Long May She Rain

Ready, Steady, GROW!

2012-03-06T10:48:00.001Z

Well I think we can say it officialy, Spring has Sprung! And i'm glad to say, there is still a tremendous sense of anticipation for the year ahead (thank goodness). Seeing the first signs of life around the garden and the great outdoors means we can shed our insular winter selves and become outdoor loving sun-worshippers (well...we can always hope?)

To inspire some green-fingered activities through March, I thought i'd share my current inspirations for growing!

Firstly, at work i've been collecting the free seed pods from packs of Kids Innocent Smoothies!

The seeds are from their "Ready, Steady GROW" campaign which hopes to encourage children to reuse and produce from their smoothie cartons! It's a brilliantly designed concept, the seeds "pop" out as circles which you then plant in your washed out smoothie carton (or any other recycled receptacle!), water well, put on the windowsill and TA DAH! I think some grown ups have even forgotton that it is THAT easy to get growing! I'm very pleased to have the Violets pack, that's the first on my list to get going! This follows on from their "Buy one, get one Bee" campaign with the National Trust, which was just as well thought out at getting kids (and adults!) excited about conservation and preservation! Well done Innocent I say! Check out their cheery blog HERE

Personally, I am going to give egg shell seed-starters a go...maybe because it incorperates the seasonal easter-theme i get so excited about...and also because we enjoy eggs in our house, so there's definetly no shortage, and it makes a change from straight-composting them!

found via Teacup Adventure

Next up, the ever inspirational Alys Fowler, showing us how to get a free, thrifty houseplant from an Avocado seed! I've been meaning to attempt this for a while, after I got too hasty with the last attempt and didn't let the roots develop enough before planting, this time, I will try to be patient! However be warned, I'm not sure a 'Blighty reared Avocado will bear any fruit, so just enjoy it for its greenery! Plus, it's just a lovely video full stop!

This is in the spirit of "Don't thow it, Grow it!" - a great book by Deborah Peterson and Millicent Selsam which details every growing use for kitchen scraps! I am really taking a liking to this "Windowsill Plants" theme, there really isn't an excuse for anyone not to have at least ONE green thing in their home, so why not give it a try for March, bring that springtime indoors!

And finally, some springtime shots on the Iphone, my Yashica is truly dead so I'm lacking in the camera department! Thanks for reading! Katie

The Society For The Preservation of Nothing Very Special

2012-02-29T20:51:00.003Z

I have been a member of The National Trust for nearly a year now, and I've always enjoyed their seasonal magazine- mostly because it contains one of the few crosswords I can complete! Sadly, the Autumn 2011 edition only just arrived, so despite being out of date, there was a fascinating article by Simon Barnes, a journalist who writes a regular Wildlife Column in The Times. In this article he suggests that we become active members of the "Society For The Preservation of Nothing Very Special" - a concept he believes will raise awareness of the naturally brilliant places that we take for granted every day WITHOUT making them "Special" and therefore different to the norm.

"Special" usually means rare or endangered - why would we want this for our favourite places?

Simon writes:
"That's why the SPNVP is so important, it seeks to protect living things and living places before they get special. While we still have the privilege of having them on a routine take-'em for granted" basis; while they are still part of the daily life of this country, rather than something you make a pilgrimage for. The country is full of little patches of this and expanses of that, places where you can find small brown birds and not very special butterflies...just the place for running a firghtfully quick train or putting up more houses. Why worry about these places? Plenty more where they come from"

We all have these little places. Personally, my first lies between Ash Vale and Brookwood, along the railway line (I often see such places out of train windows - adds to the moment, the fact I can't just get out and touch them!). There is some ancient woodland running by the tracks, full of broken trees, overgrown brambles and rickity wooden boundaries. Nothing amazing, quite drab really. Sometimes I see soldiers on training (very common sight around the area) other times a very contented fox curls up and watches the trains zoom by. I only see the spot for 5-10 seconds, and yet for me, its the highlight of my long journey to and from Kent! I'm sure many commuters from the Surrey/Hampshire area will tell you all they see along 80% of their commute is old trees/woodland/scrubland, so what makes it any different? And as for the fox, the plague of Suburbia's front lawns and nothing else right? I don't mind this, as for me, those old trees by all my local railtrack and so-called "vermin" couldn't be more engaging.

My second example, is the tall (very ugly!) half-dead hedge that runs alongside my work building in Farnham, around the back of the Post Office Depot. When i finish work around 4.30, I walk past, and the hedge is absolutely full of sparrows which are singing at the very top of their voices, making the hedge sway as they jostle about for roosting room! It only occurs for about 15 minutes, then you wouldn't even know they were there. Any town has these little brown birds fighting with the Pigeons over scraps, but at this moment, their chirping is more exciting than any of the rarer birds calls you could hear at any "special" bird watching location. Their population has already declined rapidly over the last 50 years, but thankfully they aren't deemed too "Special" yet, sadly I predict that in my lifetime, they will be.

Simon continues:

"When we think of the Natural World, we don't think with our 21st century emailing, facebooking heads on. We think with our ancient atavistic selves: as if we were still at war with hostile nature and had to fight every step of the way to keep civilisation on track. We won that war a long time ago But we are continuing, almost without noticing, a frightfully fast programme of destruction and extinction. And always, the first places to go are Nothing Very Special"

He has decided the logo for SPNVS will be the cuckoo - a bird that was once heard everywhere all the time, got taken for granted or viewed as an ugly nuisance and a bully, now has made the sad progression to "specialness" - which is a terrible shame.

With the plans for more high-speed trains, housing developments and of course all the work thats already been done on the Olympic sites around England, I think there's a lot of work to be done. We want plenty of "take'em for granted" natural occurances in our lifetimes thank you very much!

I'm sure this article will stir up similar happy locations with you! Please do add any thoughts into the comments for this post, I'd love to know!

"We all must fight with all we have, green in tooth and claw, for Nothing Very Special".

Thanks for reading!

Katie

40th Anniversary of The Aldershot Bombing

2012-02-22T09:17:00.006Z

On this day 40 years ago, Aldershot found itself on the frontline of a terrorist attack. At 12.40pm a blast tore through the 16th Parachute Brigade Headquarters. A stolen blue Ford Cortina had been packed with 200lbs of explosives by the IRA. Its spokesperson in Dublin said the attack was first in a series of operations aimed at British headquarters serving in Northen Ireland. Now its also seen as a reprisal attack for the lives lost in what's now called "Bloody Sunday", all be it a "Miscalculated" one.

The explosion hit in the very heart of the Army town. But by an irony not unusual in such situations, the only army officer killed in the attack – which was meant to target army officers – was Captain Gerry Weston, a Roman Catholic chaplain. He had recently returned from service in Ulster, where he had acquired a reputation as a successful peacemaker.

Six other civilians, who all worked in the mess, were also killed in the attack on February 22 1972: Thelma Bosley, Margaret Grant, John Haslar, Joan Lunn, Jill Mansfield and Sheri Munton.

I remember being told the story of the attack when i was younger, and I couldn't understand how War could come to my hometown in one afternoon, but of course sadly now, its a concept we're all familiar with.

The bomb wrecked the three-storey building, shooting a plume of grey-brown smoke into the air and shattering the windows of shops in the High Street.

In a bumper edition of the then Weekend News, published after the explosion, the true devastation of the event was described.

“Within seconds, ambulances and fire tenders were on the scene,” the news article read.
“And men from nearby barracks whose windows had been blown in had already dashed to the dust-shrouded wreckage to claw at the rubble with their hands to release the trapped victims.
“On the scene itself, the square mess building stood a mere skeleton – with a heap of rubble as high as the ceiling of the ground floor spewed out in front of it.
“Grey concrete dust covered everything and soon the grim-faced rescue workers took on as pale a look with the powder on their faces as the injured they dragged from the debris.
“Pieces of cars – including the one used in the attack – rained down on buildings up to 150 yards away and charred wreckage from the vehicles littered Pennefathers Road.”

Within 10 minutes of the blast, police and army personnel ringed the entire area and searched traffic in and out of the barracks.
More than 150 extra police were brought into Aldershot, from Thames Valley, Surrey and the Metropolitan, and an inquiry was immediately set up.

My Dad and Nan were having lunch about 1 mile away when it happened, they said they felt a VERY strong shake in the ground, and the deep blast sound reverberated in your ears for a while after. They knew immediately what had occured, it was only the plume of smoke seconds later than confirmed their fears. Looking out the front door, they saw debris raining down.

Frightnenly, my Grandad was on route to the Parachute Officers mess (where he was working as an accountant after coming out of the army) when he was called back for a cup of tea by the kitchens cook at a Barracks up the road - because he always went through the kitchen door rather than the front. Horrible to think that fellow women army cooks up the road were killed only minutes later, he could have been in THAT kitchen instead. I don't think he could believe his luck that day. But for all my Dad&Nan knew, he was there when it happened. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been for all of them. He said missed it by about 5 - 10 minutes. Makes you think.

Hundreds of soldiers and civilians flocked to the scene, where eyewitnesses described people running from the building, covered in blood. It was within two hours of the bomb going off that the Official IRA claimed responsibility for the attack. The branch said the operation, which was the first of a wave of IRA bombings against army targets on the mainland throughout the 1970s, was carried out as a reprisal for the ‘murderous killings perpetrated by troops’ from the Parachute Brigade in Derry.
But it later backtracked when news reached Dublin that its operation ‘success’ had killed a Roman Catholic army padre, five female kitchen staff and a gardener. The Official IRA admitted a ‘miscalculation’ had led to the murder of the civilian mess staff.

Noel Jenkinson was convicted of the murders after a 21-day trial at Winchester Crown Court and died four years later in prison.

Today to commemorate the tragedy, a service is being held at the (usually sealed-off) memorial in the former Montgomery Lines barracks in Aldershot. The event, organised by landowners Grainger and Rushmoor Borough Council, takes place at 12.15pm.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Evelyn Dunbar

2012-02-16T21:44:00.001Z

I thought I would dedicate this weeks entry to a very talented lady, Evelyn Dunbar who was born in 1906 - a true artist and all-round heroine. I believe she is one of the most important artists of WW2, and who still holds a unique position in twentieth century British art.

She was described by Sir William Rothenstein, principal of the Royal College of Art, as having ‘real genius’ and was the only salaried woman war artist in the Second World War.

She is especially known for her unsentimental paintings of the Women’s Land Army and of domestic life during the war, such as people queuing for fish and chips and rations. However, she was also an accomplished muralist and illustrator, as well as an inspiring teacher at The Ruskin School of Drawing and of Fine Art, Oxford. While she was still an RCA student she collaborated on murals at Brockley Boys School in Kent:

Brockley Murals, Prendergast-Hilly Fields College (Formerly Brockley School) 1933-36

An enthusiastic gardener, she collaborated with her mural tutor Charles Mahoney to write and illustrate Gardeners’ Choice, As Elizabeth Bulkeley notes in her biographical essay, “They presented the plants that they liked to draw, paint and grow. The were sculptural and bold, yet subtle, and unusual for their time. Each was described lovingly, as if in sharing their favourite plants they were sharing their mutual happiness."

The inspiration for much of Dunbar’s early work lay in her devotion to nature and the natural world, and in particular the garden. She held a deeply rooted affection for the Kentish landscape and, like Charles Mahoney, had a passionate interest in plants and flowers and knew them in all their moods, and various stages of development. This empathy and understanding is embodied in her work and demonstrates what interested and preoccupied her for most of her life.

The outbreak of WW2 in 1939 closed Evelyns newly opened gallery, so she wrote to the War Advisory Committee (WAC) which had been set up to keep artists from being killed fighting and to keep culture and art thriving through the war, to be selected for a role as a war artist. The appointment of Dunbar, as a war artist by was announced in The Times on 25 April 1940 and she was the only salaried woman artist of the painters and sculptors employed.

Dunbar went to Sparsholt Farm Institute near Winchester for the first time in June 1940 to record the training of recruits to the recently reformed Women’s Land Army (WLA). She also travelled to Usk, Berwick and East Malling to complete WLA paintings. It was at Sparsholt that she met Michael Greenhill, one of the instructors, with whom she collaborated on A Book of Farmcraft.

‘A 1944 Pastoral: Land Girls Pruning at East Malling’ by Evelyn Dunbar

A Land Girl and the Bail Bull (1945)

Land Girls 1941

These vivid, stirring paintings provide an important documentary record of women's work and contribution to the war effort. Like many other war artists she tended to fall out of sight of the mainstream,modernist art world, instead following the cessation of hostilities. It was important to show the enemy that Britain was thriving, and so these paintings became part of a touring exhibition. These works have become important documents of the change in society at the time, despite it being terribly hard work, these women found a very liberated existance, they could have independance after all! Many found it difficult to return to the "domestic" housewife role after the war, after all, they'd helped kept this country running for years, why go back to constant cooking and cleaning?

Dunbar’s most extensive body of work portrays other vital aspects of the war effort that she recorded included nursing subjects, and the Home Front. She wrote to the WAAC to inform them that she was:
“Now able to embark on the great work. I am being slow on this commission, as the subjects were so completely unfamiliar to me, and it has taken me some time to feel at home in them"

Convalescent nurses making camouflage nets, 1944

A Knitting Party, 1940

One of her most recognised works of the Home Front was "The Knitting Party" - a collection of women determined on sending home comforts to the men at the front. Activities such as this were a moral booster as well as a chance for the women to socialise and reclaim some normality - you can almost feel like you're there with them when looking at this painting, stunning light through that back window!

