Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday, so TTO and I went to Canterbury. I love the ambience of it: as soon as you get off the train, and cross the bridge over the main road, you're straight on to the old city wall, which you can walk along in to the city (only a couple of minutes walk away).

TTO and I walked down into the Dane John gardens, the alternative walk to the centre. It's beautiful and peaceful: the old-fashioned bandstand is so cute, and it must be lovely to have your lunchbreak there in the summer.



A view down the footpath, with one of the fountains at the end:





A quick walk later, and our lunchspot is Starbucks: thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster, we only go there occasionally! Even a skinny muffin has a rather large amount of icing on it, but I love the place.



I'm not a fan of corporate machines (don't get me started on Disney), but there are a few exceptions that I make. Starbucks is one: I like that it is Fairtrade, they seem to encourage community awareness in the branches (Canterbury staff were dressed up today, collecting for a charity donation for a local handicapped resident, I think), and the staff are so friendly. I used to support The Body Shop, for similar reasons, until the late Anita Roddick sold it to L'Oreal. That was a really sad day.



Once we're nicely refreshed, we have a wander round: the above photo which I took through Starbucks window was the closest we could get to the Cathedral without paying, which is a bit of a shame: you don't need to be religious to appreciate fine architecture. Instead, we went to an Art Exhibition at the Sidney Cooper gallery, which I will post about another day.

My must sees, though, are always the charity and secondhand shops. Canterbury, unlike a lot of other city centres, has managed to retain a degree of individuality: the chain stores are in buildings that still have their original frontage, in the main. But the stock is still the same, no matter where you are.

Not so charity and secondhand: the quality and variety of their stock is determined by whatever is donated/sourced. However, as anyone who has watched BBC2's 'Mary, Queen of Charity Shops' recently, will know, this does not necessarily mean 'the richer the area, the better the donation'. The reverse can often be the case: also, IMO, there are too many shops at the moment that think they can slap the word 'vintage' on any old trash, just because they think that will sell something that otherwise would ( and sometimes should) just rot in the corner.

Nonetheless, gems can be found: I recently bought a fantastic boho red embroidered tunic top, perfect for the summer, for £3.99, in one of the shops in Rochester. Today, my trawl was a green pvc handbac for £5, a sewing pattern for 99p, a funky multiprint M&S top for £2.99, a big rainbow scarf/shawl for £1.99, and a bridal headdress I can pull apart and repurpose, for £3.49.

The last 3 items came from a new shop in St Peters St called 'Take 2' - not the most original name, maybe, but the shop is well laidout, even though it is small, the prices are (as you can see), very reasonable, and it's well worth a look if you want a secondhand bargain. I love that the credit crunch and environmental concerns have nade people think again about secondhand: I have never known any different.

And that's a cue for another post. TTO cooked fajitas for dinner, followed by triple chocolate birthday cake:


I could not be more replete. Time to join the cats Holly and Beckett, and curl up for a snooze.

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Random stuff

First day of Fuse was fun, Bezah, TTO, and I went down to the High St in Chatham, and caught some of the goings on. TTO and I took part in 'Etiquette', which was set up at the New Arts Centre Cafe. Essentially, what it involves, is 2 people sit down at a table, that has a number of different objects on it. You then each put on headphones, through which you hear a voice telling you what to say to each other, and what to do with the various objects in front of you. All this takes place while the other customers in the cafe carry on around you, either watching, or completely ignoring you. It was an incredibly strange and intense experience: not sure I would want to do it again, but I was glad I was brave enough to do it this once.



We also spent a little time having a coffee and burger at the cafe (one of my fav places in Chatham, which I'll tell you more about in a future post, then ventured in to the High Street.

Have a look at this likely lot:

The Balloonatics with their 'victim' Andy, wearing his balloon aqualung

I asked his mum's permission to use this on my blog, but didn't dare ask him what his name was....especially because, when I asked if he wanted to see the photo, his response was a very curt "No".

Artizani, who were even more entertaining when they got distracted by some rather attractive young ladies walking past....

The Insect Circus Museum (no actual live insects, much to the disappointment of one spectator)

The Camera Obscura, giving you a completely different perspective on Chatham High Street.

The evening workshops on Chatham Riverside were good fun; we were joined there by my friend Sam, and we both decided to get henna tattoos:

Sam

Me

I'm pleased to say, although it has faded considerably, you can still see it a bit. A henna tattoo is something I've wanted to try for ages, so it was great to have one for free, and I'd try to do it again myself, for a bit of fun. A permanent tattoo has never appealed to me because I change my mind so easily, so this seems a fun compromise!



