Finally the proof I have magical powers!

'50s kitchen millinery

A colander needs a little embellishment and when in doubt use a jelly mould! Genius...

Get ready for Autumn 1950s Paris stylee

Figuring out whether I can afford to buy new vests from M&S this Autumn somewhat makes me wish I could be in this fashion world instead - hint of pagoda lighting up the boulevards via veiled witchy hats anyone? And nice coats... Click image to watch full British Pathe video!

PARIS - CITY OF FASHION

My favourite Narnia.

The previous post made me remember the cartoon of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe that me and my siblings were all obsessed with when we were little. I still think it's my favourite and the most atmospheric adaptation, and Sheila Hancock as Jadis is amazing... Turkish delight... Turkish delight!

Camel sleigh racing!

Now whilst I have always lusted after a sleigh pulled by wolves a la the White Queen, Jadis, in Narnia, and thought maybe I would have to settle for huskies (though living in the somewhat temperate West Country with a giant cat that attacks dogs, not the most viable plan) I am now starting to think this could be another option. This is in Mongolia too, a country I've always been fascinated by - icy deserts, horse fairs and lots of dinosaur bones and now camel sleighs! And of course they are furry Bactrians, which are definitely my favourite type of camel. Need I say more...

Now that's how to impress a lady - antler stylee...

I've always been rather fond of natural crowns, now if only I had antlers too...

This Tornado Loves You...

I've recently been working on some poetry for a dance performance, so here's a taster... It should be read very slowly and languidly with music...

Broken Home.

This tornado loves you
Swirls dust caresses
Lifts your feet to drop ballerina toes
To drift over confetti
Of dirt and leaves
And somewhere you are dancing through all this

Dust devils lilt like hula girls
Pushing the sky with hips side to side
Liberating the earth
For sky and wind and impending water
This rain will soak you through

And when it does you are transparent
A magnifying body for the view
An eyeglass of diaphanous flesh
And crystalline bones

They do not break but guide my eye through landscapes
A hint of fingers points to the old tree as it is uprooted
And its roots spin cobwebs from the ground

Objects scar the wind like key scrapes down a car
They are homeless
Call out for their lost owners like misplaced pets
Impending fossils, they do not understand
This delicate balance
Of light and shade – a chiaroscuro of movement

Rhythm

Curls invisible ribbons

A childhood gymnastic trick

I remember how good you were

(Isn’t it funny to think that everything that is everything has come from the earth? Is made from these same atoms? Is grown or smelt or smashed?)

This tornado is a leveller
An activist for new starts
A pellucid tear
A keepsake for lightning

(Did you ever have one of those toys when you were little? A creature for secret compartments? A plastic shell in which to place treasures? Push them down. Hide them so they are hard to pull out again. Some actions have semi-permanent results. Mine was an amber snail called Sweet Heart.)

Bright light escapes from the sky
To reach for the ground
A longing for earthing
A self-destructive adventure
Zig-zagging

I understand that one

But you?
This tornado loves you
Holds you suspended
In animation
The landscape comes alive
With unforetold movement
Waves of dust like the aftermath of cartoon chases

But you are a terranium
A glass dome licked with butterflies and ladybirds
Sweet tooth to their touch
Stroked with ferns like Egyptian fans
You are temperate
In this tempestuous climate
It is only you who are safe

I write letters with biro on leaves and hope they reach you
Open scrunched up palms
Let the sky take them
My words are taken from me
To you
I don’t know if they will reach you
If the sky will let them reach you

I know this
For
Small jealousies
For
Petty arguments
For
This tornado loves you

And I am still