The Queue at the Fish Shop

Evelyn recorded important shifts in society in a very honest and (I believe) typicaly 'British' fashion. Her colour choices are always perfect, the moody blues and greys of domestic life contrasted to the bright natural greens and yellows of the open fields where Land Girls found their freedom. I also think they are now nostalgic in the best possible way, they show what we should be proud of from that time. Her style was utterly unique - lyrical but true, using very brave perspectives which stem from her love of classical murals, but also, her love of people and in general, life. She was unafraid to show the everyday mundane moments which lay untouched by the more famous Male commissioned artists.

Evelyn sadly died at only 54 years old whilst walking with her husband near her home in Kent. She is a fine example to all those who have a passion for art, nature and finding beauty even in the most trying times. She worked extremely hard and didn't let day-to-day circumstances faze her, always remembered the importance of being passionate to learn. She should be considered a National Treasure of that time forever. The Imperial War Museum holds a collection of her work if you want to see more, or the fantastic book "War And Country" by Gill Clarke is a uncompromised study of Evelyns life.

I hope you have enjoyed reading! Many thanks to http://paintdropskeepfalling.wordpress.com for providing some fantastic images from the "War and Country" book.

Katie

Winter Woodland Wanderings!

2012-02-09T22:36:00.001Z

I'm sad to say that my faithful Yashica T3 has given up the ghost this week! There may still be hope if we take it apart...but at least the last roll in it was a good one! These were from Mine and Bruce's and Thom's woodland walk after New Year, Thom was trying out his recently purchased (from Bruce) Mamiya! Its our usual Hargate Forest route in Tunbridge Wells, you can't beat it!

And then the snow came of course! So here's the last picture the poor little Yashica managed to take:

Lets hope it makes a full recovery! For now, the Olympus will come to the rescue! Hope you're having a good week....it's just started snowing again!

First snow of 2012

2012-02-05T14:34:00.000Z

I was awake bright and early this morning (mostly because due to ANOTHER cold I couldn't sleep properly!) on the plus side, I got to see the snow before my barmy dog went out and kicked it up in excitement! The birds were out in force, but our little robin chases away any that dare come near his mealworms - grumpy little fellow! Meanwhile in the garden...

We then headed over Rowhills for our usual stroll with Mollie, was quite the winter wonderland but the squirrels kept sending snow all over our heads as they ran about in the tree tops, we got home absolutely soaked!!

Some brilliantly clear badger tracks (mixed with Mollies!) We saw someone over the woods with a torch about midnight last night, I wondered if the ranger was out putting jumpers on the badgers and foxes? I think it's a plausable explanation... :) The one on the far right looks like a bears paw doesn't it?? - we can dream!

Let's see how long it lasts for this time - as i have two driving lessons booked this week i'd quite like there to be none left by Wednesday please!!

Hope you're all enjoying your snow sunday!

Katie

War Horse - Part Two

2012-02-01T22:23:00.000Z

As promised, here is the follow up to my last post - including a very interesting video that i found recently, which gives a strong insight into the horses used in WW1.

The proportion of soldiers to animals on the battlefields was 4 men to 1 horse. Of the one million horses and mules sent to the Western Front during the conflict, only 67,000 returned home to the UK with 933,000 killed through injuries or illnesses, which were rife in the terrible conditions of the trenches.

Horses in the Great War are as much a symbol of that conflict as the mud or the gas mask. A sad fact of the Great War battlefields is when a field was ploughed, the most common bones were horse or mule. I visited the battlefields a few years ago, and this fact was never mentioned. Many officers wanted to be buried with their horses if they fell, and there is at least one war grave where that indeed happened. These animals were loved and brought great comfort, perhaps a reminder of the "Green and Pleasant Land" they'd left behind.

A Cavalry horse stands over the body of its rider - from the book The War Horses

As author Simon Butler explains, this was not just ‘the first and last global conflict in which the horse played a vital role’, but also a war which changed the entire relationship between society and the horse. A nation which had depended on domestic horsepower up until 1914 suddenly lost its workhorses to the front and had to find mechanised alternatives. By 1918, there was no going back.

You can purchase his book HERE. It has many powerful photographs of horses from both sides of the fields, a very in-depth read.

General Jack Seely and Warrior.

The tale of War Horse's equine hero exploits is fictional, however a similar tale about "Warrior" who carried General Jack Seely of the Canadian cavalry throughout the horrors of World War I are all true and documented documented in a book written by General Jack Seely, in 1934. Seely's book spoke about his time at battle with his beloved war horse who he called a 'courageous animal.' A group of cavalrymen dubbed Warrior 'The horse the Germans couldn't kill'. He writes how the horse's extraordinary character and some unbelievable twists of fate, helped him survive a war which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of horses. The first time General Seely rode the Warrior through shell fire, it was at the battle of Mons, on the French border and he was amazed to discover that Warrior did not try to run away and instead the thoroughbred 'was pretending to be brave and succeeding in his task.' I thought the portrait of the both of them above was truly spectacular.

The recent popularity of the play and film War Horse (based on the book by Michael Morpurgo) in my view, can only be a positive. It's imperative to inform a wider audience about such sacrifices, and despite some arguing about correct uniforms/language etc etc, it will undoubtedly encourage people to ask more questions, and discover the truth for themselves, particularly those who might not have previous interest of military history.

Here is the mentioned video, thank you for reading!

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War Horse

2012-01-20T09:38:00.001Z

18th Century Painting "Wounded War Horse"

"Wounded Horse" Iraq, 2008.

I've been sitting on this discovery for over a year. Everything considered, I think now is the right time to share.

I will be putting up a related post soon, but for now, I hope these pictures just make you think, and feel.

Katie

Hello 2012!

2012-01-12T21:53:00.002Z

The first blog post of the year is always a tricky one, so i thought a photo left over from a late 2011 roll of film would do nicely! Me&Claire enjoy a stroll along the river after a cheeky vino in The Swan Pub, you can see from this why they chose such a name!

Now for the reminiscing,

I enjoyed 2011 in many ways...I delved into more making and baking than ever before, had a fantastic seaside holiday with my favourite ones (and Mollie saw the sea for the first time!), spent many a lovely Sunday cooking with my best friend - including our spectacular Autumn Tea Party- and took many more woodland walks with Bruce. We all caught Royal Wedding fever and indulged in too much bunting and G&T's (if there is such a thing) and once autumn came, the usual "Pumpkin Carve Off" triumphed!

The Aldershot project (which does have a name, but keeping that under wraps for now) continued with more finds, and I continued collecting my "English Garden" images which I hope to turn into something more than just an online project this year! I began volunteering at Farnham Museum, and worked my way up into helping digitalise their collection, which has been brilliant!

The allotment kept producing well, and Me&Bruce attending (and helped judge) a HAHA allotment show in a Tunbridge Wells church, where we discovered lettuce and stain glass are a great combination! I walked around my very first experience of a Grotto, and had a very Merry Christmas indeed, where i cooked the meal for the first time!

On your marks, get set..... BAKE!!

I also got my sewing machine running for the first time and invested in a typewriter! I have FIRMLY stuck to my promise of buying secondhand or handmade items when possible, and I am opening my own Etsy store very soon.

And I must admit, I think i've done pretty good on the blogging front too, i've kept to at least every 2 weeks, which is a great improvement!

I'm making sure that 2012 is going to be a busy year, as i've decided it's time to get learning again. Despite deciding against an MA for now, I feel there is plenty for me to be cracking on with! Driving lessons are booked - a chore i've been putting off for years - and myself and Claire are investigating short courses in various crafts....I am also considering discarding obvious career choice and instead just pursuing what would make me happiest...watch this space!

Hope you are all enjoying '12 so far, go steady on those resolutions!

Katie

Christmas in Wartime

2011-12-22T23:46:00.001Z

Animals in Wartime 1914-1918, Imperial War Museum.

In what will be my last post before Christmas, I thought i'd share some findings of Christmas in Wartime that I have collected recently, the Imperial War Museum's new website have begun to put their image collection online, I could have spent hours searching through!

You cannot talk about Christmas in Wartime without mentioning the famous Christmas Day Truce of 1914, an unofficial ceasefire along the Western Front where many troops from both sides met in No-Mans-Land to exchange rations and sing carols. Most famously, was an all day football match (above) between Chester-based Royal Welch Fusiliers against their German opponents, the Saxons of the 133 Infantry Regiment and the Prussians of the 6 Jager Battalion in Frelinghien, France.

Captain C I Stockwell, who was present at the original Truce, wrote an account of the events on "one of the most curious Christmas Days" he had ever experienced.
He describes the singing, cheering and the exchanging of beer that took place. However, after this one night of peace and festivity, the fighting was resumed the next day.
Captain Stockwell recalls: "The German captain and I both saluted. He fired two shots in the air, and the war was on again".

The truces were not unique to the Christmas period, and reflected a growing mood of "live and let live", where infantry units in close proximity to each other would stop overtly aggressive behaviour, and often engage in small-scale fraternisation, engaging in conversation or bartering for cigarettes.

Of course, that first year many people believed that 'It'll all be over by Christmas!', a motto which actually followed on through the first years of The Second World War.

When WW2 broke out in September 1939, it was unknown to people at the time there would be five Christmases before May 1945, when this war was 'all over'. By that time the government's drive for maximum productivity had ensured that summer holidays were done away with, that Guy Fawkes' night had disappeared - the victim of blackout regulations - and that Easter eggs had disappeared, but at least the Christmas holiday still remained! So spirits were still high, and creativity and imagination with gifts, food and decorations were in full swing.

The above scan from Garden Work magazine in the 1940s shows some VERY useful and thrifty gifts that personally, i would be very pleased to recieve! Swapping seeds sounds like a great idea for next year.

We've already made ours this year, but i would be very interested to try this recipe for a wartime christmas pudding, making lots of use of plentiful root vegetables! 1940-1941 was the first Christmas 'on the ration', with food rationing having been a part of everyday life for almost a year. One positive note was in the week before Christmas, the tea ration was doubled and the sugar ration increased to twelve ounces!

I also found a very interesting recipe for "Mock Turkey", as the greatest efforts to simulate normality were made at Christmas and for weddings with scarce ingredients being stockpiled for weeks or months! The creativity and enthusiasm they showed is admirable.

Mock Turkey

Ingredients
1 loaf bread (can be stale)
1 quart milk
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, minced or finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 dash of pepper
1lb sausage meat
1 tsp seasoning
MethodRemove crust from loaf of bread; tear apart and moisten with milk.
Add meat, chopped vegetables and seasoning.
Mix together well and place in a buttered baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

There was still plenty of non-rationed food available, however - at a price. Wines and spirits were plentiful, but French goods were almost completely gone, and imported fruit was extremely expensive. For Christmas, practical gifts were in vogue - gardening tools, books, bottling jars, seeds. Some gardening magazines even recommended a bag of fertilizer as a gift, and the most popular present for Christmas 1940 was soap! Well, all useful things!

British soldier eating Christmas meal in his slit trench with holiday cards from home propped up outside. December 25th 1944, Netherlands.

Christmas Party, Middlesex, December 1944

A child sleeps in an air-raid shelter festooned with Christmas decorations – a not uncommon sight in December 1940

Contents of a Christmas stocking, 1940. The contents have been made from wartime low-quality paper.

Imperial War Museum Collection.

Gunner Jack Ward of 9th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, holds aloft two geese destined to become Christmas dinner,

19th December 1944.

Gunner H S Hadlow of 15th scottish Division in Holland announces that the Christmas pudding is ready,

19th December 1944.

I think we can all at least take some "Make Do And Mend" inspiration from these Christmas Pasts, and be pleased that we can all enjoy such food, drink and merriment this year!

I'll be back in 2012! Thanks for reading my blog this year!

Katie

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-21T22:10:00.001Z

Before Christmas creeps up on us any moment now, I just thought I'd wish you all a very Merry Christmas with one of my newly found Victorian "Seasons Greetings" cards...

I agree with this choice of flower, as i find Hyacinths very festive and have some growing on my windowsill as we speak! I know that certain traditions from The Netherlands and Scandinavia agree with this, and it makes a change from too much holly! :) (If there can ever be such a thing as too much holly....)

And it can't be Christmas in England without a Robin hopping about, so here is the nicest I've found!

Hope everyone's shopping/cooking/wrapping/pre-dieting is going well!

Have a very cool yule everyone!

Katie

Woodland Wandering

2011-12-18T20:53:00.003Z

This week I went for a ramble with Bruce in Hargate Forest, Tunbridge Wells. He has been coming here all his life, and I always like hearing tales of his past adventures there, he is a very good guide!

This time of year is all about families choosing a special tree to bring into their homes, I haven't got around to that yet, so instead I am appreciating all of them just as they are!

Spot the deer?

The last photo was our most FANTASTIC find. Bruce remembers seeing this mattress and carpet when they'd just been dumped in the woodland, now, you hardly know they are there until you tread on them!
Lots of Hargate has an amazing soft fir-needle carpet, but to find this example of nature taking back these materials was special. Very special indeed.

Sometimes it just takes a suprise to get you thinking...

To end, a charming 60s christmas advert i stumbled upon, why can't todays adverts be more like this?

R.O. Blechman CBS Christmas Message (1966)

One last week before Christmas...keep calm everyone!

Katie

Festive Fun Part One!

2011-12-10T13:36:00.004Z

My first Christmas Wreath! I'm actually quite proud of how it turned out, definately not as neat as some - but then again, it wouldn't be very "Bedlow" without a few mis-haps! I used silver tipped conifer because I thought it lifted the look nicely, some holly and ivy, lovely snow berries and one last minute addition of some crab apples!

Now, we all know how the song goes :

"The holly and the ivy,

When both are full grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood,

The holly bears the crown"

Historicaly, Pagans decorated in winter with evergreens culled from the landscape long before the start of Christianity. We can still identify with their thought-process, even today: when everything else on the landscape is dead or dormant, evergreens remind us of better times to come -- the return of a green landscape in spring!

Holly and other evergreens were then adopted by Christians as Christmas decorations in Roman times - despite protests from disapproving Church Fathers who regarded the decorations as "too pagan."
Even with the protests, evergreen decorations became part of the Christmas tradition, i particularly admire the Victorian and Edwardian fashion of decorating with evergreens, paritularly whole branches been used as fireplace decorations, with lots of velvet ribbon of course!

Inside, the Hyacinths are sprouting nicely, they love it in the warm, and are feeling very festive in their Christmas ribbon! I might give a few away as presents this year, I think they are great little plants, and they grow so fast! I actually NEED to have a plant in my room now, i've turned into one of THOSE people, horrah! (Just no spider plants or cactus thanks!)

Hope you're all having a great December so far!

National Tree Week 2011

2011-11-29T20:48:00.002Z

Sally Mann - Scarred Tree 1996, from the series Deep South

National Tree Week began in 1975, and runs from the 26th November to the 4th December. It celebrates the start of the tree planting season, and is a great way to get communities working together on conservation and awareness projects.

As i'm sure regular readers will know, I rather like Trees. Well...I love Trees. A lot. I know Thom Bridge understands!

A giant sequoia log, Sequoia National Park, California, undated, c1910

Trees and forests, probably because of their great size and longevity, have always vividly stirred our imaginations. Like mountains and stones they seemed immobile, but unlike them, trees could change and sway. They stir thoughts of time and mortaility, dense forests can provide a quietness that can sometimes be overwhelming - they have often been feared and respected.

Even lone trees, particularly in a barren spot, may have appeared miraculous if they provided food for a starving wanderer. Trees were seen and touched by the earliest humans; utilized for food, fuel, shelter, clothing, fences and barriers, lances and spears; and burned, cut or transformed into numerous objects. Their shadows provided cover, camouflage and hiding places for persons on either side of the law. They also provide death. Blunt, but true. From being used in lynching, to becoming self-made memorials, there is definate dark side of trees many would never consider. There has recently been such a sad situation in the woods which are often featured in my photographs, you can see the the torn bark around the branch.

The Survivor Tree, an American Elm Tree in Oklahoma, it survived the bomb’s blast and witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. On April 19, 1995, the tree was almost chopped down to recover pieces of evidences that hung from its branches due to the force of the 4,000 pound bomb that killed 168 and injured hundreds just yards away. The Survivor Tree is a symbol of human resilience. Today, as a tribute to renewal and rebirth, the inscription around the tree reads, “The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.”

On 9/11, debris from the collapsing WTC towers knocked over a giant sycamore tree that had stood for nearly a centuary in St. Paul's churchyard. When the dust settled, the uprooted tree was found lying on a narrow path in the yard. It had fallen in such a way that none of the historic tombstones around it were disturbed, and none of the wreckage reached the chapel. Scluptor Steve Tobin heard the story of the syeamore and envisioned using it’s root as the base of a bronze sculpture.

Trees and forests took on symbolic divine characteristics, or were seen to represent superlative forces such as courage, endurance or immortality. They were the means of communication between worlds. Some societies made them into magical totems. Sometimes a particular tree was considered to be sacred because of association with a holy individual, saint or prophet. Trees have frequently held great religious significance, for example the tree under which the Buddha received enlightenment and the tree used for the crucifixion of Jesus. As a result they often featured in religious rituals, and still do today. Examples include trees upon which prayers or offerings are hung in many different cultures, and the Christmas tree, a custom whose present form evolved in Europe in the nineteenth century.

The "Jesus Tree" of Malta

In almost every part of the world travelers have observed the custom of hanging objects upon trees in order to establish some sort of a relationship between themselves and the tree. Throughout Europe also, a mass of evidence has been collected testifying to the lengthy persistence of superstitious practices and beliefs concerning them. The trees are known as the scenes of pilgrimages, ritual ambulation, and the recital of prayers.

Example of a Wishing Tree in Turkey

The custom of transferring disease or sickness from men to trees is well known. Sometimes the hair, nails, clothing of a sickly person are fixed to a tree, or they are forcibly inserted in a hole in the trunk, or the tree is split and the patient passes through the aperture.

The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science, religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas.

An Icelandic example of "The Tree Of Life"

British folklore wouldn't be complete without some spirtis and witches, and tree's are no different!

The European Rowan tree has long been thought to be a magical tree and protection against witches. It was said in England that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged his mother?! (Crikey!)

The density of the rowan wood makes it very usable for walking sticks, as in Celtic mythology where it prevents those on a journey from getting lost. Rowan was carried on vessels to avoid storms, kept in houses to guard against lightning, and even planted on graves to keep the deceased from haunting. It was also used to protect one from witches. Even without the connection to witches, yew trees had many superstitions attached to them. It was best not to lie down under a yew, despite the nice cold shade. The tree would suck the life out of anyone, as soon as he or she fell asleep. Yew has always grown in graveyards, as people believed that the tree drank the poison from the ground which was infected by the dead.

Ancient Yew Tree at Waverley Abbey

The Hardy Tree can be found in Old St. Pancras Churchyard, London. The Ash tree is surrounded by monuments that were, as legend has it, moved by Thomas Hardy during his days as an architect clerk during the regeneration of Kings Cross in the 1860's. Some of Hardy's poetry is reputed to be inspired by his time working on this unpleasant job - particularly 'In the Cemetery'.

In all honesty, I could talk about trees all day, I hope you have enjoyed reading!

Better leave with one of mine:

Katie Bedlow, 10x8 contact, 2010.

Thanks! Hope you all have a good week!

Watts Gallery

2011-11-23T13:24:00.003Z

Watts Gallery has always been on my "To Visit" list, as we always drive through Compton on the way to visit my Grandad. My mum last went about 15 years ago, so she was very interested to see how it had been improved since the £10m restoration, the building was actualy on the English Heritage's "At Risk" list!

Considering I am completely obsessed with the Arts and Crafts movement, my first impression was, "Isn't this LOVELY" - and it only got lovelier as we walked around. It was truly a beautiful and unique resoration, and i think it beats many of the larger more well-known London galleries, and makes them look quite clinical and dull.

The gallery originaly opened in 1904, and the restoration returned the walls to their original vivid blues and reds, and the tiled dado rails (previosuly covered in paint) back to their shiny best. As you walk into the sculpture studio, you are blown away by the use of glass and high wooden beams, as the architects Adam Zombory-Moldovan and Lucy Clark of ZMMA – has brought in light and drama.

In his day, George Fredrick Watts was as popular as Dickens, in that they both used the inequalities of Victorian life in their work. He was internationaly renowned, being the first living artist to be given a one man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was born in London in 1817 and was encouraged to persue his artistic ambitions by his father. He exhibited at at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition for the first time in 1837 with his painting "The Wounded Heron". Thereafter, there seemed nothing Watts could not achieve, portraits, narrative painting, landscapes and even sculpture (see in my photo's below, his Monument To Lord Tennyson - awe inspiring)

His most famous painting, and still Barack Obama's favourite, is "Hope", the curled bindfolded woman astride a globe with her broken lyre. At the gallery is the finest version of this painting, on loan from a private collection, and they had an accompaning exhibit about it's amazing story, and several different artists own interpretation of the work.

I think that's what i take most from Watt's work, it isn't just classic Victorian symbolism, his paintings are timeless, relating as much to the modern world and all it's troubles. My favourite of his paintings is "Drowned" and in the gallery where you can see the true vivid spirit of the work, the body seems to glow amongst the looming darkness. Watts could capture the essence of a spirit by using light like no other painter. Go see the paintings in the flesh and you'll see exactly what I mean, they will capture you!

I am also a fan of his wifes work, Mary Seton Watts, who collaborated with him on many of his creative projects. In this room they exhibited many of their diaries, sketches and experiments which was facinating to see. They worked as a fantastic team, Mary was actualy one of his students, so she was a skilled craftswoman in her own right. I think she influenced his sculpture style immensly, as the examples of her own work prove.

My mum's favourite painting was "Portrait of The Painter's Wife" - A stunning study of Mary Watts. He certainly adored the female neck, several of his paintings are homages to this pose.

Together, George and Mary left London for Compton where they built their house Limnerslease, and commissioned Christopher Hatton Turner to create a nearby gallery in Arts & Crafts style, "a simple & rural type of building", to be constructed of rendered concrete and Surrey tiles. It opened in 1904, just three months before Watts died. Thereafter, it was Mary who kept the flame alive, and it is her that we have to thank for the richness of the gallery's collection – something the refurbished Watts sweetly acknowledges with its display of her remarkable bronze triptych in memory of her nephew, Death Crowning Innocence. Mary was, of course, a supremely talented artist in her right; the Compton Potters' Arts Guild she founded survived until the 1950s.

Here are some more photographs i took from the sculpture room, such intricate work! I was blown away by these studies.

Now, some of you may recognise the style of these plaques, as they are the same as those in The Postman's Park Memorial in London. This garden was built in memory to those who's heroric deeds ended in fatality. George Watts attempted to gains support for the memorial through The Times and other initiatives, but recieved little interest. Undeterred, he championed the project over 34 years, completing it just four years before his death.

This could be my most admired of Watts work, a completely selfless deed. I must pay the park a visit, I must admit, i've only seen a photographic representation of it at The Whitechapel Gallery - One for the "to do" list!

Watts has something for everyone to enjoy. The collection comprises 6,000 objects including 250 oil paintings, 800 drawings and watercolours and 200 sculptures. These works have never had a better chance of capturing the imagination of a new generation for whom the great GF Watts, and his wife, Mary, are still an unknown quantity.

Thanks!

Katie

Last days of Autumn

2011-11-14T22:07:00.003Z

Finally, after much technical difficulty, here are my last photographs from autumn, including those from Mine and Claire's autumn tea party! My favourite time of year is drawing to a close now, with the misty November days becoming shorter and shorter, at least i've got some nice photos to look back on from those golden afternoons! There's some nice woodland shots at the end too (naturally!), hope you enjoy,

Hope you're having a good week! I'm looking forward to cracking on with the christmas crafts this weekend, I have such a lot to get on with :S

Katie

Rememberance

2011-11-11T19:00:00.000Z

Antique silk poppies, found via The Vintage Cottage HERE

Those who read regularly will know how growing up in Aldershot, Home of the British Army, has had a lasting effect on me, and encouraged my interest in military history. Today is such an important time for thought and reflection. It's the 93rd year of Remembrance day, and I hope that many will pause and think at 11 o'clock.

The First Two Minute Silence in London (11 November 1919) was reported in the Manchester Guardian on 12 November 1919:

"The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all^"

If only the modern world showed the same decency.

Those who choose to wear the poppy carry a powerful symbol, the red flower that sprung from the bodies of ALL those who fell in those fields, not just British soldiers. There has been too many examples of negative journalism directed at wearing poppies this week. I find it utterly disgraceful that people could be so cruel, and mostly, it just shows how ridiculous people can be. I would probably care about it more if i thought they knew anything about history themselves.

Those men fought for us. Never mind if it was right or wrong, they went to those trenches no matter what they believed. How could we ever question remembering their sacrifice? For my age group particularly, it doesn't seem the done thing to be proudly wearing the poppy (i'm probably supposed to be off protesting somewhere and causing aggravation) but sorry, you will never change my mind on this one. We've lost our last remaining WW1 soldiers now, and I can't help worrying that we could ever loose our traditions too.

I think Britain should also be proud to have such a potent symbol of remembrance in The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey which was inspired by an inscription on an anonymous grave in Armentieres, France, on a rough cross upon which was pencilled the words "An Unknown British Soldier". After seeing this grave in 1916, The Reverend David Railton wrote to the Dean of Westminster suggesting having a nationally recognised grave for an unknown soldier. As it was 1920, memories of the War was still raw, and Britain had a guilty concious about the thousands of bodies which lay unidentified in those foreign fields,

"Those parents and wives who had lost men to war didn't have anything tangible to grieve at, so the unknown warrior represented their loss" says Terry Charman, a historian at the Imperial War Museum.

The unknown warrior's body was chosen from a number of British servicemen exhumed from four battle areas - the Aisne, the Somme, Arras and Ypres. These remains were brought to the chapel at St Pol on the night of 7 November 1920, where the officer in charge of troops in France and Flanders, Brig Gen L J Wyatt, went with a Col Gell. Neither had any idea where the bodies, laid on stretchers and covered by union jacks, were from.

"The point was that it literally could have been anybody. It could have been an earl or a duke's son, or a labourer from South Africa. The idea really caught the public mood, as it was a very democratic thing that it could have been someone from any rank."

Gen Wyatt selected one body - it has been suggested he may have been blindfolded while making his choice - and the two officers placed it in a plain coffin and sealed it. The other bodies were reburied.
The next day the dead soldier began the journey to his final resting place. The coffin was taken to Boulogne and placed inside another coffin, made of oak from Hampton Court and sent over from England. Its plate bore the inscription: "A British Warrior who fell in the Great War 1914-1918 for King and Country". This second coffin had a 16th Century sword, taken from King George V's private collection, fixed on top. A two minutes silence marked it's placement in Westminster Abbey.

"To have its own unknown warrior, for a country that sent troops to WWI, is part of its own national identity” Terry Charman

Ninety years on, the dead soldier continues to be honoured, by the public and royalty alike.
What's more, the symbolism of the act has been mirrored by many other countries around the world. Iraq, the United States, Germany and Poland are just some of those which have created their own memorials.
I hope you will take a moment today to consider how different the world would be now if those men hadn't gone. I know I always will. After visiting the battlegrounds myself and standing on that very same soil, I feel like I owe it to each and every one of them. No matter WHAT side of the line they fought on, we should remember them.

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields."

John McCrae, May 1915

Thanks for reading.

Katie

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:27:00.000Z

Hello again, turns out I couldn't resist one more Halloween post, I really am getting into the spirit this year! I found these fantastic images through the Life Magazine Google Archive and couldn't resist sharing them! Hope everyone is enjoying themselves this All Hallows Eve!

Lastly, I just thought i'd show off mine and Bruce's pumpkin efforts this year, mine is the spooky house, his is the fox!

Right, I can honestly say that's it for this year,HAPPY HALLOWEEN!Katie

Historical Halloween

2011-10-28T17:44:00.004+01:00

Recent Ebay find, Halloween photograph from 1910!

It's nearly that time of year again, the pumpkins are all ready to meet their fate! Personally, i ignore all modern plastic attempts at decoration, this year myself and Claire made our own re-used fabric pumpkins, and I have a rather lovely collection of owls I like to show off! But what annoys me most, is when all i hear is "Halloween is just an American thing, why do we have to put up with it" etc etc....

This blog is in defence of this notion, I hope you enjoy learning a bit more about it's history, if you don't mind indulging me!

Halloween wasn’t always the same celebration we experience today, it's origins date back thousands of years to the ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, (pronounced "sow-in"). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is the present day United Kingdom, Ireland and northern France, celebrated Samhain as their new year on November 1. This time marked the end of summer and harvest period and the beginning of the winter, which is a cold and dark time in this region of the world. The Celts associated the season with death and believed that on the night before Samhain the boundary between the living and the dead was distorted. They celebrated the night of October 31 when ghosts of the dead where believed to return to earth causing trouble and damaging the community’s food supply.

The Celts observed the event by burning crops and sacrificing animals to the Celtic Gods in bonfires built by the Druids. They wore costumes, typically of animal skins and heads, to tell each others’ fortunes. And when the celebration was over, they lit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfire to protect them during the coming months.

Druids burned huge sacrificial wooden effigies known as wicker men atop sacred hilltop sites. The wicker men were sometimes filled with animals, prisoners of war, criminals, and other sacrifices to Druid deities. So yes, the famous film does actually have some truth...ish...!

Of course, when the Romans invaded they would have taken on these influences too, combining their festivals of Feralia (a day in late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead) with Pomona (the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees). Pomona’s symbol is the apple and was incorporated into the celebration of Samhain. This probably explains the modern day tradition of bobbing for apples, practised on Halloween!

Snap-Apple Night (1832) by Daniel Maclise.
Depicts apple bobbing and divination games at a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland.

Classic symbols of Halloween formed over time, for example, the carving of jack-o'lanterns comes from the souling custom (on All Souls Day, a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have passed away) of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls of the departed that were held in purgatory. The turnip has traditionally used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin instead. The American tradition of pumpkin carving in recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century!

"The Pumpkin Effigy" Ireland, September 1875

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Europe was seized by a hysterical fear of witches, leading to the persecution of thousands of innocent women. Witches were thought to ride flying brooms and to assume the form of black cats. Creatures such as owls, crows and ravens were thought to also represent witches, hence their featuring in Halloween decorations. These images of witches soon joined other European superstitions as symbols of Halloween.

A Witch in the middle of the 15th Century

As for trick or treating,

"The custom of begging for food from house to house on Halloween came for the old Catholic soul-sale custom. Once charitable in nature, "souling" took a popular turn as it evolved over the years. Irish Halloween begging always involved a masquerade... but who did the begging and what they were after varied from region to region. In Ireland's County Cork, a mummers' procession marked All Hallows...Prosperity was promised to those who gave food, drink or money to the revelers...This custom of taking a masquerade from house to house and asking for food or money was one practised in America on Guy Fawkes Day, and for some years even on Thanksgiving. The Irish Halloween masquerade proved so popular it eventually evolved into 20th-century American trick-or-treating."
---Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History, Lesley Pratt Bannantyne [Pelican Publishing:Gretna LA] 1998 (p. 67, 71)

American 1930's Trick or Treaters

Of course, when the new settlers arrived in America, the folk traditions they took with them from the UK continued to evolve and develop overseas, giving us the popularity of Halloween in America today, and it's officially their second favourite holiday (after Christmas of course!).

In the UK, we seemed to have lost certain ties to our original intentions of All Hallows Eve, but I know there are still many people celebrating it's origins in nature and folklore.

Hope that was an enjoyable read! I certainly enjoyed the research, I could have gone on and on and on......but i'll save it for next year! :)

Just thought i'd add in my own attempt at Halloween decoration,

Have a great weekend everyone, Happy Halloween!

Katie

With the compliments of the season

2011-10-25T12:46:00.000+01:00

I found this fantastic postcard at the Farnham Maltings, it's from 1879 and is beautifully hand-painted. It captures the delicate lichen, moss and fungi which appear at this time of year, I was so pleased to find it, and it means I have a new theme to collect now, hurrah!

Here are some more "compliments" of October,

It was mine and Claire's autumn tea party last weekend, here's a hint of what we got up to, proper pictures coming soon!

Autumn Time

2011-10-20T11:13:00.001+01:00

1966 Vintage Halloween Kodachrome Photo, found on ebay!
(Just encourages my dream of being in America one October...better start saving!)

It's my favourite time of year again! Chilly mornings, foraging for chestnuts, conker collecting, warm cosy knits and of course, EVERYTHING pumpkin! Myself and my partner in crime Claire Barrett have organised an autumn extravaganza party this weekend, we've been crafting and collecting all sorts of seasonal decorations, can't wait to post up some photographs!

In the meantime, here is some more autumnal fun, a carpet of leaves spotted in London! (pictures from The Daily Fail i'm afraid)

Be back soon with yet more Autumn, horrah!

Katie

Ash Ranges

2011-10-05T21:47:00.000+01:00

At the weekend, myself and Claire Barrett went for a ramble over the Ash Ranges to bask in the beautiful autumn sunshine! We searched for feathers, fir cones, acorns and chestnuts...but managed to find another little friend too!
Take a look!

Turns out, this little fellow is a Pale Tussock 'Calliteara Pudibunda' caterpillar, who enjoy munching on oak, willow and birch...isn't he nice? Despite his neon-exterior, he isn't at all poisonous!

Autumn is definitely here at last&plans for our autumn party are in full swing!

Thanks!

Grow your own!

2011-09-14T19:04:00.001+01:00

I just brought the fantastic "Harvest" by Meredith Kirton, a beautifully designed book which would inspire ANYONE to get into growing your own! She is actually from Australia so options such as mango's and lychees are definitely not an option, but there is plenty more to enjoy! Her equally beautiful blog can be found here. On our plot currently, we've been enjoying blackberries, deformed (but tasty!) potatoes and the remaining load of courgettes - which have found themselves in healthy muffins this week -i'm currently reaching 6 days of eating NO junk what so ever...so having nice books to read is great inspiration/distraction!)

Here are some recent photographs from my Grandad's garden, there is plenty to be looking after here, let alone the 31 varieties growing at the allotment!!

Here's a recent haul of good scrummy fruit&veg...look out for those mutant potatoes!

Hope you're all having a good week!

Katie

Beginning of Autumn

2011-09-10T21:43:00.000+01:00

I've been feeling very under the weather this last week, but managed to stumble out today for a nice autumnal stroll over Rowhill's. Mum managed to find some rather fabulous fungi, and the lovely heather on the copse is just about to finish, so i'm glad I caught those beautiful purple hues before it's too late! It certainly is pleasant having such a fantastic natural retreat only minutes from my front door, before we had Mollie, we rarely took walks over there, now i can't imagine being without it!

I do hate my digital camera though, I might take the old Mamiya over there tomorrow and fotograph some more fungi before it all gets washed away! Hope your having a lovely weekend!

The Best Shop in Bridport, and the treasures i found there!

2011-09-05T15:56:00.001+01:00

Whilst on holiday last month in Charmouth, me&Bruce jumped on a bus and headed into the market town of Bridport, only a few miles away from Lyme Regis. We had no idea what to expect, but when the bus passed this shop upon arrival, we ran back to take a closer look!

The little boxes outside had a variety of old magazine pages, postcards and music sheets, which was a promising start! Once inside, we found a treasure trove of all our favourite type of goodies! Old photographs, cameras, postcards, film, glass plate negatives, super 8 film, old filmstar posters, kodak memorabilia, etc etc...IT WAS AMAZING!

Image found via Google

As you can imagine, we spent quite a long time rummaging through every box! Bruce found several amazing postcards and a new cable release, so he was pleased!

Visit the website HERE

I was picking up everything i fancied really! But my BEST find was this amazing album, which i discovered lying at the very bottom of a pile of family photo albums. What made it so special for me, was the rather recognisable gentleman that kept appearing throughout this collection, with his wonderful round glasses and crooked smile...how could i refuse?

I payed a very reasonable £5 for this treasure, i KNOW it would go for far more on Ebay, but Doug was too fair in his prices - if his shop was in some trendy London backstreet, he could get away charging triple, but you could tell that he just wants others to enjoy these little curiosities that he has such a passion for!

Back to the album, it seems to have a running theme of locations, including Swanage, Bagpath in Gloucestershire, and the reference to Sunnyside, which i believe is in Rotherham?

So, why do I think it deserves to be shown? Well for a start, the photographs are simply amazing, all the best kinds of nostalgia - children building dens, favourite pets, school pictures....but the actual pairing of the images, and how the owner created the album is also it's appeal.
They are not in date order, but rather paired by themes or even, favourite images first! When looking through these pages, keep an eye out for our distinctive gentleman ageing, then becoming a boy again, and several examples of charming before > after family portraits. One ripped photograph leads the imagination wild...and the portraits of him and his wife suddenly aged, is very emotionally charged, and unexpectedly appears in the middle of the album. This was obviously a later project to be completed, sadly, it only reaches the middle of the book, the loose photographs i found at the back are in the last image.

I hope you enjoy looking at these photographs as much as i do!

I really do have a passion for albums such as these, I'm aware that found imagery is a well exhausted medium, but i just can't help myself! I would rather let my investigator side search for references to shed light on these collections, than spend my time staring at continuous empty, monotonous contemporary photo-rubbish... oh yes indeed!

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Jolly Holiday 2011

2011-08-13T16:41:00.006+01:00

Hello!

I've just returned from a lovely week away in Charmouth in Dorset, where we stayed at the lovely 'The Old Manor House' which is a listed building, with some parts dating back to the 15th century! Charmouth is a really nice little village, right next to the busy hubbub of Lyme Regis, but with a very handy bakers/butchers/local shop which provided us with everything we needed! The beach (which is much calmer and quieter than those in Lyme) was only a 5-10 minute walk away, and as we took my little Cairn Terrier, we took her for walks there every morning and every evening. Needless to say, we all had a brilliant time, and I am very sad to have returned so soon! I would be very interested to visit again off-season, as I really can't handle holiday crowds, and you can still get super weather in autumn! We were very lucky with the weather, I actually got sun burnt on the first day, something I never achieved on our week in 30 degree Arles! Ahhhh Blighty!

Hope you enjoy the photo's, the good old Yashica was my only camera companion this year, I wasn't in the mood for medium format fuji friend!

Our Holiday!

Mollie first experience of the beach!

The true stone-balancing champion!

Charmouth beach of an evening

Bruce, Fredrick and Thom

There are no words to describe this wonder of design...simply stunning!

My favourite house in Lyme Regis, right on the beach.

On our last evening, the boys decided to risk it!

Thom made a friend for life!

I have a lovely little Bridport shop to show you all soon! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

HAHA - Hawkenbury Allotment Holders Association- show 2011

2011-08-02T12:38:00.003+01:00

This blog is terribly late, but I hope it's an enjoyable one!

A few weekends ago, Bruce took me along to his local HAHA (Hawkenbury Allotment Holders Association) show where he had been invited to judge the photographic entries, needless to say I was intrigued!

It is the 75th anniversary of HAHA, who's members can be proud of working on the largest allotment site in Tunbridge Wells. The site actually began in 1891, with HAHA forming in 1933 as a sort of allotmenteers co-operative rather than just volunteers.

