Category: British
Kitchen heaven!
The kitchen light’s are coming! The kitchen light’s are coming!…and I have no real idea what they will look like or whether they will actually work, except that in my head they are totally brilliant.
I needed three pendants to hang over the new island unit but didn’t want to go down the industrial look, not because I don’t like it..I just wanted something very different.
Also, I’ve realised over the years that I have a passion for folk art..an art form we don’t take seriously enough here in the UK. All the images here are typical examples of British canal art – the traditional means of decorating canal boats and barges. I think it is stunning, ingenious and totally covetable.
So I’ve commissioned three milk churns to be painted just for me by my favourite canal art painter…and they’re finished!!
Seriously. Can’t. Wait. More details when they’re here.
Laters, Kate x
Cavorting in Kent x
There’s a touch of magic to a windswept English beach caught in the throes of autumn.
The lack of sunshine made no difference to the kids.
Big or small.
These were taken on Camber Sands on Bella’s ninth birthday.
How time flies.
We were lucky to spend the week with another lovely family which meant rounders was a serious option.
Not that the weather was all bad.
Visiting the glorious Walmer Castle..
With it’s doorbell of lust.
And views across the sea.
It has my personal favourite combination of grand but homely.
(I’ve charged my two with the task of becoming the Warden of the Cinq ports so I can live here in my dotage. I think it’s a small thing for a mother to ask for..)
We cycled, ate, drank, swam and geocached our days away. (If you’ve not experienced geocaching it’s an app that using GPS, shows where little pots of treasures are hidden. Addictive.)
There’s the hunt, the journey..
And the success..this was a plastic fish swapped for some acorn shells. Hmmmmmmm.
What none of us had ever seen before was the amount of mushrooms growing on the beach..
All different types, like something out of a Tintin book..
Shame our only knowledge of mushrooms was those with plastic cling wrap..but then we are urbanites, very happy to enjoy the delights of the countryside and re-charge the batteries with good friends, before heading back to the big smoke, building works..and the run down to Christmas. Help.
Laters, Kate x
Shockingly Shrimp..
How does Shrimp, the fashion label by young London designer, Hannah Weiland, which burst onto the scene in 2013 move on from it’s neon flashing faux fur flying out there outerwear start?
By adding more great, distinctive designs and gently expanding into accessories and ready to wear.
It’s still for the forward thinking customer with a taste for the fun in fashion.
(All pictures from Shrimp)
But sometimes more is more when you’re onto a good thing.
Laters, Kate x
Fast and Fearless x
I have a new hero: Doctor Clare Miller, haematologist. A gloriously gutsy wonder woman who’s size belies her inner and outer strength. Let me explain why…
For the last 6 weeks, there’s been a reality tv programme on BBC 2 called Special Forces – Ultimate Hell Week, it’s been following 29 civilian but extreme adventure sports people being put through a facsimile of Special Forces selection tasks. Over a continual 10 days, the ever dwindling group faced two days with five elite fighting units from around the world: The US Navy Seals, Yamam (Israel’s elite counter terror unit), Navsog (the Philippine’s Special Forces), the exquisitely menacing Spetnaz of Russia and the British SAS, all with the aim of extracting a final winner.
It was a trip to the dark side. Each unit had their own unique way of forensically inflicting gruelling, soul-sapping situations to expose vast wells of pain and expose any mental weakness.
The final was on Sunday..and just 6 people remained, including 2 women. Not that this was set up as men v women, despite none of the elite forces allowing women in their ranks. Instead it was about opportunity and equality – the women doing exactly the same as the men. After 9 days, another night of no sleep and intensive interrogation by the British SAS, 3 remained – one woman, two men:
Miller: High energy, high pressure, fearless, pragmatic, brainy and only 5 ft 4 and weighing 8 stone 7lbs (55 kg).
Bent: The giner ninja complete with deadpan coolness and a wink.
Brassington: A carbon copy action man made real.
Immediately they had to run their final race – 15 km over Welsh mountains, carrying 20kg packs, navigating themselves and answering questions enroute with wrong answers encurring time penalties. The SAS guy was looking forward to this one as he didn’t believe a woman had the strength to finish.
Miller came in first.
Bent second.
Brassington third.
They were congratulated and then told SAS guy would need to talk to the colleagues who’d seen them through the full 10 days before making a decision. It felt like the perfect opportunity to opt out of a potentially difficult political decision.
They said of Miller: It’s changed our view on women.
They said of Bent:
Who turned up on the first day in a pair of flowery shoes, never judge a book by it’s cover.
They said of Brassington: He’s perfect SAS material.
So who did they want to win? They said, no question, it had to be ‘The Machine’. Day in, day out, The Machine would get the job done, no matter what. Except we didn’t know who The Machine was.
Until they announced the winner……..
The deserving, the mindblowing, the one and only Dr. Clare Miller!
Go that woman! I bow down to your utter brilliance and determination – There’s not many people in this world who can make the army eats it’s words. You didn’t just have to be good..you had to be made of titanium.
Laters, Kate x
Go England!
Charlie supporting England as only Charlie knows how..in a world cup rugby top and a matching earring..
‘Just the one Mummy, Just the one!’
So Celine it’s scary…
Laters, Kate x
Blue Collar Worker x
Shrugging on a teddy bear winter coat is the perfect way to embrace the increasingly cutting edge to this colder season.
MiH – The British label based in London, has some of the best – the sort of coats that people can judge you in without knowing you. And get it right.
They don’t shout, instead they gently ooze with knowing cool.
Because good lines and soft textures cleverly jigsawed together make a potent force.
(All pictures from MiH)
Sometimes the greatest power to dazzle is just by the simplicity of what is there.
