Somewhere over the rainbow ..

I hope you find your pot of gold ..

Life imitating art... or vice versa..

Today I found myself in a queue outside of Bristol University.. a queue that took two hours to reach it's destination.... but with no hint of impatience about it.. only a gentle animated buzz from young and old...
Birthday Boy and Mr Custard.. chatted with eager anticipation.. whilst I wished that I had worn something a little cooler.. the day turning out to be a tad warmer than forecast !
Three bottles of mineral water and a grumbling sciatic nerve .. later.. we arrived at the entrance to this hallowed event... one that I had heard much about from other visitors and on the local news.. This is the best thing that has happened to Bristol City Museum for many a year... in fact probably the first and only time that queues of this constancy and length have been seen outside of this popular Bristol venue..
We were on a mission to visit the works of BANKSY .. (click on his name to find out more )
a local hero.. an urban artist 'made good' ..
I cannot imagine that many households have not heard of this modern day genius.. for a genius he is.. in my eyes at least...


His earlier works of graffiti are legendary around Bristol and have become protected landmarks... One of his more famous works, I have seen many times on my visit to Park Street, is mind boggling.. How on earth did this man manage to create something, obviously in a hurry... half way up a wall!?

His work speaks volumes about the society we live in today.. about the paradoxes of politics and social decay...the greed and ugliness of our world.. but portrayed through his work with great profundity.

Angel of the North

Each piece that we witnessed today.. was witty, poignant .. painfully at times.. see the laboratory rabbit filing her paws and the Leopard skin fur coat, sitting in the branch of a tree..
It was all very thought provoking and scratch the surface and you found much more beneath...
There was something here for everyone to relate to on whatever level or depth one chose to..
I LOVED it.. it made me laugh, wince.. and THINK... and if that isn't good art then I don't know what is..

It might not be every one's cup of tea or tin of paint... but Banksy has made his mark for me..
See what you think.. I would love to hear your thoughts.. and if you live close to Bristol .. I would urge you to go ..
My man has a boredom threshold of 3 minutes and he thought is was worth every agonising minute of queueing!
I bring you Banksy Vs the Bristol Museum.

I love the wit of these two.. well in fact of all of them..
This has to be one of my favourites...I think it was called Agency Workers.. or similar.
This character was so lifelike.. rocking back and forth on a mechanical fairground horse.. It was hard to believe it was a dummy..

Very clever!
Raised a lot of smiles..
Damien Hirst meets Banksy..
When I was at Art College in the 1970's.. we would often go on trips to the Tate in London or the Oxford galleries.. Ashmolean..
I cannot remember much about the exhibitions we saw.. but this one will live on in my memory for a long time...
I so admire the ingenuity of this elusive man who lives for the best part under a cloak of anonymity... though his work is revered world wide now..Thomas the Tank Engine as you have never seen him before..CCTV features large in a few pieces..
This genuine Romany caravan even had a wheel clamp ..!
I really giggled at this one.. such puerile humour... love it!

Hmmm... this piece is very topical right now..!

I do hope you enjoyed the show...I have only shared a fraction of the exhibits with you.. there was so much to take in.. so do go along if you can.. it is so much better in the flesh!

P.s... I can see from your comments so far that you approve of his work..
If you are going along.. may I suggest you get there early.. I think the museum opens at 10 a.m and we arrived at 1.p.m.. and finally entered the museum at 2.45 p.m...
Last entry is 3.30 p.m so allow plenty of time! The exhibition finishes on the 31st August.
It is free admission and yes.. you are allowed to take photos.. without a flash!
Enjoy!!

0 - 15

Is it really 15 years ago?
At 3.16 p.m on the hottest day of the year on July 10th 1994.. my beautiful boy was born... Here we are fifteen years later..in just a blink of an eye ...it seems..Happy Birthday my beautiful boy..
I am so proud of you
Mum xx

Recipe for happiness....

Take one fine day.. preferably with blue skies and wispy clouds...

Add one river location on the outskirts of Bath fair city..Mix with two glasses of Pimms and a good plate of anti-pasti......and a healthy sprinkling of friendship supplied by Jayne..Stir well ..and bake in hot sun for two hours..Result.... one happy day to be shared with a friend..