They also produced a very interesting "HAHA at 75 - The Story of an English Allotment Association" book written by Dr Janet Sturgis, which I have been enjoying since. It has an excellent history of the growing popularity of allotments, one particular chapter highlights the benefits of allotments, originally written by Bolton Borough Council, which I feel is appropriate to share!

-Exposure to lots of fresh air
-An escape from a stressful world
-Good form of exercise
-Helping young people learn about nature and food growing
-Reinvigoration community action on sustainable living
-Making a positive contribution to preserving the environment
-Controlling the use of fertilisers and pesticides
-Keeping rare vegetable varieties alive
-Demonstrating good re-use and composting techniques
-Producing food that tastes superior to supermarket produce

All excellent reasons to get involved! Right, on with the show!
Firstly, a few photo's of HAHA allotments:

The historic HAHA oak tree, which is their logo

Images found on the HAHA Website

HAHA has carried on to provide a flourishing community of gardeners and is widely known for holding the largest members-only produce competition in the south-east at it's autumn show.

Allotments and gardening have faced waning popularity through the years, but without a doubt, the millennium (and all it's financial problems) brought it back to the mainstream, and now all ages are being green fingered again! HAHA certainly seems to have a great team spirit, and a wide range of ages and abilities, that all work very hard to produce items for the shows. There were also some great craft and cake entries that must have taken hours to achieve!

We were attending the summer show, which was being held in a fantastic church hall, really set the scene for drama and competition! :)

Bruce had two great categories to judge, "My Shed" and "My favourite food", and I know he relished the chance to put some feedback! I made sure he behaved himself and held back on too much technical chat! I hope the winners were pleased at his choices!

Lettaces and stained glass windows - pure perfection!

I was glad to see that my favourite floral arrangement won, it was so lovely and delicate!

It was facinating to watch the vegetable judges, they were inspecting every aspect of the produce, looks, smell and weights, and I must admit I was surprised at some of the chosen winners, I must improve my knowledge of what makes a perfect potato!

I thought all the berry entries were stunning, loved the presentation of these!

I wish I could have taken photo's on my Yashica instead, but we were there in the morning before it had opened and I didn't want to disturb the other judges with the flashing and noisy nature of my usual camera! However, I hope these pictures give some idea of what hard work and creativity went into this show, I hope I can attend many more HAHA shows in the future!

Long live allotments!

Thanks for reading,

Katie

Lucian Freud 1922 - 2011

2011-07-26T22:57:00.004+01:00

One of my favourite British painters. No-one can capture such raw spirit in paint as Freud, I am constantly in awe at the vitality of his portraits, how he carefully depicts those he loved, or those that he only bonded with through the process of making art. I greatly respect his admiration and care of animals, and how he painted them as respectfully as his other sitters. He was unafraid of presenting the reality of the body, be it pregnancy, ageing, illness or disability. This should ensure his work is accessible to all, for his paintings aren't perfection, they're human.

Lucian Freud in 1947, aged 25

Double Portrait
1985-86

Ib and her husband

Annabel Sleeping

1987 - 1988

Girl with a white dog
1951-1952

Art loses another great master.

Looking back at the allotment

2011-07-19T22:35:00.004+01:00

It's been a year since graduation (though I don't want to believe it!) and i think it might be time for me to start looking at some of my past work again. Mostly because I am planning a massive re-vamp of the website, so want to start thinking about which work I want to feature, and how! (it's proving difficult)

I am about to start reading "Defiant Gardens - making gardens in war time" by Kenneth I. Helphand which I am hoping will help me with some new ideas! I brought it whilst assisting Henry&Bragg at RHS wisley, they have such a fantastic book shop there.

So here are a few photographs from last year I have found, I will be re-scanning negatives over the next month, see if I will find any forgotten gems! I also want to start photographing it again very soon.

I would just like to add, if anyone thinks my photo's are a tad too "Sunday Supplement" (as one particular UCA lecturer was always too glad to point out!) then I would like to say, EXCELLENT! And I am very open to weekend publication features, just let me know! ;)

Keeping on topic with lovely nature, here is a little friend I made the other day! My dog always sits on the window sill in my parents room to keep an eye out for pedestrians/dogs/cats, and she was very bewildered to see this little chap staring back at her! NO idea what type of baby bird he was (please tell me if you do!) but he made a very high pitched "PEEP PEEP" noise, and worriedly my mum dreadfully with how he was perching on the window ledge! He flew off quite happily, don't worry!

My final piece of news is I did get onto the Historical Studies course at Winchester, but i've decided to take a bit of time to consider all sensible options for the rest of this year. But hooray! They liked me! :) AND the Museum of Farnham volunteering is going nicely! More news on that soon.

Thanks,

Katie

Arles 2011 Part Two

2011-07-13T23:06:00.000+01:00

Now time for the Yashica pictures from our week in Arles- the first two days are missing due to the fact I was bed ridden with a horrible cold/headache monstrosity, just my luck! I managed to get better for the rest of the week, but not enough that I was able to catch up with the amount of cheese and alcohol the rest of the group was consuming, maybe next time!! Expect some scary seafood in the set...and some obligatory cute cats!

Arles 2011 Part One

2011-07-13T22:40:00.002+01:00

Our splendid villa!

So dry.

Thom&blue

Bruce and the infamous barrel of vino!

Late night talk at the amphitheatre

Mitch Epstein's "American Power" talk at the amphitheatre

The other photo's from the Yashica are on the way!

"Blooming Britain" Photographs by Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg

2011-06-18T23:13:00.001+01:00

Today I was lucky enough to assist Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg with their "Blooming Britain" exhibition at RHS Wisley. I had never actually visited the site before, so what better time to go!

I first met Debbie and Julie last year at their exhibit at The West End Centre in Aldershot. I had contacted them to say how much I enjoyed their series of the Rushmoor in Bloom competition, (I said I'd never seen photo's of Aldershot looking so lovely!) and offered to help with any further developments, and luckily, after being granted funding from the British Arts Council, they were able to visit RHS competition gardens around the Britain, and present these great photographs, including a selection of weatherproof outdoor prints! (For the tech geeks: Lambda c-type digital prints mounted on PVC with a outdoor crystal wrap!)

"Striving for the pastoral idyll is one of the country's most popular pastimes. For this new body of work, Henry/Bragg have turned the spotlight onto competitive amateur gardeners who enter their local RHS Britain in Bloom campaign. Blooming Britain is an enquiry into the dynamics between public display and the gardeners social standing: gardens are a blank canvas for peoples stories and imaginations"

It was great to meet some of the gardeners featured in the photographs, and I think everyone had a really lovely time at the Q&A session, the rain even held off for a while! I was even given a very snazzy Uniqlo "Pansy" t shirt especially for the occasion! It drew quite a few admiring glances!

Hope you enjoy seeing the show!

The exhibit was held in the beautiful 'Glass House' which was only opened in 2007.

The outdoor work was shown in "The Arboretum" facing back towards the Glass House, look! Sun!

"Church Road 1 - Mrs Deadman, Thundersley, Essex"

"Dobson Court 1, Hilda Heydon, Newton Heath, Manchester"

"Cable Street, Jane Sill, Tower Hamlets, London"

"Parkfields 2, Pat Johnson, Thundersley, Essex" - Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg with Pat Johnson

"Church Road 2, Mrs Deadman, Thundersley, Essex"

"Burnbank Street, Mr Macdonald Baird, Darvel, Scotland" - "I usually try to mix it up each year, a bit of colour for everyone, so to speak!"

Thanks to Debbie and Julie for letting me help! I recommend a day out to Wisley for all! Exhibition open until the 30th of June.

Katie

Farnham Freedom Parade

2011-06-16T20:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the Farnham Freedom Parade, where the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment marched through the high street, to be saluted at Castle Street before continuing to Gostery Meadow where the freedom scroll was officially handed over to the Regiment by the Mayor of Waverley. The PWRR has a long history, and has been involved in practically every theatre of war since The Battle of Tangier in 1662. It is the most decorated of all British Army regiments, with 57 Victoria Crosses including the VC awarded to Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry in 2004 for his gallantry in Iraq.
There are three PWRR battalions; two regular and one Territorial. Members of all three battalions are currently serving on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It was such a great sight to see service men and women back locally, It's unusual for me to see any sort of military activity in Farnham, so I was glad I was in town at the right time! I was actually at Farnham Museum for my introductory day at the time, which was the perfect spot to step outside to cheer, as you can see, Potters Gate school also came to celebrate! I am very excitied to be starting at the museum...more news from there soon!

In the meantime, I wish this weather would decide what it's doing!! I HAD to take a picture outside my front door the other day, i've never seen a crazier rainy sky!

Hope you're all having a good week!

Katie

May/June

2011-06-12T18:33:00.000+01:00

Hello all! On such a rainy Sunday I thought i'd show some nice photo's from the last month, lots of flowers and outside fun, that's how we roll!

Gramp's garden, Lupins are my favourite flower of the moment.

Pimms in Thom's garden

Ripening.

Ducklets

Suburbia

Thom's rock collection

Little Bear.

Our day trip to the desert (Ceasers Camp, Aldershot)

The lovely view of Bath from Claire's exhibit

Claire's work in the 'Universals' show at the Bath Arts Festival

Claire's work in the "Into Darkness" show in the vaults under Bath station.

Mollie post-haircut

May certainly looks a lot sunnier than June is turning out to be! Bring back gardens and sun soon please!

So I had my interview at Winchester this week, it went well enough but now i just have to wait to hear....sadly i got caught up in all the South West Train chaos that night and took 3 hours to get home, at least my train got stuck in a station so i could escape the train and get a g&t, my sympathies to all who were stuck on the lines! It really wasn't SWT best week!

Lastly, I'm pleased to announce I have a new volunteering venture, find out this week what! :)

Thanks,

Katie

Little Wooden Huts

2011-06-07T20:09:00.008+01:00

I recently purchased a set of "photographs" off Ebay which were described as "Little wooden Aldershot huts built to shelter Kitchener's Army over the winter".
The seller also said:"I know nothing else about these, the various images from the whole box look like the owner was practising his photography, I may be wrong therefore listed to see if they are of interest".
The picture online wasn't great, but I thought they could be a nice addition to the collection. Once they arrived, let's say I was slightly surprised!

They are 5x7 sized prints, but each had a negative attached to the reverse, as they are 'portrait' aligned, they are actually from a moving image camera.

The first image gives a clue to it's origin:

As you can see in the bottom corner, it belongs from a Pathé cinema production, which first began in 1896 by French brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé. During the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world as well as a major producer of phonograph records.

As you can see from the other four prints, the scenes are of the construction of 'Kitchener's Army' huts following the outbreak of the First World War. They were otherwise known as the "New Army" or even "Kitchener's Mob" and were (initially) a volunteer army formed after recommendation by the then Secretary of State for War, Horatio Kitchener. I'm sure you will all recognise him from this campaign:

Kitchener predicted that the war would be long and brutal (unlike the popular belief of "it'll be over by christmas!") so set about preparing a force of newly-trained divisions to be used after the first wave of troops. He fought off any concerns, and refused to use the existing territorial army for the basis of the new regiments as many of its members had volunteered for "Home Service" only, he didn't deem them suitable prototypes. The territorial army lacked equipment and took time to form when needed.

This NEW army was used to form Battalions under existing British Army Regiments. These were put to practice in the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele, where the Field Marshal General Haig used them in a risky and highly criticised attrition strategy.

All the five New Army groups were made up of volunteers, and at the beginning, due to huge numbers wanting to sign up, the queues ran a mile long outside the recruitment offices. It was due to this influx of soldiers they had to build quick accommodation for them, hence these Aldershot "Little Wooden Huts". Almost 2.5 million men volunteered for Kitchener's Army.

Needless to say, by 1916, when the news of these controversial war tactics had been leaked back home, the queues were no longer stretching around the block. Moral and enthusiasm was lacking, therefore Britain had to begin conscription like the other great powers involved in WW1.

AND, excitingly, after searching through the Pathé online archive, I have found the exact film that my negatives come from! It's only a 30second clip, but it's still exciting to think I own some of the stills.

(WOODEN HUTS) - British Pathe

(WOODEN HUTS)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Your browser does not support iframes.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The description of the film reads:

"Aldershot, Hampshire?

Construction on military base. Several identical small wooden buildings are under construction. Horse pulling wagon carrying building supplies, pan to a long building with just the frame built, worker leaning over in foreground using pickaxe. Foundations of more new buildings at right.
Army huts now built and painted a dark colour, soldiers and army officers mill about outside huts.
American cataloguer's note: maybe these are extra barracks built at Aldershot during World War One to accommodate huge volunteer army."

For me, these images are another fantastic example of the "Home Front" approach to warfare, and the feeling of misplaced optimism about their situation. No-one could have guessed the brutality of what was to come, it was still almost seen as an adventure. Those still at home were still unaware of what was occurring on those foreign fields, they probably had in mind the glory days of the British Empire and all those long ago battles we had won with glorious men on horseback. For these Aldershot men, it wouldn't have been long until they found out the truth for themselves.

Hope this provided another good insight into my Aldershot exploration.

In other news, I have an interview at Winchester University this week....exciting times!

Thanks,

Katie

Painshill Park

2011-06-01T21:58:00.004+01:00

Painshill Park was created between 1738 and 1773 by Charles Hamilton, a painter, plantsman and brilliantly gifted and imaginative designer, he dedicated his creative genius to the layout and composition of a unique landscape garden.

