanlOGJbJoxPupmlpIRKvxt_h3_8bRW12rhmRBrB8AyWv5VL8tgFgtZbu1uq2TlWrUGiR7JkFUCYaQHsIrtQ6u5Sog9rhFZso5MuPI/s1600/006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTHWrsIvHMWqYxwP0O5Iw9wItuBORDgy93dkA6aanlOGJbJoxPupmlpIRKvxt_h3_8bRW12rhmRBrB8AyWv5VL8tgFgtZbu1uq2TlWrUGiR7JkFUCYaQHsIrtQ6u5Sog9rhFZso5MuPI/s400/006.jpg" border="0" oalt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706499934503213570" /></a>Anyway, turns out that this new building, or CIAC (Community in a cube) as its been named, will be the only building that was on the original masterplan at Middlehaven, which is a bit scary because its in the middle of wasteland, the ground floor of the building will apparently have a pub(there's no where nearby to buy a pint of milk, but you're never a few floors away from a gin and tonic and a packet of crisps), and I can imagine it turning into the J.G Ballard book "High Rise" where all the residents of a tower block end up getting to know each other so well because of the community living that they start to turn on each other, drowning each others dogs and vandalizing the building, but CIAC will be even worse because it is in Middlesbrough, and there is NOTHING to do in Middlesbrough, though the marketing for CIAC suggest a bit differently to what I think.....<br />"This place is home to industry, heritage, sport and culture. Where the cost of living is low, but the enjoyment level is high. As well as the bars and nightlife, there is an influx of designer shops, you have film, theatre, football, golf, fine food, comedy, concerts. In fact, if you can imagine it, Middlesbrough probably has it." It really doesn't, and I am allowed to say this because I lived there, as far as fine food goes,the most popular food seems to be the donut kiosk outside Next where the sugary scent lures in Tees-siders, who already are donut shaped, on their fag breaks for a dose of nicotine and a bag of jam filled grease, of course you are never more than 50 feet away fron a greggs in Middlesbrough too for a sausage roll,there is one cinema and if its comedy you're after, you can always rely on chubby brown to be on at the town hall. <br />I'm not a fan of CIAC, even though the area surrounding it is mainly wasteland, there are pieces of architecture nearby which have been ignored for years, and it seems CIAC has been designed without any reference to the context in which it sits. Granted, the area isn't an area rich with architectural gems, but there are some which I hope will be saved, and it seems more sense to me to put new life into existing, abandoned or forgotten buildings which might spark regeneration in the surrounding area rather than try and build from scratch without any reference to the area; it seems that CIAC was designed to fit only into a masterplan which wont go ahead.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbiW_jzv9IjtbzFSBvHmoxebr7yfaqtiF6gesle86uKHZZspVWfLujQLyEuT0SqfelDV2RxDUSD7ZN1qHfLwFs38kdAzH0GuZI_vWafd0ot7nhdMBj2HpU5lMxhbSGztNFnwzE5Rt85w/s1600/townhall2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbiW_jzv9IjtbzFSBvHmoxebr7yfaqtiF6gesle86uKHZZspVWfLujQLyEuT0SqfelDV2RxDUSD7ZN1qHfLwFs38kdAzH0GuZI_vWafd0ot7nhdMBj2HpU5lMxhbSGztNFnwzE5Rt85w/s400/townhall2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706512750803091762" /></a><br />Above: Middlesbrough's original town hall, now boarded up<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXCT2BcpenERRO8lFrSZiaV68PimW28RUEcxBOlwIXDpRG0aYXTkZbC9f-Jgsuvs4H4aTHp1IYWXjdR2ZjTFh6kuEd8gZttZtT1__h1D89ZV_YZmzu2Y_vtsm37ddv5uTonG1VgSnWko/s1600/StHildas_Turf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXCT2BcpenERRO8lFrSZiaV68PimW28RUEcxBOlwIXDpRG0aYXTkZbC9f-Jgsuvs4H4aTHp1IYWXjdR2ZjTFh6kuEd8gZttZtT1__h1D89ZV_YZmzu2Y_vtsm37ddv5uTonG1VgSnWko/s400/StHildas_Turf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706512743031244338" /></a><br />Above: Everyone "Flickr photographer" who goes to St Hildas likes to take photos of the gypsy horses<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4MDGPe08c6OoRdN-Mvmt1M8Kypo5nPGDbNZC4LZEQdZW7YrITxIA7o1-tK-G106KK-muLy-Tt4xgv-dAonnDTAYocZfxdBZg6thnR-I9_IVBzHj9XSsXTEZd6otIQAA27V_0XKPJUGs/s1600/olwyn-mcphillips-outside-the-captain-cook-pub-121765116.