24 Carrot Love.....

I love my boy when he offers to unpack the shopping.... actually.. I love him all the time.. just more so!

Country matters ....

I have been on the verge of writing a blog post for days.. but each time losing the momentum and slipping back in to a lazy fug.
As the days get longer.. I have become more distracted and my heart and head have yearned for leafy landscapes and wide open spaces. We are blessed to live in a 'city in the country' .. Evident of the lush skyline wrapped around the hollow of Bath urban life.. but deep down I really feel I belong in the country.. I am a 'welly' girl at heart and would love nothing more than to live in a stone cottage tucked down a winding lane with open vistas across fields ... A Country Girl.. just like the characters in one of my favourite old books by Edna O'Brien..There is something deeply romantic about rural life.. though I am sure those of you who live in the greener pastures of our fine land might disagree with me... 'What about the constant ferrying of offspring to their various pursuits, treks to the shops.... muddy lanes and the cacophony of nature that shatters the peaceful rural idyll...?
I would still trade in my neighbourhood noises... car alarms, screeching ambulance sirens.. the nocturnal sing song of an inebriated pedestrian or two.... and the living cheek by jowl with numerous earthlings....
Mr Custard and I took the opportunity to drive out to a village a few miles from Bath, to walk along a stretch of river.. unexplored territory.. and magnificent at this time of year.. with the abundant flora and fauna...The pale blue field of Linseed shimmered like mercury....Leafy, lovely, lush and oh so peaceful....Having decided some years ago that I was never going to be a driver.. despite passing my driving test.. I might find the 'Good Life' a little challenging.. without wheels... but there are bonuses..
Endless walks and the opportunity to finally own one of these.. or two even...Though in order to get some real exercise... it would be preferable to own the real thing.. and today I fell hook line and sinker for this little girl...She really stole my heart and made me more determined to up sticks one day and head for the hills... and own my very own Border Terrier.. who I will name Miffy.. Sigh!

A rabbit in the headlights..

The last week has been a busy one.. most surprising as I was sure that the 'post Fair' blues would settle in and I would be twiddling my thumbs for a while..
Far from it... I have been firmly glued to my trusty pooter .. tapping out emails to all and sundry and batting enquiries about the next Fair.. in November. It has tied up a lot of my creative time but I do so love chatting to people and finding out more about them.. so.. it seems that the tables have turned and this morning when checking my emails.. (something I do at 5.30 a.m every morning when I am brutally awoken my beloved snorting and sneezing.. chronic hayfever sufferer.. poor love) I find I have been tagged by one of the lovely people I met at the V & H ...Sarah from Hardaker & Pope..
I spend a fair amount of time ducking and diving and running from these things.. but I must admit to being quite pleased about this tag.. the questions are some that I can relate to instantly..
I am not sure you will find my answers particularly riveting... but here goes...

Q. What's your favourite colour?
A. Not a straight forward answer.. I love colours in relation to others... an acid green Alchamilla Mollis in the garden next to a plummy Allium.. beautiful...! But I would have to say blue is my favourite.. as long as it isn't the blue of a bruise... more the blue of an azure sky..Q. What's your favourite clothing in your wardrobe?
A. This should be an easy one.. Anything that fits!! I have put on a lot of unwelcome pounds over the last few years and my wardrobe has become more of a costume museum.. a shrine to dresses that belong to a smaller woman. I would have to say though.. my Boden Tea Dress.. comes out of the mothballs every summer.Q.What's your dream job?
A. I think to some degree I already have a dream job... working from home and being creative.
Collecting vintage toys and spreading sweet nostalgia on to others... but.. in my heart.. I would love love love my own little shop..a Curiosity Shop meets Chocolat!Q. What's the last thing you bought?
A. Well to be honest .. it was a 1000 blank cards and envelopes to re-stock my greeting card business.. but that is boring so.. the last thing I bought for me.....not something I do often these days.. is my gorgeous kitschy shell frame from Lizzie at the V & H Fair.. I love it and it sits happily alongside my collection of shell frames in the bathroom..Q. What are you listening to right now..?
A. The drone of distant traffic from my lofty boudoir.. and the sound of my son scrabbling around trying to locate his discarded school uniform from the night before..

