#shardview

I won tickets to go to the preview of the shard 'viewing experience'. Apparently part of King's university, Guy's campus, was disrupted during the building of this gigantic structure, so King's were gifted 'preview' tickets.

Although I do not think it is the ugliest skyscraper in the world I do not think it is that attractive either. There have been a lot of comments made about the joy of being in the Shard is related to the fact you cannot see the shard. A play on the famous anecdote in which Guy De Maupassant claimed the reason he always dined in the restaurant of the Eiffel tower was because 'It's the only place in Paris that you can't see the Eiffel tower.




'

Our view was slightly restricted by the snow and poor visibility. 

Here is a picture of the shard on a much sunnier day. 

I want to go back up in the sun-shine but do not really want to pay! 

Taxing Times

I have eventually realised my ambitions and become a practising taxidermist. Having been obsessed with stuffing animals for such a long time it feels good to have finally taken the plunge. My brother very kindly bought me a ticket to a 'Mouse Taxidermy Class' for my birthday. The class was at the Last Tuesday Society shop on Mare Street.

The shop itself was like a museum full of interesting curiosities from Celebrity poos to two-headed sheep.

You could buy a human skull for a mere £600. I think the main market may be for productions of Hamlet but you cannot be sure!

I was also quite taken by the bear but £12000 is perhaps a little steep!

The class was very run by Mabel Edwards, a self-taught taxidermist who specializes in anthropomorphic taxidermy. One of my favourite pieces of hers are these boxing mice.

It was very useful to be given a brief overview of the process and to learn what tools are required. I bused home clutching my mouse confident that I would be able to recreate what I had learnt.

Mice are the easiest animal to get hold of as you can buy frozen ones from pet shops, as people feed them to their snakes. I ordered some online and they arrived the very next day.

They are now snuggled safely in the bottom tray of our freezer, much to some of my house-mates disgust!

Great Expectations

The other day a friend told me that she came across someone who could make swans out of a mere scrap of paper. I have a friend who seems to saunter into jobs by performing card tricks at interviews. Another friend can do the best impression of fireworks I have ever heard, although admittedly I do not know how much competition there is for this particular skill! All this has spirited me towards the conclusion that I need to learn a new skill. As a child I was always greatly angered by the fact my two brothers were given pen knifes and I was not; however this situation was rectified and by the age of twenty I was the proud owner of five, perhaps slightly unhealthy, having five knifes in your room can make you look like a dedicated self-harmer. In a similar vein a couple of years ago I bought 'The Daring Book for Girls', a feminine imitation of 'The Dangerous book for boys'; in defence of this purchase I think I was going through a period of disenchantment with modern life at the time. Perhaps by re-visiting this book I will be able to come up with a short list of "fun skills" to enchant both myself and others. I am also unemployed at present so this would seem like a good time to brush up on those all important "life skills".

1) How to whistle with two fingers (this may be difficult as I can not even whistle with just my mouth, something about the shape of my upper lip I am told)

2) Useful knots (practical applications of this skill could be seen as somewhat dubious)

3) Card games (essential as I am always being taught them but never remember them)

4) Hula hooping

5) Putting your hair up with a pencil (I really hope I can do this otherwise there is no hope...oh wait I can!)

6) Making a willow whistle (I expect all my pen knifes will come in handy for this)

7) Origami (very keen on this, see reference to swan above)

8) Building a Camp fire (I have trouble lighting the bbq and live in central London so this may be difficult)

9) Darts (I already think I am very good at this...when I am drunk)

10) Yoga (after a bad experience with a yoga teacher called Simone when I was fifteen I am not sure how keen I am to return to this!)

11) Cats Cradle (not sure how impressive this is, it certainly was not in 'The Dangerous Book for Boys')

12) Make a peach stone ring (as long as it works with nectarine stones this sounds good)

13) There is a section simply entitled 'Boys' I am intrigued to know what advice they will offer me

14) Stocks and shares (I am uncertain as to whether this can come under the title of "fun skills".)

15) Changing a tyre (it took me circa. two months to change my bike wheel, I do not know if employing the help of ones brother towards the end counts as success or not)

16) Making a quill pen (another pen knife rich activity, excellent)

17) Ping Pong (or whiff waff?)

18) Harmonica (I do not own one but I do have a ukelele so this may have to suffice)

'A good book has no ending'

I have discovered a website called Book-A-Minute, which provides some rather hilarious synopses of literary classics. Here are some of my favourites.

Mr. Darcy: Nothing is good enough for me.
Ms. Elizabeth Bennet: I could never marry that proud man.
(They change their minds.)
THE END

Raskolnikov: I'm so extraordinary, I can commit crimes. (kills some people)
Sonia: I'm the spiritual side of Raskolnikov.
Porfiry: I'm the intellectual side of Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov: I have reconciled the two sides of my personality, represented so well by Sonia and Porfiry. (confesses)

THE END

Stock Hemingway Narrating Character
It was in Europe after the war. We were depressed. We drank a lot. We were still depressed.
THE END

Anna Karenina: I am having an affair with Count Vronsky.
Alexey Karenin: I can only forgive you if you die afterward.
Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky: Then the cruel double standard of upper class Russian society shall have to tear us apart. (It does.)
THE END

How do I learn to do taxidermy?

