Departures..

It has been a turbulent time recently.. highs, lows and sudden plummets that knock the wind out of your sails. The highs have been most rewarding.. and this came in the launching of Milly & Dottie's Emporium. a project that had been shared over the last year with my dear friend Kim and her alter ego Milly.. and one that finally came to fruition last weekend. We are both so grateful to all of you who have supported this new enterprise both with your generous comments and visits to the emporium.. it is very reassuring to know that there is still space out there for one more of these vintage shops and you have been so kind to welcome us in the spirit that you have.
Sadly the excitement has also been tempered by a bereavement in my family.. my beloved father in law passed away last weekend. He was a fine gentleman and will be sorely missed by his loving family. As one door closes.. another one opens...
I have been a woman of few words in recent weeks and will continue to be so for a while longer as I disappear off to the wilds of Cornwall to attend the Home Spun Fair. I am so looking forward to meeting up with fellow blogging friends and putting some of the last few weeks behind us.
Do drop in to the emporium if you are passing... we are re-stocking the shelves frequently so you might find something you missed on your last visit.
A bientot..
Michele x

Open for business ...

An awfully long time ago two bloggers started writing to each other and discovered that they had much in common. A very special friendship blossomed and much fun and mischief has been had along the way. Dreams were shared and plans were hatched … after months and months of giggling, worrying, dithering and much custard cream eating, they finally get to

“play shops”.

Milly and Dottie (for they are our alter egos) would love you to come and take a peep around. We’ve polished our shoes, starched our aprons and swept away the biscuit crumbs and are hiding away in our stockroom.... why don’t you come and join us?

Dottie x

Please visit us at Milly & Dottie's Emporium

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..