He acquired the land in 1738, which over the years built up to over 250 acres. Painshill was created as a romantic landscape to stimulate the senses and emotions of the visitors, as Hamilton was heavily involved with the picturesque movement. The gardens were divided into two parts; the ornamental pleasure grounds to the south, with the lake as the central feature, and an adjoining crescent of open parkland to the north in a free and natural style.

We visited the park today, and thoroughly enjoyed walking between each of the themed garden features, such as the Gothic tower, Chinese bridge and crystal grotto.

The brick-built Grotto is built with limestone, lined with calcite, gypsum, quartz and other minerals. It was constructed by grotto maker Joseph lane with a design by Hamilton himself. The dark mysterious tunnel full of light-catching crystals leads to a large open chamber with water cascading from two alcoves in the lake. They have been restoring the grotto since 1988. The roof of the main chamber was damaged during the second world war when the lead was taken to finance a VE day party by the nearby army garrisoned at the house. A major archaeological dig in the 80s revealed the exciting range of crystals used in the original construction, and all the original water features.

In 1987 English Heritage offered a grant towards the restoration, and the work and preservation has continued ever since. I found this a beautiful, unique space, and It's the first grotto I have experienced. A really special little place.

We also joined in with a spot of 'pond-dipping', I was lucky enough to catch a pond snail and a froglet, such fun!

A highly recommended day out (apart from the tearoom....don't ask! Send in Country house Rescue to sort that out!)

Hope that was enjoyable, fancy building a grotto sometime?? Let me know.

Katie

Godalming Elephant

2011-05-24T15:48:00.006+01:00

One of my earliest memories.

I must have been about 2 years old (in 1991), sat in a pushchair in Godalming. On the green was a circus, and in the field next door (as well as the horses) was this beautiful elephant. It didn't come too near, but I was utterly fascinated by this enormous creature. I still remember how slow it walked and pulled up grass, and how surprisingly quiet he was.

Well done Dad for taking these pictures, they prove I wasn't day dreaming!

I imagine that the new film "Water for Elephants" will be bringing circus's and animal treatment into the spotlight, and also of course, the recent cause of Anne - the last circus elephant in England who has now been re homed to Longleat safari park. I have always thought that keeping animals for entertainment is wrong, but there was just something about this elephant chomping the grass in a Surrey field that just felt, well...nice! If i saw this now, I would probably feel differently.

Hope you find this little memory of mine enjoyable.

Katie

A few moments from April - May

2011-05-20T22:29:00.004+01:00

Hello all! Just a few photographs taken over the last month, they were shot on an ancient roll of 35mm I found so there's some odd tones going on! But lets keep them in their original glory.

Royal Wedding Day

2011-04-29T09:53:00.006+01:00

Well, today's the day! We've got the bunting up, tea at the ready and three types of cake...not to mention my lovely Royal Wedding tea towel and 40's tea dress, oh yes indeed!

And the verdict?

Absolutely PERFECT day, everyone seemed so happy! &i knew it would be a McQueen, there couldn't have been a more beautiful dress.

I hope everyone had a lovely Royal Wedding day!

Easter Tidings

2011-04-18T13:05:00.004+01:00

Mario Sorrenti 1998 - What easter holidays are SUPPOSED to look like!

Well, to start off badly, not only was my little dog very ill last week but now I have been awfully ill this weekend (not that I count it as a weekend!! Weekends are NICE!!), but at least sitting about not able to move far has meant I haven't had distraction from all of the books I had waiting for me! And luckily, little Mollie-Dog is feeling better now too! Well, she's growling at us again, so she must be back to normal!

In other news, I am writing my personal statement to send to The University of Winchester to apply for their Historical Studies MA. Drastic change? Well actually, I just decided I couldn't take any more pretentious rubbish for a while, and truthfully, I would rather never go back into 'creative' education ever again. I have been trying to find a suitable course which would help me gain knowledge in the culture/heritage sector, but actually (after nearly settling to apply to UCL in 2012- HA! No thank you, I'd rather be able to afford to move out one day!) I've decided on a all-rounder history research degree being a better choice. It's quite a personal decision really, I just want to prove to myself i can do it!
Whether they think I'm up to it is a different matter, but at least i can say I gave it a shot before the 2012 fee's kick in!

Finally, the next job is to COMPLETELY re-work the website, NOT one of my favourite jobs! I have so many collected treasures to show!

For now, I shall wish you a lovely Easter weekend! Bring on egg hunts in the sunshine!

Ashdown Forest

2011-04-06T11:31:00.003+01:00

A long time ago (January to be exact!) Me&Bruce took a trip to Ashdown Forest, ie: The 100 acre wood. It took me ages to get the film developed, but here are a few from the day,rather wintery ones, but it's best to blog now before i forget about them!

Hopefully some slightly more summery photographs coming soon! I do need to get cracking on some of my ideas, I've put them on the back-burner recently because of work...i need to stop making excuses!

ALSO,

I am reading an absolutely wonderful book on the Kindle right now,"The Folklore of Plants" by T. F Thiselton-Dyer, it's free for Kindles, but you can also read it online HERE
As it says, this book was first published in 1889, and is still a unparalleled exploration of mythic and magickal plant lore from around the world includes chapters on Lightning Plants, Plants in Witchcraft, Plants in Demonology, Plants in Fairy-Lore, Plants and the Weather and Plants in Folk-Medicine.

If any of that sounds interesting to you, i highly recommend.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Whiskers of African Lion

2011-03-31T12:20:00.007+01:00

One of my recent ebay finds. Utterly bizaare, chosen for no other reason that I just needed to buy something that odd! Plus, I have no Lion whiskers or Giraffe tails in my collection!

They are Antique microscope slides, I'd say from the 1930s/40s, they read:

Tongue of Neutina
Whiskers African Lion
Spine of Sea Mouse
Sec of Hair of tail of Giraffe

Quite a selection! I plan to mount them in a dainty frame at some point, see if I can add to the collection over the years!

I just find them to be precious little things...We seem to use such objects to turn to nature for understanding, collecting such strange relics for our own cabinet of curiosity! They tell stories of both life and death, perhapes we are just seeking in them some explanation to this strange universe...or perhapes we just like the thought of owning a piece of Lion, whichever you prefer!

I am defintely drawn to objects behind glass...I've actually been thinking of a similar project myself, however, all things considered I think it'll be put on the back burner for a while yet!

I am definitely delving into my naturalist interest at the moment, that's NATURALIST, not NATURIST, please ensure you read that properly to save any confusion and embarrassment! ;)

I'm currently reading a great book on my (birthday present) Kindle, "Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists" by Paula Conner. I haven't got far into it yet, but so far i adore her likeable writing style, and i would imagine this would be a very inspiring book for younger girls to read, much better to learn about the magic of the real world than just vampire and werewolf romances all the time!

In other news, I am in a bit of a pickle. I am currently considering continuing my education this September...but am finding it very difficult making a decision. How did we choose our BA options so carelessly? Shockingly, I'm actually thinking of turning away from the creative world for a little while, and pursuing my interests in History. Stay tuned for any further developments. If I could also find a big pot of gold somewhere, that would also be nice!

Thanks for reading!

Living Churchyards

2011-03-14T16:39:00.007Z

I FINALLY developed the roll of 35mm that's been hidden inside my Yashica since New Year!!! (Awful effort at taking more photos! Must try harder!)

These two are actually very recent ones that I took at the Tunbridge Wells Woodbury Park Cemetery. It's a beautiful "Arcadian" Victorian cemetery (with the latest grave being from the 1930's) which is a refuge for all kinds of wildlife. Because it was originally carved out of grassland it retains a wide variety of plant life that is becoming rarer in towns. It also has a thriving bird collection, from song thrushes to greenfinches! We, however, also found it to be popular with Cats (the white one certainly made me jump!)

These fit in nicely with the "Living Churchyard" project I have been looking into. The National 'Living Churchyards and Cemeteries' scheme wants local communities to get involved in the management of their churchyards for the benefit of wildlife as well as the local congregation and visitors. In many churchyards lie the potential for beautiful wild flower meadows and patches of woodland. Also, the older gravestones provide a thriving environment for rare or unusual lichen (modern marble headstones cannot be naturally weathered, and no moss or lichen can attach to them). There are also the options for a "Green Burial" with cardboard coffins being used, I'm sure it is hard for some people to become comfortable with their bodies becoming compost, but at least you're being very useful to the environment!

Personally, I can't think of anything nicer than a churchyard full of wildlife, however, many local parishes have postponed the idea incase the place starts looking messy or dilapidated, not a good enough reason in my book. If the paths are kept clear and families can have the option to keep their own graves how they would prefer, i don't see how ANY church could turn down this scheme. Lets face it, so many of the older graves aren't even visited any more, if it wasn't for the volunteers, they wouldn't be tended at all! I cant see why all churches can't at least have a designated area for uninterrupted growth!

Churchyards are very often the last remaining sites of ancient medieval grasslands, and are sometimes the only green spaces available to town communities. The Victorian style of cemetery (such as Woodbury Park) were built with a similar purpose in mind! Ivy is another speciality of cemeteries, and when completely untended they often look as if they have been engulfed by it. The Victorians were particularly fond of ivy as a ground cover and to create atmosphere: they even incorporated ivy motifs into many of their headstones.

Personally, I would find both visiting and being buried in a place full of wildlife a FAR more pleasant idea than in a soulless inter-city plot.

These pictures are from the churchyard at Offchurch, Warwickshire. HERE are some examples of the Living Churchyard projects in Warwickshire, I think more southern locations need to take note!!

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Woodland Birds

2011-03-10T21:49:00.005Z

Here is another amazing book I have found in the Tunbridge Wells "Hall's" bookshop, a regular place for me and Bruce to browse on a Saturday afternoon!

It's the most amazing shop, floor to ceiling with every book imaginable!

"Woodland Birds" is a King Penguin book, so naturally it's beautifully done! Could you imagine a better front cover?

I have several books of bird studies, but this is my new favourite. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, the compositions are very unusual indeed, particularly this one of the pigeon, it just seems too delicately posed for a educational book...

The illustrations were by Peter Shepheard, a passionate naturalist, artist and architect. It's said he always travelled with a small pocket knife and an A5 ringbound sketchbook. Some were filled with concise site notes, or sketches to explain to his architecture contractor or client how something could be constructed; others contained exquisitely drawn animals, plants or nudes, mostly executed from memory. He seemed to be constantly interested by the natural world around him.

Annabel Downs writes: "From childhood days pedalling around the Wirral, looking into ponds and birds nests, Peter Shepheard remained passionate about nature; he was interested in wild plants and native species long before it became fashionable. He abhorred double flowers, improved varieties, and variegated and coloured foliage.

He absorbed how nature worked, and then sought to understand more through drawing - how a pintail duck sits on water, for example, or how a building he was designing would sit in the landscape. Nikolaus Pevsner asked him to illustrate two books on ducks and woodland birds in the King Penguin series. He also produced all the line drawings for his own books, Modern Gardens (1953) and Gardens (1969)."

A wonderful inspiration. I hope you enjoy his stunning illustrations, i'm so glad to have found another fantastic naturalist, they are certainly rare these days.

Thanks for reading!

Katie

First week of March

2011-03-04T11:49:00.006Z

A couple of my latest finds, both risky buys as they both had awful photo's on ebay, but i struck lucky again! I'd love to know what type of flower is in the vase, any ideas? And the dog? well...just beautiful really! These are both VERY old indeed, it always amazes me to see such images appear on the scanner when the glass plates look quite disastrous!

I think they look lovely together!

In other news, I have been able to spend two days this week focusing on my Aldershot research, I've placed it all into a sketchbook so i can begin to look deeper into what it is I might want to portray here! I have found some brilliant photographs on the Aldershot Flickr Group which have definitely convinced me that there is potential to achieve something interesting! It's very difficult for me to see Aldershot as a place for creativity, I have lived here all my life and have been desperate to escape for most of it! However, I think I need to start thinking seriously about this.

Aldershot Wasteland Photograph by Yersinia on Flickr, do see some of their other photographs of the local area, some really brilliant images!

Have a lovely weekend!

Katie

New Aldershot Glass Negatives

2011-03-01T19:29:00.005Z

Good evening!

I was lucky enough to win some more glass plate negatives featuring Aldershot, the seller couldn't tell me much about them apart from they were taken around 1920, so in the aftermath of WW1 when troops would have been returning back to town. It was a bit of a gamble as they only photographed one of the slides on ebay, so i had no idea what the other 3 were like, but turns out I was lucky with my gamble! (anyway, for £2.99, it was well worth the risk!)

As always, if anybody can tell me more about these (as i have been getting so many extra visits since my post on Frith Hill, so lots of you must be as interested as i am!) please do leave a comment or email me at: info@katiebedlow.com, I always want to learn more!

Those white tents are becoming quite iconic to me now!

I also struck gold with these two portraits, they were both obviously determined to get it right! I also love the use of the old wooden chair against the prickly hedge, quintessentially English!!

I am planning to ask advice at Uni about how I should approach printing from my collections of glass negatives, perhapes hand printing them myself could give them a new dimension and help make my intentions clear...because right now i feel like a bit of a mad collector lady (which of course, I am, but if i could make use of it, even better!)

Hope for those of you also researching Aldershot history, this proved useful!

Thanks for reading!

Katie

In Birdland With Field Glass and Camera.