Laters, Kate x
Burberry Prorsum x
Black, gold, beige, military detail, crested insignias, gold buttons and gold chains, all the stalwarts of the power dressing nineties were rejuvenated in Burberry SS16..but with the gas turned to subtle.
The detailing was beautiful and showed the collaboration between Christopher Bailey and Hand & Lock, the British manufacturer that makes accessories for the Queen’s Horse Guards to perfection. It underlined the exciting mix of Bailey’s continuing relationship with heritage, heritage materials and British manufacturing.
But step away from the title, look at the colour palette, the materials, the coats..the footwear…and this could be a fall show.
The inner layers maybe light and airy, but the outer’s are ready for a turn in temperature downwards.
But then Bailey is one of the few designers to openly agree that the seasons, as a fashion concept, are over. He’s already embracing the quick marriage of shows and ecommerce whereby clothes can be seen on the runway, bought with a click and delivered within weeks, forcing forward the pace of production.
(Charlie would love these shoes).
(And the macho-feminine lace).
The bags..the rucksack with it’s monogrammed initials..
(All pics from Vogue.com)
And this one will be on many lists of lust because Christopher Bailey is clever, he doesn’t produce warm coats associated with badgers and large dogs. His aim is for urban, edgy brand carriers – it’s easy wear, ruthlessly recognisable luxury put on a pedestal that we can all pay homage to.
It’s slick fashion candy to prove taste and money..but for me, it’s lost a bit of heart.
Too easy? Should that be a problem?
Laters, Kate x
LFW Street Style x
Street style is about the unexpected – the clothes might’ve existed before, but the combinations probably didn’t: large furry collar, vintage vitamin cardigan, pleated midi skirt and a bowling bag? It’s a cunning mix..
And even if you think the mix is wrong, it’s still exhilarating and liberating to know there are no rules, no requirement to colour co-ordinate.
(Tapered just over the knees and this would be my ideal dress. Sigh)
Every body, each story is different and the outfit is tailored to respond to the individual and what they want to say.
And so a picture becomes a quick chat in the corridor.
(All pics from Pinterest)
It’s that fantastic clash of sophistication and slightly out of order. Bring it on!
Laters, Kate x
Dismaland
Dismaland: The temporary art project set up by the street artist Banksy in an abandoned lido in the quietly rotting seaside town of Weston Super Mare. Banksy writes in his opening welcome: ‘Bertolt Brecht once said ‘Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it’. Which is fine, but what if you’re in a hall of mirrors and the giant hammer is made of foam? This is the question raised by Dismaland Bemusement Park’.
And so it begins…
Birthed from the detritus of Disney, with bored attendants, patches of weeds and artistic despair, this decaying edifice to humanity is set on a 2.5 acre site with works from more than 50 artists from 17 different countries. It’s an instagramer’s delight, a visual sensation and a walk on the whacky, dark, black side.
A play on double standards starts immediately, from the genuine bag search on the street (anarchy has it’s place, no spray cans allowed here) to the fabricated threat of Bill Barminksi’s cardboard screening room. What’s real and what isn’t?
Inside it’s hard to know where to look first..the children slide riot van?
The sadistic carousel? Tesco would be so pleased..
Or the Big Rig jig, defying explanation or gravity.
There are traditional stalls – each with their own unique twist.
Knock the anvil over – with a ping pong ball and yay! you win the anvil! Hit the anvil and you win a red bracelet that reads ‘this is a meaningless bracelet’. Didn’t stop me wanting one. And then you ask yourself why even attempt the futile? Except we did. And failed.
Or maybe hooking a duck from the muck has a greater chance of success – except the punters have run off with all the ducks – and it’s all for a paper fishfinger in a bag..
Dominating the park is the dilapidated fairytale castle of broken dreams. ‘Step inside’, say the downcast attendants, ‘See how it really feels to be a princess’..
Through the darkness is the car-crash of Cinderella’s coach, her dying body illuminated by the flashes of pap’s cameras. We’re looking at them, looking at us..feeding us, feeding them..
Sometimes it’s the smaller, allegedly quieter stuff that catches the eye..
Sometimes the message is so strong to the extent you feel sleazy and ambushed with dirty fluids. This isn’t a place that brands itself on palatable.
The art wants you to look, not just spectate. to take part and not just consume..which is a line that is all too easily crossed. How many people are there walking around with the balloons stating ‘I am an imbecile’? Or actually taking selfies in the selfie hole?
Did these people really understand what they were doing? Did they nod sagely knowing they were doing this ironically? But then their ignorance becomes part of the point.
This isn’t a place for children despite there being works designed with them in mind..like the depressed, drunk Mr Rainbow puffing fumes over his tired playground..
Or The Husband’s favourite: Pocket Money Loans
Where the devil was in the detail.
Take a seat in a stripey deckchair and watch Punch and Judy landing a punch with a Jimmy Savile themed show..
Put up your feet at the Jeffrey Archer memorial pit fire. He’s still alive but a book of his dies every day.
Come into one of three galleries to wander round at your leisure. Meet the baby in the vending machine, covered in logos by Dietrich Wegner, guaranteed to make you ponder life.
Meet Jessica Harrison’s distortion of suburban tranquility.
Wonder if Severija Incirauskaite-Kriauneviciene is her real name or is just another trick of the mind. The art – tapestries made with power tools, certainly had a kick.
Banksy has pulled it off: It’s hard to be underground when you’re hailed as a national treasure by the very people you want to vilify, but that’s part of the conundrum that makes Banksy’s Dismaland so very special – it’s a spoof on the British holiday by the sea – take it seriously and you miss the point, and yet it quietly smiles through blackened teeth and grittily mocks: don’t understand this at your peril…
Impeccably crafted and precision cut, deeply unsettling yet strangely entertaining it’s so good, it can’t be legal..and probably isn’t.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 