Slightly behind the times I may be but Polly Morgan I want to be! She used to work in the bar just around the corner, did a one day taxidermy course and the rest is history.I cannot believe I missed her Psychopomps exhibition at the Haunch of Venison gallery, last year.

I really like the way that she takes animals out of their natural habitat and positions them in the domestic, the opposite of traditional taxidermy.

I want to learn how to do taxidermy but where does one start? Do I just find a dead bird and experiment?

This Side of Paradise

The weather is making me ecstatic. Today I have been able to lie in the garden in my bikini with no hint of a chill; I even think I managed to burn my stomach a bit, which is pretty impressive for April. It seems buying a bikini last week from Primark was not the dangerous move I thought it might have been. Whilst wallowing in the sunshine I was transported to the period of study leave before my a-levels when I spent my days lying in the sunshine reading F.Scott.Fitzgerald's 'Tender is the Night'. I really love the original covers of Fitzgerald's works and I want to get large prints of them and have them framed for my wall.

I especially like the image of the Riviera on the 'Tender is the Night' cover.

Oh Sweet Charity

At the beginning of the week I enjoyed a brief return to Wiltshire and was reminded of the absolute treasures that can be uncovered in Devizes charity shops. I never really find anything that good in charity shops in London; i think the competition for good items is too fierce! However in the rural outpost that is central wilts incredible things can be found and the prices are so much cheaper than anything in a vintage shop in London. I found this great see-through beaded shirt for just £4.

It is a perfect length for wearing with leggings and as long as a black bra is worn should not be offensively risque. I also got a wonderful red leather shoulder bag which was slightly more pricey at £6 but it is real leather. I really enjoy the mismatched silvery flowers.

The purchases do continue I am afraid to say testament to the fact that a charity binge is guilt free!

These shoes are wonderful I adore any variation of a tasselled loafer; the scarf as with the shoes was from Oxfam. My grandmother is a regular volunteer in the Devizes Oxfam shop but I sadly did not bump into her on this occasion. It is a shame to be back in London with its dearth of cheap, decent, charity shop finds but I am returning to Wilts for the Easter weekend so who knows perhaps more treasures will come my way, on the other hand my luck may have run out!

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~H.G. Wells

I have recently discovered the joys of cycling in London. I brought a bike from Wiltshire to London in September but after a rather hairy cycle from Paddington to Hoxton I have since never used it. However a few weeks ago, whilst I admit slightly under the influence, a friend persuaded me to Boris Bike from Russell square back to City Road. The experience was enlightening and I have been an occasional user of Boris Bikes ever since.

However I have decided that the time has really come to make use of my own bike if only for the fact that often the bike station near us has a complete dearth of bikes by 10am. For this I need a rucksack. What I really wanted was a vintage leather number however I think due to their huge popularity of late they are rather difficult to track down. I found this rather usefully sized haversack in beyond retro the other day for just £22 and feel it will serve the purpose rather well. Having used it the other day for three changes of clothes and books I can also be certain of its capacity which was initially a worry for me.

My bike however has no element of style what so ever. It is an old, grotty man's mountain bike which my uncle found in a skip. Although I would very much prefer a bike like the pictured below I think perhaps the one I have may be slightly less attractive to thieves. We shall see...

April is the Crulest month?

With the arrival of April and the changing of the clocks a definite transition seems to have taken place. The weather even seems to be responding to this and I have woken up to yet another day of blue sky in London town. I do not want to speak too soon but it looks like spring may have finally sprung! I love it when the wearing and carrying of sunglasses once again becomes a legitimate activity. However this change in mood also makes me desirous of new clothes, new shoes and new whatever, somehow the old friends that have guided one through the winter no longer suffice. Yesterday whilst on the hunt for a rucksack I made a rather bizarre purchase of some dungarees. The childhood nostalgia is overwhelming; I distinctly remember a rather fetching candy-striped pair my mother made me for my clown themed sixth birthday party.

I bought them vintage but they are very similar to the top-shop ones pictured below.
I am excited about the comfort and ease they are going to provide to summer day wear. I think however that I am going to cut and fray the hems as I find it almost impossible not to do this with any denim shorted item!

Do not fear the Cape

The Cape to me is essentially a romantic item. It delves me into the world of costume drama and 19th century novels.

I have recently re-worked a cape I found in my childhood dressing up box. It is a cossack style cape and in the long form in which I found it was far too dramatic for everyday wear. I took the hem up to hip height and have now found it very wearable, especially for occasions when a degree of smartness is required. It is similar to many of the capes seen during the autumn and winter period but I think far superior!