2011-02-17T15:28:00.005Z

I was lucky enough to stumble across this book on Ebay a few weeks ago, mostly due to it's gorgeous front cover etching! However, once I received it and began reading, I discovered that it's author, Oliver Pike, was a very interesting man indeed. I chose not to alter the colour of the scans because of the age of the book, i think it deserves to be shown in it's true quality!

Oliver Pike (1877-1963) was an early British pioneering photographer, film maker and author of wildlife subjects, particularly birds.
Pike took his first photo (of a flower) aged 13, and then began assisting photographer Reginald Badham. Together, they developed electric shutter releases, and eventually, bird activated trip-wire releases!
'In Birdland With Field Glass and Camera' was his first book published in 1900, and was followed by 24 other books!

Here are some of my favourite pages from 'In Birdland With Field Glass and Camera', I have always been fascinated with birds nests, so to see how many examples Pike tracked down for this book is quite fascinating, I particularly enjoy the examples of the nest on the wooden chair. He seemed keen to point out that nature is all around us, we should open our eyes and be more vigilant, appreciate it every day!

Pike designed his own camera "The Birdland Camera' which was marketed by Sanders & Crowhurst of Shaftesbury Avenue, London. This is an advert for it in the back of the book. I managed to track down one on an auction house website...sadly the last one they had sold in 1998, for £150!?! Unbelievable.

Pike was opposed to egg collecting, shooting and other blood sports in Britain. He was keen on education, and widely lectured about his experiences. His collection is now kept in the National Media Museum.

He was also an avid film maker, and his creation 'In Birdland' was the first wildlife film to be screened to a paying audience in Britain. Although over 100 prints of the film were made, sadly, all copies are now thought to be lost. I found one of his other creations on youtube, which was made in 1908:

A still taken from his 1922 film 'The White Owl'

What an achievement. Oliver Pike left such an amazing legacy for future nature photographers, he really did explore every method of photographing the wildlife he cared so deeply about, inspirational. I hope to collect more of his books, I really am his newest fan!

Thanks for reading.

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T16:14:00.003Z

Unknown.

Oh come on, it's only once a year!
I am very lucky to be spending it with lots of people that i love this year, with Valentines Pot Luck Dinner set to be a brilliant night!

It's mine and Bruce's 3rd Valentines....neither of us can really believe it! As he had to work today...I opened my present last night:

(not my photo, but it gives you an idea!)

HOMEMAKER 50's TEA SET, Oh yes! :)

So now i have no excuse not to invite you all round for afternoon tea!

I have several blog post planned for this week, relating to some of my new found ideas, I am definately ready to start being creative again, thank goodness!

However, today i leave you with yet more sentimentality! Here is a hand-painted photograph that I purchased at the Farnham Maltings antique market...I'm pretty sure this is what "Love" should ALWAYS look like! Just Perfect!

John Singer Sargent - Sketches

2011-01-31T19:59:00.006Z

On my usual commute, the train always passes by Brookwood Cemetery, the largest burial site in the United Kingdom. I plan to research the site very soon, as you must gain permission from the wardens before walking around un-guided. One interesting fact about it's residence, is that the artist John Singer Sargent is buried there (Brookwood was a cemetery for London inhabitants when the inner-city sites were under strain).

The painting I have always identified most with Sargent is "Gassed" which he painted in 1919 whilst he was commissioned by the British Ministry of Information. The painting portrays the disastrous aftermath of a mustard gas attack, with a line of blinded soldiers marching holding onto each other's shoulders.

Sargent travelled to the Western Front in 1918, he was determined to paint an epic work with many human figures, but struggled to find a situation featuring both American and British soldiers. The "harrowing sight" he encountered was at The Second Battle of Arras on the 21st of August 1918.

After returning to England, he completed the painting from his studio in Fulham. It was voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1919, and is now held in the Imperial War Museum, along with these charcoal sketches of the plan.

The painting provides a powerful testimony of the effects of chemical weapons, as vividly described in Wilfred Owens "Dulce et Decorum Est"

I found some large scans of his original charcoal sketches for "Gassed", I would assume he completed them whilst posted at the Western Front, he took his findings back home to complete the commission for the British Ministry.

These are all now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. I have never seen these before, and i think they actually give a very different response to the scene.
To those familiar with the painting, I hope these are interesting to see!

ALSO, leading on from this,

I had a fantastic reaction to my last post regarding Frith Hill POW camp, some very interesting responses. I am planning to take the slide to the Aldershot Military Museum, to see if they can determine if it definitely IS from Frith Hill, then, we may have some interesting prospects for it in the future!

Thanks for reading, as always!

Aldershot History - Frith Hill

2011-01-26T13:25:00.007Z

As some know, I am currently undertaking a research project of the Hampshire and Surrey area during the first and second world wars. Obviously, Aldershot has a rich and proud military history, but i am more interested in digging out lesser-known events and areas, particularly the few prisoner of war camps that featured on the heathland very near my home. I was lucky enough to discover a 'Magic Lantern' glass slide on Ebay, which depicted (very unclearly in their original picture) a photograph taken of a very early camp of German prisoners. I managed to buy it, and after a long wait for it to arrive, I have finally scanned it in. Here is the first one to show you the slide casing details,

As you can see, there was a clear headline of "The Great European War" - referring to the First War of 1914-1918. The second line reads "German Prisoners at Aldershot" but does not provide a date.

After my own research (which could very well be incorrect, but I'm pretty confident!) I believe this to be a photograph of the 'Frith Hill' prisoner of war camp which was created in Aldershot during August 1914, as there were no other specifically built prisoner of war camps built in Britian at the time. It was a disused industrial area, in a suitable position due to it's closeness to the coast and rest of the south's road access. It was initially used to process prisoners before they were passed to various locations around the country.

I scanned the glass plate and managed to get quite a good result, considering it's nearly 100 years old! I chose not to edit out the damage to the plate, as i find it all part of it's interest!

My research leads to believe that there were both German and Austrian prisoners at the camp, and the description's i have found of "vast wire fencing and guard posts linked by telephones" fits the picture well enough! Inside the camp, they lived in the same bell tents as the British Army. Inside the camp there was also a post office a hospital and sports areas. The prisoners and internees received the same food ration as the British Front Line troops, which of course, wasn't the case for the captured British prisoners by Germany. This is what interests me about these British camps, it was a completely different environment to those abroad. I agree that it must have been awful for the prisoners to have been kept away from their homeland and families for so long, but no evidence states that they were mistreated. I was relieved to hear this, as i would have hated finding out a more unpleasant story about a place so near to my home!

I asked my Grandad about these camps which were in the area during World War 2, and he confirmed that the later camps involved the prisoners in the agriculture of the area, with German and Italian soldiers helping in the surrounding farmland.

Apparently, there was 6 successful escapes from Frith Hill, which caused serious alarm to the surrounding areas, with thousands of police and soldiers joining the search to find them. Only one evaded their capture, and escaped the camp.

In four years, only 3 or 4 inmates died at the camp, and were buried nearby. I would be interested to see what lies on this area now,

I know of later camps being build on the common land very nearby, so that is my next research venture, but to find such an early example is very exciting!
The picture is very telling of the fear, the barbed wire fence in the foreground preventing the photographer from approaching, and the men clasping at the fence is of course, upsetting. I wonder if it was taken by a soldier or civilian? For a local of the area, it must have been quite a spectacle to behold, and i would imagine, a very frightening prospect.

Now, for the record, this is simply for my own historical understanding, I obviously find these events upsetting, however, we can't deny the past, and also, one must remember that the English camps were very different to those over seas. Considering my paternal Grandmothers side of the family were Jewish and living through each of the world wars, I do not take this matter of history lightly, but that is another story all together! But I find it very important that we learn as much as we can about our (not so distant!) past.

I hope for those familiar with my local area, that was useful!

Thanks for reading!

Katie

Francesca Woodman at Victoria Miro

2011-01-20T20:07:00.005Z

At thirteen, her artist father, George, gave Francesca Woodman a camera, a Yashica TLR. It was the principal camera she employed throughout her single decade long career. The above photograph is a rare moment of her experimenting with Large Format, she also created some rare colour images, which are included in the edit at the Victoria Miro Gallery.

Her first acknowledged photograph is a premonition of what lay ahead in her work:

Self-Portrait at Thirteen, 1972.

I believe the Victoria Miro was the perfect place for the Woodman show, anywhere too clinical would have sucked the life out of these delicate prints. The dusty floor and battered wooden staircase only complimented the images! There was a variety of print size, ranging from around 6cmx6cm, with work shown on both floors. It was very special to finally see her work in the flesh.

I am usually not enthralled by self portraiture. I am particularly picky about female portraiture (and certainly have no interest in indulging in it myself!). There are plenty of "Homages" to Woodman, black and white blurred faces and naked shapes crouched in corners, none of which could possibly contend, they actually do more harm than good (in my eyes) to contemporary female projects.

Woodman's focus on the relationship with her body as both the object of the gaze and the acting subject behind the camera is undeniable. And yet, she is often absorbed or hidden by her dilapidated, crumbling surroundings. She becomes a ghost, or a memory, not a solid female form. For someone so young, she seems delicate and certainly vulnerable. Her labyrinth surroundings are just as mystifying, with surreal mirrors and doors appearing balanced in the centre of the rooms, and mystical shapes appearing in doorways.
She is not always alone, as other hands reach into the corner of the frames, and curtains of hair rest over battered armchairs.

Much has been written about the use of the cable release in this self-portrait, as a "surrogate umbilical". And throughout Woodman’s portraits, even when there is no self-awareness of the camera, the viewer is always meant to be part of the drama as voyeur. The images were meretriciously planned, with Woodman often making sketches of what she planned to photograph first.

To me, her message is clear. She approached the language used by generations of male photographers who have used woman as a “canvas” to paint their own visions, and made a assault on this tradition. Her images are an exploration of form, texture, and light. The body as an aesthetic landscape, rather than an obvious sexual object.

Up until her untimely death in 1981, aged just 22, Francesca Woodman produced an extraordinary body of work, over 800 images are held in the archive. I find it almost impossible to believe that such mature, prolific work could be created by someone in their teens. She was a truly unique talent, and this exhibit was a wonderful showcase of her work.

"My life at this point is like very old coffee-cup sediment and I would rather die young, leaving various accomplishments… instead of pell-mell erasing all of these delicate things…." - Francesca Woodman

Something nice

2011-01-20T00:52:00.003Z

Just a little friend to help brighten up a Wednesday,
Taken last year during a pub lunch with Bruce! Trusty Yashica T3 as usual!

Happy Birthday A.A. Milne

2011-01-18T07:29:00.004Z

Beloved author A.A. Milne was born on the 18th of January 1882, in Kilburn London.

Milne is most famous for his two Winnie-The-Pooh books about a boy named Christopher Robin after his son, and various characters inspired by his son's toy animals. Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed bear, originally named "Edward" was renamed "Winnie-the-Pooh" after a Canadian black bear named Winnie (after Winnipeg), which was used as a military mascot in World War I, and left to London Zoo during the war. "The pooh" comes from a swan they used to called "Pooh". E. H. Shepard illustrated the original Pooh books, using his own son's teddy, Growler ("a magnificent bear"), as the model. Christopher Robin Milne's own toys are now under glass in New York.

I think everyone has a soft-spot for these stories, they are absolutely charming.

Happy Birthdays Mr Milne!

"He nodded and went out ...and in a moment I heard Winnie-the-Pooh
– bump, bump, bump – going up the stairs behind him."

..."What do you see there?"
"Tracks," said Piglet. "Paw-marks..."
Oh, Pooh! Do you thinks it's a – a – a Woozle?

The original 100 acre wood map

On the way to "Pooh-Stick Bridge" in the Ashdown Forest

Christopher Robin's original toys, now kept in the New York Public Library.

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

2011-01-17T01:20:00.006Z

I have a new friend. A very determined Mr Blackbird has begun to perch in the tree by my window and chirp through the small hours, luckily, I find it rather relaxing.
It's so nice to hear it clearly without the sounds of traffic, apparently Robins can also be culprits of night singing, so i'll have to listen out to see if it becomes a choir!

-What to listen out for-

Goodnight!

First week of 2011

2011-01-16T14:08:00.005Z

Walks in Dungeness and our favourite Kentish woods.

I might have to look into replacing my Yashica, it's going a bit fuzzy around the edges, poor thing, living in my handbag hasn't been healthy for it. I might swap over to the Olympus XA for a while and compare results. I do love my little 35mm's, they always give me nice surprises.

Welcome 2011!

2011-01-05T22:48:00.004Z

Okay, so it's a little bit late, but I haven't had my laptop on me for a while, as i actually managed to get a few days holiday! Horrah!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I had a really fantastic 2010, fingers crossed for 2011...

