Thursday, 5 March 2015

When I am an old woman...

I came across the photo of the purple door on Facebook, remembered the poem and decided to look for it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.


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Another book by the same author sounds fascinating:


Book description on Amazon:

Not since Laurie Lee or Flora Thompson has a writer captured the smells and moods of the English countryside in the manner of Jenny Joseph’s Led By The Nose. The nation’s favourite poet has tended her “rural slum” in the Cotswolds for decades and her calendar of a year in her garden grows into an evocation of a personality that is uniquely literary, often leading the reader off her garden path with the sharply sly humour of her famous old woman who wears purple. Jenny Joseph’s memoir of a year in her garden through the sense of smell captures the feel of each month, as well as the flow of the gardening year (the chores to be done, the joy as your garden blossoms). The calendar of a year in her garden displays a personality that is eccentrically loveable, a wilful personality with her own individual outlook on life. The book’s unfolding of Jenny Joseph’s personality is just one of its many delights. Jenny Joseph focuses on the sense of smell, powerfully evoking memories and images that only a writer of her originality and perception could capture in the full range of  thoughts and feelings a garden can stir in us.

I immediately thought of Amy, of course...

[Both books are available from amazon.com]

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We have a message from Down Under:

Regina - If you would post the following msg in an appropriate comments section for your readers to see I would greatly appreciate it. Between our two blogs we ended up with a magic 25 responses and I am absolutely thrilled.

 

Your beautiful selfies have all had your kind messages added and are off to the video editor for compiliation – the finished video will be shown exactly 24 hours from the time of this writing and should be released to youtube not long after.

Leesa has managed to get contributions from local television talent so her 5 minute speech has morphed into an almost 30 minute video filled with hope and love and good wishes.

I cannot thank all of you enough… my heart is full because of you :)

-Oz

Some cute children to brighten up the day

Three funny videos of adorable children. Enjoy!





Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Bottled elegance

This post will hit the right notes with our CC. I was leafing through a glossy magazine the other day and admired the many ads for perfume showing exquisite bottles. I decided to look for some classic and special edition bottles for this post. I dare say some of these bottles are nicer than the fragrances they contain... Not to mention how the big houses have reformulated their well known classics, then lied about having done so, insulting the intelligence (and the nose) of the more discerning customer!















Hey Pallottine, here's one picture that may appeal to you, to make up for such a girlie post...


Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Contrasts

These photographs range from laid back pastels to very strong colours. They're very different, but they're all beautiful.







Sunday, 1 March 2015

Amazing lake

This is Lake Retba (or Lac Rose), in Senegal. The colour is caused by Dunaliella salina algae, which produces a pink pigment, and it changes depending on the seasons. It's more pronouncedly pink in the dry season (Nov - June) and duller in the rainy season (July - Oct). The lake is separated from the Atlantic Ocean only by a narrow corridor of dunes and has a very high salt content, up to 40% in places. Salt is exported across the region by up to 3,000 collectors, men and women from all over Western Africa, who work 6–7 hours a day and protect their skin with "Beurre de Karité" (shea butter), produced from Shea nuts, which is an emollient used to avoid tissue damage.









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Today I'm introducing a new way of celebrating readers' birthdays. There are only so many relevant cakes and cupcakes I can find for each person and I risk repeating myself, so on the first day of each month, I'll wish all readers, including lurkers, a very simple but heartfelt Happy Birthday! The bonus are the zodiac cookies...



Saturday, 28 February 2015

Sarah Moon

Sarah Moon used to be a model, known as Marielle Hadengue, who turned fashion photographer and changed her name in the 70s. I've never been a model (hahaha), but was very interested in photography in the 70s. Here are some examples of Moon's work in that decade. What impressed me was the ethereal quality of her photos, the large grain making them look like paintings. I still find them very beautiful.








Wednesday, 25 February 2015

White creatures

The idea for this post started when one of my cousins in Brazil posted a photo of her dog on Facebook a few weeks ago. I've been collecting photos of white animals since then and now I have enough nice pictures for a post. They're quite striking, eh?