Friday 15 February 2008

Catchy-uppy

Firstly, huge thanks to Helen for my You Make My Day award - right back atcha! And same goes for everybody on in the links to the right - you really all do brighten up my day. Thank you all for keeping on writing.

Secondly, apologies for the lack of content recently, having got as far as posting titles (late enough in themselves) I have been woefully inadequate in writing things up. It's probably because I've been feeling vaguely depressed and/or angry about several things this last week or so, and thanks to those who've listened to me rant in person or by e-mail. I should probably take up meditation, I need a bit of zen. If nothing else, it's making my gauge too tight.

Anyway, this post is to catch up with stuff I did during the week - my trip to Riga last weekend will be in the next post so unfortunately out of sequence.

On Tuesday Lotta, Gail, Viv and I escaped from our various offices at lunchtime to scoot on over to Liberty for a swift infusion of burlesque, as Miss Esmé Bianco was doing a performance in the Carnaby Street windows to launch a new line of lingerie. At 1pm we were presented with the surreal sight of a semi-naked woman posing behind glass, throwing seductive shapes silently, with no soundtrack at all apart from the clicking of camera shutters and the giggling of tourists. Quite disturbingly zoo-like.


She invited various audience members over for a kiss through the glass, including the lucky Lotta:


I was most interested in her gorgeous dressing gown - you can see the fabulous kimono sleeves above, and here's the amazing embroidered back:


Just the thing for over one of my plainer corsets. I would kill for one. I dare not go and see how much they actually are, assuming they're part of said lingerie range. Divine.

On Wednesday I decided to forgo my regular knitting engagement and head down to the pub quiz at the Sun & Doves in Camberwell, run by my good friends A, J and M. As it happened, I probably got more knitting done whilst they were reading the questions, in between counting entry fees, marking and adjudicating disputes, than I normally do with the girls... Free Guinness too, for being on the organisers' table. I try not to actually participate in quizzes though, as I get horribly competitive and stroppy. Who'd have thought?

Heading for a bus home very late, I was delighted to see this roadsign:


See the butterflies? That's the Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa), a stunning butterfly, velvety burgundy with lacy blue spots then a wide cream border to its wings. It's named this (in Britain anyway, it's the Mourning Cloak in the USA) because the first two specimens in the UK were found on Coldharbour Lane, back in 1748 when Camberwell was still a village in Surrey rather than the somewhat scary part of inner-city south London it has become. At least they still celebrate their wildlife, in between stabbing each other (I've heard it called "Crackharbour Lane" you know).

Yesterday was, of course, Valentine's Day. I'm not a great one for soppy stuff, but to anyone reading this, consider yourself to have had a big wet smacker planted on your forehead from me!

No comments: