Monday 20 February 2017

Crafts for the Spring and Summer

I spent some time over the past week working on my crafts for a fair and a coffee morning coming up in April and June, one in South Ruislip and the other at Eastcote URC, which is in support of the London Churches' Refugee Fund. My Star Heart Dolls got a bit of a makeover, I think the last three I worked on look quite chic.



I also worked on more lavender scenters; sleeping angels, matrouskas, virtuous hearts and flowers. 



My crochet poppies now include orange, pink and purple flowers, as well as the usual red.


I have also been sorting through my greetings cards. Below is a selection of cards inspired by love, which I hope to work more on in the future.


Endnote: I have been planning on giving up social media for lent. I have scheduled posts in advance, so my blog can still get updated. I have recently got on better with my SmartPhone, and have uploaded more pictures onto Instagram, but I think I'll be OK without it. Avoiding FaceBook will probably be more of a challenge. I was originally thinking of giving up Liquorice Allsorts.

Wednesday 15 February 2017

London Walks: City and Riverside

After my series of blog posts on Secret London I have been developing a new London project, London Interrupted, which I hope to begin soon. In the meantime I am thinking about London excursions I have enjoyed which can contribute to my new London project. I recently retrod one of my favourite London walks, with my mother and daughter, which I developed ten years ago. It is a circular route starting and ending at Liverpool Street Station.


There was a lot of building work going on (as usual) and the crossrail construction site continues at the once green and leafy Finsbury Circus, which slightly marred our way to the Barbican. The entrance to the Barbican is hard to find at the best of times but a new maze of scaffolding caused extra difficulties.




I must say that despite the access problems it's definitely worth persevering to visit the Barbican, I still think it's a complex of great, architectural beauty, a lot of concrete, but also, green, glassy, airy, watery, with a positive, futuristic, hopeful feel; a lovely celebration of culture and the arts. We enjoyed elevenses in the waterside cafe, before moving on.



The walk continued around the exteriors of St. Bart's and Smithfield's market, to St. Paul's and Paternosta Square, an impressive open space with cafes and metro shops.



The walk across the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern was busy, but I find it always a pleasure, walking over the elegant, smooth, metallic structure. We walked past more of my favourite London landmarks, the Globe, the Clink and the Golden Hinde before arriving at Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market.


Southwark Cathedral is one of my favourite churches in London. The Cathedral itself is beautifully kept, peaceful and with a golden glow about it, it also has a lovely gift shop and cafe. I have enjoyed many a tea and cake in the cathedral cafe. The cafe is filled with pale, varnished wood and a gleaming, copper lit, metal self service counter; it shines and often glitters as the sun comes through its large windows at a very flattering angle. It is also made more attractive by the flower paintings displayed on the walls. The flower paintings also feature on some of the gifts in the shop as well as more Christian specific items.


We wandered around Borough Market, which has a wonderful array of food and drink on offer, different cheeses, breads, spices, juices, vegetables, flowers. It is situated under London bridge and the underneath structure of the bridge forms an impressive roof. The market has grown and become more gentrified over the years, it is now quite easy to get lost among the diverse wares on offer. One of my favourite sections is the impressive selection of edible fungi. There is also a good supply of street food and drink which you can enjoy there and then.



We visited Hay's Galleria and crossed Tower Bridge before coming to the St Katherine's Docks.

 


Many an extravagant yacht is moored at St Katherine's docks. The boats, narrow bridges and walkways are surrounded by sophisticated apartment blocks and artistic boutiques as well as a smattering of cafes and coffee shops. You are also offered elegant views of the Thames, through wide water ways. By the time we reached the docks the sun was nearly setting and the Thames and London had acquired a kind of fading beauty. Today we forsook the cafes and coffee shops and headed for the pub. We stopped for drinks in the Dickens's Inn situated in the middle of St Katherine's Docks. The pub covers several levels and is very dark and woody, but also comfortable and there are many of Dickens's beery quotes stencilled onto the wooden beams.


The last leg of the walk was past the back of the Tower of London, through Tower Gardens up past Fenchurch Street Station and down Fenchurch Street itself, to Leadenhall market. 

Leadenhall Market is quite a sight for sore eyes, amongst all the high-tech, tall, metal and glass corporate buildings that surround it. It is ornate, in red and gold brick, Victorian with an intricate glassy roof. You might recognise it from Harry Potter, it has a distinctive Diagon Alley aura. There are old shops here, old pubs and a Waterstones nearby. There was building work going on when we visited, hopefully they will enhance the place and not ruin it. We enjoyed dinner in Pizza Express before making our way back to Liverpool Street Station via the Gherkin which overshadowed a pretty old church.



I'm really pleased we did this walk again. I first developed it, about ten years ago; it helped me to recover from my broken heart.

Tuesday 14 February 2017

Wedding Poems


The Beautiful Way was read out by me on my Wedding Day in May 1997. Looking back I would say married life has been more like the previous three verses than it has been a beautiful way. My mum likes this poem and my parents' marriage was more 'The Beautiful Way' than mine ever was. The below picture and poem were done by Amy and me for my parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary which they celebrated in June 2012. It now feels like they got this celebration in just in the nick of time, as my dad died the following year, in January 2013.


Monday 6 February 2017

L's Still Life Poetry

I have added my Still Life Poetry trilogy to Wattpad, I hope you enjoy it, you can find it here.


Teenage Troubles
This is a collection of five poems concerning various problems I encountered as a teenager from wayward youths and body issues, to depressive thoughts and identity crises.

 An Anatomy of Love
These seven poems represent decades of my thoughts and feelings about love and relationships, from teenage longing and faltering first steps, to love at last, possibilities and fears and finally break-ups and moving on.


All Grown Up
This is a collection of five poems about growing up, facing difficulties and accepting uncertainty.

Saturday 4 February 2017

L's Flash Fiction on Wattpad

One of my main resolutions this year is to write more. I have already added two more pieces of flash fiction to my Wattpad channel, After the rain and the Nothing Box, which means I now have eight pieces of flash fiction on there. Below is more information about my flash fiction with links to my reading list and my short written pieces.


L's Flash Fiction

My flash fiction works are all above 250 words and below 1000 words long. They centre around one character, one situation, one moment in time. I hope you find them interesting and stimulating.

After the rain (259 words)
Daydreaming on a rainy Sunday afternoon leads Jane on a wild flight of fancy.

The Watering Hole (371 words)
Candy is having a quiet drink with her boyfriend Syd in The Black Dog when she has a revelation about the future of rock'n'roll.

Debut (395 words)
Christine feels as if she's in a play; she is anyway.

Cheesecake (445 words)
Bridie is full of expectation for the benefits of a short break in 'Wesley's Health Centre', if only she can resist her own inner temptations.

The Bubble Man (453 words)
Julia is convinced that something out of this world is going on in her local park.

Magic (476 words)
While travelling home from work, one rainy afternoon, desolate Georgia finds that sometimes hope comes in small and surprising packages.

The Nothing Box (660 words)
Charlotte was an unusual girl, but I didn't realise how unusual until I visited her house and discovered the magic hidden inside a mysterious glass box.

Emily just needs a passport photo for a trip to NYC but the photobooth takes her on a far more unexpected journey.

I have added all my artwork for my stories and poems to my DeviantArt gallery which you can find here.