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4MDGPe08c6OoRdN-Mvmt1M8Kypo5nPGDbNZC4LZEQdZW7YrITxIA7o1-tK-G106KK-muLy-Tt4xgv-dAonnDTAYocZfxdBZg6thnR-I9_IVBzHj9XSsXTEZd6otIQAA27V_0XKPJUGs/s400/olwyn-mcphillips-outside-the-captain-cook-pub-121765116.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706512732581208562" /></a><br />Above, The old captain Cook pub, recently closed, and former landlady with hair that matches her blouse<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5rlR5CayNpNJOcsHVCkPrrkiRhxvLWM8b7t2jB5c8ov86qsK-SzqB-rXmRdj8Ulcta0GVmdTTiRXeMnP3xvvcKOLKRbcEtYRBwNHsUTfUvuC_uEcCV_GMDHuGtDz6GMXCSd7039spf4/s1600/middlesbrough-dock-clock-tower.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5rlR5CayNpNJOcsHVCkPrrkiRhxvLWM8b7t2jB5c8ov86qsK-SzqB-rXmRdj8Ulcta0GVmdTTiRXeMnP3xvvcKOLKRbcEtYRBwNHsUTfUvuC_uEcCV_GMDHuGtDz6GMXCSd7039spf4/s400/middlesbrough-dock-clock-tower.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706512704677356850" /></a><br />Above: The Clock tower<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi001yEJARJc27RGKqO4w64kGQP8TKX9R-mYp2roKz_M2A5zMOLCvanHwGWPV9rqGNWOyMrEIkvHMVDxLs_6BMwDpZ15Dxv679cyFWG-ff_cjQqcwkwrU54oevy9ycQXmUARPQj_RtJ95g/s1600/sthilda.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi001yEJARJc27RGKqO4w64kGQP8TKX9R-mYp2roKz_M2A5zMOLCvanHwGWPV9rqGNWOyMrEIkvHMVDxLs_6BMwDpZ15Dxv679cyFWG-ff_cjQqcwkwrU54oevy9ycQXmUARPQj_RtJ95g/s400/sthilda.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706513371986081298" /></a><br />Above: Customs House, no longer in use<br />St hilda's is home to Middlesbrough's original town hall, which has been boarded up for years, and to an abandoned customs house, to the old clock tower which now looks lost, and to the recently closed captain cook's pub, all of which have potential to have new purposes. I wish MIddlesbrough council would do something before these buildings fall into dis repair, but I just dont see it happening, oh well, I will have to accept that CIAC is the future of Middlehaven, but if you hear of a resident's alsation getting drowned in the River Tees, then I warned you first. I cant imagine who will live there apart from MIddlesbrough Football club players and their WAGS, if i had to live there I would live in one of the blue houses at the top that remind me of "Up" I would wear my pastel peach dress and, as inspired by the film, would travel to my "home in the sky" by a big bunch of balloons so I could avoid having to talk to the WAGS in the lifts.......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjnotH3e0eaHmEhUJXqgGuSUDCz0Qf28Hprx6EnPDj3XxhzhNFgKSYWMhPSxcFxT_EK3nuS0x6wMcinrj91iUwgocefeE6XeyuEYCpyT894SWUOAWlwwfwcExcLVDQJHNY_LAqjPqodQ/s1600/underwear.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjnotH3e0eaHmEhUJXqgGuSUDCz0Qf28Hprx6EnPDj3XxhzhNFgKSYWMhPSxcFxT_EK3nuS0x6wMcinrj91iUwgocefeE6XeyuEYCpyT894SWUOAWlwwfwcExcLVDQJHNY_LAqjPqodQ/s400/underwear.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706513784241129730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ1domuhQyXgJUJPHKk5rr6fTIzit890MEgg2jfFVpawQcDkuTi6bYJdx33ezRxRrtgaNl5liKteoXgm8yjF5ll1TetYXLaNBeZfPJoW6U23-MBC_Bx8l-RiQlCxmG5Ssx3Qkreg6nlQ/s1600/dressj.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ1domuhQyXgJUJPHKk5rr6fTIzit890MEgg2jfFVpawQcDkuTi6bYJdx33ezRxRrtgaNl5liKteoXgm8yjF5ll1TetYXLaNBeZfPJoW6U23-MBC_Bx8l-RiQlCxmG5Ssx3Qkreg6nlQ/s400/dressj.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706513777186268434" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0