A few of the highlights from 2010 included:
Finally graduating with a mark I wouldn't have dreamed possible when i first started university...
Having a great third year in general - Bruce having another wonderful set of house mates meant dissertation time was still a blast!
Everyone coming together for our end of year show, and then taking part in the Photography show at The Old Truman Brewery...
The January snow that did it's usual job of crippling England, but allowing me to build the best Snowman/Snow Dog ever (and preventing me from running away from dissertation!)...
Beginning working at Diemar/Noble photography, which has provided me with a great first insight into the gallery and art market environment...
Spending a lovely few days with Marjolaine Ryley in Newcastle helping with her "Growing Up in the New Age" project...
Having a brilliant 21st Birthday, and receiving my first ever sewing machine...
FINALLY seeing The Libertines live, something I had nearly given up on ever experiencing (I forgive you guys!)...
The Darkroom Crew taking on the Brighton Photo Festival in the pouring rain and howling wind (and sheltering in Harry Ramsdens for nearly 3 hours)...
Having a wonderful summer holiday with my family (our first one together in quite a few years!) and producing "Middlemist" - proof to myself I can make work outside of Uni
Great dinner parties with Helens wonderful roast dinner skills! And drinking Champagne out of coconuts!
And of course, mine and Bruce's second year together...Bruce has had a really great end to the year, with a feature in 1000 words magazine and being nominated for Terry O'Neal, he's doing rather well! Him being back in in Kent has provided us with some great English countryside (or seaside) to wander, Jock the dog to look after, and generally, just being able to relax in a room bigger than a shoebox! (I do miss his little student houses terribly though!) Ahhh memories!

It really was the first year in quite a while where I haven't felt constantly worried...still pretty worried most of the time, but i definitely felt more at ease with things...apart from a few weeks ago when i wanted to re-enact some Carrie-style anger in the middle of The 'Bucks after too much Christmas rudeness...but that's just understandable!

NOW, the plan for 2011,

-Try to continue being creative, whether I know the direction I'm heading or not. Just keep at it!
-Reuse-Make-Recycle, and keep away from high streets. I will try to be as thrifty as possible, and try to continue learning new crafts, keep practising my knitting and crochet skills, so i can knit everyone nice Christmas presents for next year ;)
-Keep reading. Devour every interesting history book i can get my hands on, particularly, learn a greater knowledge of British History (to compensate for the fact I probably won't be able to afford a post-graduate degree. Ever.)
-Most importantly, try to find a interesting job within my chosen fields which will allow me to do all these things!! (and to keep any negative experiences i have whilst still under the title of 'Barista', to use as creative output one day! You have been warned.)

Oh no wait!

MOST most importantly,

Just. Be. Happy.

Wise words my best friend once told me!

Simple, but necessary. :)

Thanks for reading! I hope to get back to more interesting (and less self-indulgent) blogging ASAP! I have 5 photo's left on my camera to shoot, then i may actually have something to show!!

Katie

'Tis the season to be jolly!

2010-12-24T10:13:00.003Z

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas! Eat, Drink and be merry!

30 years today.

2010-12-08T00:24:00.004Z

The very first Beatles Album I ever listened too, was the "Rock'n'Roll Music" compilation album (I must have been about 3 or 4 years old!) and I vividly remember hearing John's vocals on the first track, "Twist and Shout". I thought it was the most exciting thing i'd ever heard! (He would later admit that after singing that particular song, he would have ruined his vocal chords for the rest of the week!)

John Lennon was without a doubt, one of the most charismatic, witty, intelligent men ever on this planet. I admire his willingness to speak so openly and passionately... whether he always said the right thing, is of course, another matter! Personaly, I agree with most of his most popular (or unpopular!!) quotes! Particularly THAT one!

The message of his solo work is, of course, very clear. If more people put that effort into their work, and indeed, their everyday lives, I think we'd have a great more to show for it!

Hard to believe it was 30 years ago he was killed, Hard to believe I wasn't even born yet!!

Thank you for all the wonderful songs.

Just a quick one...

2010-12-06T20:42:00.008Z

I have been moaning at myself for not blogging for about a week now...

Yes, I'm having a bit of a creative crisis at the moment! Since graduating, I have had little, or no time to myself, and the last few snow-days have highlighted this, as I finally managed to get thinking about my work again!! And my goodness, i enjoyed it!

I always knew this was going to be a difficult year, I am out of the Uni environment after 3 years of deadlines! I believe they call this, the REAL world? I always knew this day would come!

Well Said Blanche!!

Also, I am finding my relationship with photography is also changing. I am not shy to say that I am pretty disapproving of attitudes towards contemporary photography at the moment, there are certain themes and responses that I don't agree with, or connect with at all. The art market in general seems a very hostile place right now.

Someone who is doing rather better, is Bruce, who had his 1000 words interview published in the Telegraph, and was also nominated for the Terry O'Neill prize! So all in all, it's been an excellent end to the year for him! :)

So yes, I'm looking towards the New Year, and the choices I will be making in 2011.

I am determined to return to my own practice for a while, otherwise my Artist In Residence position is going to waste...

I wasn't going to mention this, as I will probably change my mind again soon, (i tend to do that) but recently, i have been toying with the idea of continuing my studies with a History postgraduate course...it's something i've always been passionate about, and i think it would be very beneficial for me, particularly if i want to be more involved with archival/museum collection work. Also, I feel it would greatly improve my confidence by showing myself i am capable of returning to that kind of learning environment successfully...

But we shall see!

I think this is my ideal era for photography...How could you not be happy with a large format camera and a bustle skirt?! Impossible.

Thanks for reading! I promise to be happier next time!

Katie

All my favourite things

2010-11-17T21:25:00.007Z

Photographer Unknown.

Simple, but so beautiful. This work breaks my heart.

It's a very simple idea, one that my own Dad practices...every season of every year, he takes a picture of the front of the house and then one of the back garden. We make fun of this little tradition, but I bet in the future, I will treasure them.

As i wrote in my 'Plein Air' project Critical Appraisal, the countryside is often seen as the perfect place for retirement, which seems curious when we consider how lush natural surroundings can constantly remind us of the passing of time, the changing of seasons, endless regeneration.

Flowers in particular, are capable for inducing such feelings of repose. The Victorians invented their own language of flowers, enabling shy, retiring (or rather, stiff upper lipped!) people of the era to leave secret messages for others. Even the recognizable scent of a particular flower, plant or perhaps a scented handkerchief sent its own unique message.

As the V&A archive states:

"There was a great vogue in the 19th century for images that depicted idealised rustic or seasonal settings. This is often interpreted as an escapist response to the upheavals of urbanisation and industrialisation. Many Victorian artists also specialised in sentimental interpretations of the historical past, producing works that were emotionally resonant but rarely true to period. The concept of one's personal past also formed part of visual imagery, with a focus on the more poignant life events: birth, childhood, marriage and death."

Another great reference to floriography, are etchings by Victorian writer/illustrator Jane Loudon. She was to Victorian gardening what Mrs Beeton was to cookery! Her beautifully illustrated books on gardening and plant identification sold in their thousands and women all over the country were enthused enough by them to take up gardening as a hobby. Her greatest work 'Encyclopaedia of Gardening' was a collaboration with her husband. They began to work together on John's books and in their own extensive garden.

Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
‘The Ladies’ Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals’

Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
'The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals'

Jane Loudon (1807-1858)
'The Ladies' Flower-Garden of Ornamental Annuals'

Jane Loudon's influence is difficult to exaggerate. She made gardening accessible and managed to communicate her own enthusiasm in a very practical, useful way. Through her books, gardening came to be regarded as a recreational activity for everyone.

For anyone interested in reading into the Victorians themes of nature, i recommend "The Victorian Flower Oracle: The Language of Nature"

Perhaps, spending your time creating a beautiful garden at your family home is a similar message of love and devotion? Even in these photographs set during winter, the path is kept swept clean, and the flower beds kept tidy. Even in the last image of the gentleman standing alone, he leaves a space on the path for her.

Perhaps living in a more rural environment enables the understanding of this relationship between humans and the natural world, and brings a sense of satisfaction. It constantly allows you to recognise the omnipotence of the natural world, being surrounded by such burgeoning life acts as a reminder to enjoy every moment.

Rememberance

2010-11-14T15:02:00.004Z

One of own my collected photographs, Unknown Soldier.

My family has a long history of being in the Army or Navy, and with my Grandparents both having great involvement in WW2, I have always been fascinated with the 1930s and 1940s. I am currently in the process of researching my families involvement, and my local war history, as I am considering a project based upon these experiences.

Living in Aldershot all my life (despite my constant moaning about it) has also provided me with some great military history and knowledge. During the recent years, it has become a ghost town, but in the 1920s-40's it was a thriving military town, with American, Canadian and Dutch soldiers all being stationed at the barracks.

Soldiers arriving at Aldershot Station, 1942.

During my time at Farnham College, we took a trip to the Western Front Battlefields, where we visited the graves of boys who attended the Farnham Boys Grammer school. One was only 15 when he died- Rifleman Valentine Joe Strudwick from Dorking in Surrey. He was one of the youngest British casualties of the Great War. The names of 5 more boys from Farnham could be found on the monument of The Somme Battlefields - M. Heywood, T.Hine, M. Hopwood, W. Jones and S. Spencer.

Continuing these local findings, there are 2 large bomb craters in Rowhill Copse (opposite my house) that were left from an air raid in July 1940. They can still be clearly seen today, and were recently featured on Channel 4's "Blitz Street" program.

Rowhill copse, Diane Sambrook

The first bomb fell on Surrey on the 30 June, 1940. From 30 June to 31 December 1940, 5,668 high explosive bombs were dropped on the Surrey area.

I plan to take a trip to the Aldershot Military Museum very soon, to go through their photographic archives. My Grandad's efforts in Burma are also featured in the Museum collection, so i feel it would definitely be a beneficial visit. My Grandparents never really talked about their experiences, and this seems to be common behaviour. How much do we really know? However, the few stories I did hear, have always stuck with me. They are so frightening, I can barely believe them to be real.

During our Farnham College Battlefields tour, one visit I vividly remember was to the Hindenburg Line, where the war poet Siegfried Sassoon managed a single handed capture of a trench. We learned this 'mission' was actually a suicide attempt. His own depression and despair provoked such manic courage, and his fearless nature gave him the nickname "Mad Jack" for his near-suicidal exploits.
Sassoon’s use of bitter sarcasm and graphic imagery make him one of the most moving and provocative of all the war poets, read "The Attack". This poem captures the terror of men caught in a mechanised war. Sassoon doesn't hold back on the horrifying details.

Sasoon's trench on the Hindenburg Line

Despite his best efforts, he survived the war, and made it back home. On his gravestone reads a prose from his great friend, and fellow poet, Wilfred Owen "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."

Wilfred Owen sought out Sassoon to teach him how to be a better poet, as he didn't have the self confidence to publish his poetry alone. Hard to believe such doubt. It only takes one read of "Dulce et Decorum est" to really put things into perspective.

For Rememberance day, Cambridge University Library is displaying their collection of Sasson's archive.

(Siegfried Sassoon's notebooks)

The Dug-out

Why do you lie with your legs ungainly huddled,
And one arm bent across your sullen, cold,
Exhausted face? It hurts my heart to watch you,
Deep-shadowed from the candle's guttering gold;
And you wonder why I shake you by the shoulder
Drowsy, you mumble and sigh and turn your head...
You are too young to fall asleep for ever;
And when you sleep you remind me of the dead

Sassoon became a pacifist, and upon the conclusion of his convalescence in the summer of 1917, he refused to return to war, penning a widely-published open letter, entitled “Finished with the War: A Soldier’s Declaration,” to his commanding officer. The letter concluded:

“I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops and I can no longer be a party to prolonging these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.

On behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the deception which is being practised upon them; also I believe it may help to destroy the callous complacency with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share and which they have not enough imagination to realise.”

If you are interested in reading more about Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and the lives of such other Great War Poets, i suggest 'Regeneration' by Pat Barker. Also, my favourite book of all time "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks.

I am continuing my research of this era, this is only a small insight, as i thought the timing was appropriate. This week, I hope you've taken a moment to remember those who have died in wars throughout history, and those who are out there fighting right now.

To finish, Phillip Larkin's "MCMXIV", one poem that captures the aftermath of such horror, the wondering of how can we ever recover from such devastation?

Those long uneven lines
Standing as patiently
As if they were stretched outside
The Oval or Villa Park,
The crowns of hats, the sun
On moustached archaic faces
Grinning as if it were all
An August Bank Holiday lark;

And the shut shops, the bleached
Established names on the sunblinds,
The farthings and sovereigns,
And dark-clothed children at play
Called after kings and queens,
The tin advertisements
For cocoa and twist, and the pubs
Wide open all day;

And the countryside not caring
The place-names all hazed over
With flowering grasses, and fields
Shadowing Domesday lines
Under wheats' restless silence;
The differently-dressed servants
With tiny rooms in huge houses,
The dust behind limousines;

Never such innocence,
Never before or since,
As changed itself to past
Without a word--the men
Leaving the gardens tidy,
The thousands of marriages
Lasting a little while longer:
Never such innocence again.

Thanks for reading.

Halloween Special!

2010-10-30T15:47:00.002+01:00

Collecting slightly odd old photographs is a hobby of mine, so what better time to exhibit these beauties than Halloween!

Considering I'm not a big fan of horror I very much enjoyed "A History Of Horror" with Mark Gatiss which you can watch on iplayer HERE.
I'm getting into the spirit this year, I think it's a shame that Britain really can't pull off Halloween...plastic skulls and polyester witches hats from Tesco? No thanks.

Take a lesson from yesteryear;

Have a Happy Halloween everyone! I'm looking forward to a day of Pumpkin carving, and finally watching "Haxan", which should be pretty interesting! A 1920's Danish silent film based upon mental illness and medieval witch hunts? Bring it on.