I also had an Indian head massage, which was very relaxing. Unfortunately, the weather was not so relaxing, so Bezah, Sam & I bought some totally gorgeous chickpea curry (TTO is not a fan of curry, so he refrained), and went back to TTO's flat for the evening. Sadly, this meant we missed the fireworks, which I heard afterwards were really good, but there are so many other events, that I'm not too sad about missing them (it was very cold by the Riverside...)



Next Saturday is Rochester's turn for the Street Theatre, and workshops; TTO is champing at the bit to have a go at the Parkour, and also have another go at Capoeira, which he tried last year. I think I'll probably sit those out.....



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Fuse Festival

Just time for a quick note about an event happening in the Medway Towns over the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow is the opening day of the Fuse Festival, which is not only a great, fun celebration of the Arts, but is also completely and utterly free.

Yes folks, I kid you not, all the street theatre, workshops, displays, and performances are not asking for any remuneration from you at all, something you can't often say these days.

Fuse has a special place in my heart, not only because Medway is my stomping ground (aah, I can feel all the detectives out there who've been trying to work out my identity sharpening their wits and their pencils on that one!), but also because I love the arts, theatre, and the innovation that Fuse represents.

Last year, I was lucky enough to work for some of Fuse as a steward; this year, I am on the other side, and, though I love working at it, I am also looking forward to having the time to cram in as much as possible. Check out the website here, see clips from last years festival, and details of this years events. It's great family fun, and, the more support it gets each year, the more it can grow for the future. (Plus, you may actually be standing next to me at some point, and not even realise it - cue evil laugh)



Anyway, whatever you are doing over the weekend, make it a good one, and make sure you spend a little time getting the right amount of R & R like the terrifically laid-back guy on the right, who comes to you from Monkey World in Dorset, via a snap my daughter, henceforth known as Shiny Thing, took when we visited it earlier in the year.



More about that another time.



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Time Management

I can't believe that it's over a week since I last posted; time has such a dreadful habit of passing you by without saying hello and reminding that that it's moving on (rather rude, I think).

Most of my time has been spent productively, though; I'm cutting down a tree in my garden, which is about 15 feet high, so it's proving to be a bit of a project. It's a fir tree that's been there for about 15 yrs, but, although it looked ok from a distance, it's actually dead, dry, brown needles on the inside, so, much as I love trees, it's got to go. Those needles are painful, though, so it's not a fun project!

It has, however, successfully distracted me from creativity, which was one of the reasons for starting this blog, so I thought I would take some pictures of a project which I've been doing for sooooo many years, it sometimes horrifies me that it's still not entirely finished. I've hung it on the wall in my 'study area' (basically the cellar where my desk and computer are), and one day, I'll manage to get it done. (Meanwhile, it covers the flaking paint really well......)



I think for many crafters who enjoy needlecrafts, patchwork is often something they try at least once; I started this when I was about 13, got bored (as you do sometimes), shoved it away to the back of the cupboard, then, over the years, kept getting it out with the intention of finishing it, but gave up again instead.

I deliberately didn't do a specific pattern, so, over the years, it has become a bit of a 'memories' quilt - here is the very first bit that I started all those years ago:

In amongst the fabrics that came from a patchwork parcel my mother bought to start me off, I have now added leftover pieces from the first clothes I made for myself, and my children, and so many other bits. I think this section shows how much of a 'life-time capsule' it has become for me:


The lovely white brocade around the edge is from an old wedding dress that my sister and I used to use for dress up, the green spotted fabric was a beautiful moire taffeta dress that my mother wore when she was about 18, the cream and brown print next to the plain navy, was a dress my mother made for me when I was about 16, and the white with red, blue, yellow and green hearts print right next to it, was a blouse that I made for myself to wear to a wedding when my son was 3 months old (let's just say it was in the 80's, OK?)

I could go on, but I wouldn't want to bore you with a list of 'fabrics that I have known and loved', but it does also make it extra special because of those memories.

Unfortunately, it will also be the only large sewn patchwork project I shall ever do; it wasn't a form that I felt comfortable with, so, although I may try something small one day, I'll approach it in an entirely different way.

I don't count this as patchwork, however, because it was knitted:


I did it as a combined Christmas and 21st birthday present for my friend (and soon to be lodger) Bezah - he is the pair of eyes you can see on the right, the eyes on the left belong to my boyfriend, The Throgtastic One (henceforth known as TTO). Bezah has long coveted one of the blankets I have on my sofa, (one knitted, one crochet) so I thought he deserved one of his own (though I didn't finish it until 4.30 am on the morning of Christmas Eve, when I was giving it to him, because I realised, when I was sewing it together, that I was 1 square short. Next time I'll be waaaay more prepared in advance!)

Until next time (which I promise will be sooner)

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