Q.What's your favourite ice-cream?
A. My mother used to make a vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce and crushed hazelnuts.. scrumptious!

Q.What's your favourite fruit?
A. Dried apricots.. non dried.. tomatoes.

Q.What inspires you?
A. Oh.. so much and so many..
Those who have the ability to think outside the box and follow their convictions.. last but not least.. my mother. She was an icon to me..Q.What's on the walls of your bedroom?
A. Some of my favourite peices from artists such as Edwina Bridgeman... and Cleo Mussi.. oh and a few cobwebs..Q.Who is your favourite designer?
A. I find this a difficult one to answer.. there are so many wonderful designers.. I think Terence Conran is a bit of a god in that department and my fave designer right now.. am I allowed two...
Viv from Hen's Teeth... she has oodles of style!

Q. Do you admire anyone's style?
A. Oh all the time.... I am forever seeing people in the street that have a flair with the way they dress..anybody who doesn't follow the masses!

Q.Describe your personal style?
A. Nanny McPhee on a bad day... Widow Twanky on a good day!

Q.What language would you like to learn?
A. French.. my mother's native tongue and learnt badly by me at school.

Q.What is your favourite quote for now?
A. 'Never give up' as my father would often say.

Q.What is your favourite magazine?
A. Selvedge... a classy and beautiful publication.

Q.If you had £100 what would you spend it on?
A. One of Sarah's lovely paisley or polka dot bags, some anti-wrinkle cream ( oh how I need some) and a sticky bun.

Q. What is your current obsession?
A. Vintage mercury glass and celluloid reindeer....

Q.What are you wearing today?
A. My beloved's dressing gown.. for now at least.

Q.What's for dinner?
A. A Thai chicken curry.. if I can find the lemongrass.

Q.What would you eat for your last meal?
A. Singapore noodles washed down with a lovely glass of Dom Pérignon.

Q.What do you think of the person who tagged you?
A. I think she has a great talent and a sweet nature.

Q.If you could have a house paid for and furnished, anywhere in the world where would it be?
A. Tuscany.. Chianti hillsQ. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour.. where would it be?
A. A walk along the river Teign in Devon at Fingle BridgeQ. What are you going to do after this?
A. Get dressed and stagger in to town with some parcels to post.

Q.What are your favourite movies?
A. Can't possibly list them all.. but The Railway Children is all time fave.. Far from the Madding Crowd...Draughtsman's Contract..ad infinitum.

Q.What's your favourite book?
A. My address book... all my friends in one place

Q.Do you collect something?
A. Far too much.. vintage tin toys, vintage rabbit toys, vintage bisque penny dolls, wooden shoe lasts, Victorian shell pictures, hearts.... dust.. plastic carrier bags etc etc..

Q.What's the most important rule of life?
A. Do unto others.....

I would like to pass this on to five others.. to be completed at your leisure or not at all....

Lizzie

Jane

Lili M

Viv

Kim ( sorry!)

June is bustin' out all over..

I have had that song dancing around my head since Monday.. along with the Steeleye Span song.. 'Didn't we have a lovely time... the day we went to the V & H Fair'... slightly altered lyrics of course!
Thank you to everyone, for all the tremendous feedback we have had about the fair..
It is very comforting to know that those of you who did visit, had a good time.. even if your purses didn't!
The icing on the cake is knowing that so many of you enjoyed your day out amongst fellow bloggers whilst shopping for vintage and handmade goodies... the best of both worlds.

As the dust gently settles on the last fair.. the mind is firmly set upon the next fair in November.. the 14th to be precise.. and though I wouldn't want to wish away the summer months .. I really can't wait to start the whole process of plotting and planning and gathering items for the next...

To offer up some distraction.. the garden has put on a dazzling show of colour to tempt me out of doors.. Hence the song.. June is bustin' out all over...May and June are the 'main act' in most gardens as flowers put on their best frocks and compete with each other with colour and growth..I must confess that I wasn't a particular devotee of roses before I had my own garden.. but the variety and character of these plants have seduced me and I have collected a few ..This stripy rose.. yet to open up... is my favourite... though the name escapes me.. it is an old fashioned English rose with a heavenly scent..
I think the green fly would agree with me... oops!The foxgloves have done me proud this year and self seeded freely around the garden.. one can never have too many.. and so good for the bees! This little statuesque lady.. is affectionately known as Flora.. she was named by my son when he was a very small boy and he would wrap his arms around her neck and plant kisses on her stony cheek..I am hoping that our modest crop of strawberries will ripen in time for a strawberry cream tea this weekend.. though judging by the weather report on Metcheck.. a weather site that I visit daily.. the signs were for a dramatic dip in the old mercury in these parts on Saturday and can you believe ..sleet was forecast..
Time to get those woollies out again!

The day after....

Despite being utterly exhausted and falling in to a gin and tonic stupor for most of the evening.. I couldn't sleep last night for thinking about the Vintage & Handmade Fair II....
It was a FANTASTIC day for want of a better word... The hall was brimming with people five minutes after the doors opened ... and yes.. we had queues!!!!
I managed to leave my stall for five minutes throughout the 6 hours to whizz round and say hello to all our lovely ladies.. who all did a sterling job of making their stalls look so appealing and enticing...

I met many friendly bloggers and tried my hardest to remember names and faces so if we meet again... I will not draw a blank. It was so good of you all to travel the distances you did, to come and say hello and do a bit of shopping of course!Cowboys & Custard Stand

We even had our own resident photographer .. thanks to Mr Country Cottage Chic.. who snapped many great photos which can be seen on our Vintage & Handmade blog... and captured the essence of the fair perfectly.. from arrival.. empty hall.. to throng of people and all the colours and mood of the fair..Our team of tea ladies.. (sorry Jack) Miss Country Cottage Chic and friend, did a splendid job too of keeping the hungry and thirsty throng fed and watered throughout the day.
Thank you SO much ...to everyone who came along to support our fair and to meet us and fellow bloggers.. I would love to have known just who was milling around the hall.. and was delighted to have met quite a few new blogging friends.. and old...such a friendly lot of faces!
It was a wonderful wonderful day.. and the only low point of the day, was realising that I had left my camera in the car that had gone home with Mr Custard .. so no snaps from me (other than the one I took on arrival of all my 'stuff' waiting to get in) ....but lots of great memories to hold on to until the next fair..... coming in 6 months time!

P.s Photos added courtesy of Mr Snippets iphone.. to the rescue!

Two go mad in Suffolk...

Actually.. we didn't go mad.. quite the opposite.. we were really quite restrained and Lavenham.. where we were staying for a few days ... soon had us under it's spell. ...lulling us into a gentle stupor for our brief hols..
The village is a gem.. truly picture post perfect.. and stuffed full of historical buildings that seem to defy gravity...
Take a look at these chocolate box charmers...Candy colours are all the rage... sugary pink..Thick custard ochre..glowing in the evening sun..

Curious windows from floor to ceiling...

Tweedle Dum an Tweedle Dee.. twinned school houses...


I love this one.. with the herringbone brickwork and ancient wooden door..

There is a house to suit all tastes here.. as long as you like 500 year old dwellings..The National Trust Wool Hall.. ghostly white..I quickly fell in love with this charming village and the sleepy atmosphere...
I especially fell.. hook line and sinker for our little cottage home for three days..It was tiny but perfectly formed and packed full of cosy corners and a dream bedroom...It was such a joy to wake up in this bed every morning and have this view to gaze upon..Especially when this dear lady came to visit...blissfully unaware that I was only feet away..The highlight of our mad dash to the lush and leafy East of England... was meeting up with a wonderful lady.. and her equally delightful boy....
I knew that this friend would be just as I had imagined... meeting for the first time was so easy and reassuring and I was showered with her generosity and warm hospitality.... scrumptious orange cake and chocolate brownies .. consumed.. sitting in Kitschen Pink's ab fab home and receiving a goody bag of homemade gifts... it was the whipped cream topping of the hols.. a wonderful brief encounter... Thanks so much T.... The cowboy hat butter dish was inspired!I am wearing my lucky necklace tomorrow.. I may well need it!
Well.. I am sorry that I a woman of few words tonight.. but it is an early one for me.. as I am up with the birds again tomorrow and off to the Vintage & Handmade Fair....
The last six months have flashed by and the moment is upon us ..
So.. see you on the other side...Cowboys & Custard signing off... see you at the fair.