miss marie's miscellany

Sunlight

I am visiting Liverpool this weekend, and yesterday made a trip to one of my favourite places, Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight on the Wirral. 

 

The garden village of Port Sunlight was built by William Hesketh Lever in the late 19th-early 2oth centuries to house his workers at the Lever Brothers soap factory.  It's an amazing achievement, the whole village is now a conservation area and most of the buildings are Grade 2 listed. There is a peaceful atmosphere one might not expect to find so close to the bustling city of Liverpool. Along wide tree lined roads,  the houses are built in several different styles (as several different architects were employed). I like these mock Tudor ones

 

 

The quality of life the village must have given those factory workers was unprecedented at that time; it's a marvel of early urban planning, a piece of social history, and a must-see place  in the Liverpool area.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery was dedicated by William Lever  to his late wife and houses his amazing collection of paintings, sculpture, porcelain and furniture. It's an airy and light space

 

Particularly splendid are the collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings

 

 

It's a real treat if you like this kind of painting as there are some beautiful examples, along with 18th and 19th century portraits by, amongst others, Joshua Reynolds, and landscapes by Turner and Constable. There's a very good cafe too, always a necessity after multiple picture viewing. 

 

There are sculptures dotted around the village, this was right outside the gallery;

 

Just up the road from the gallery is a very good garden centre where I bought these lovely souvenirs of my visit; they are primulas(which look like rosebuds).They'll remind me of being here, in this special place, when I look at them.

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

2009 - Review of the year

Another year is almost over, and what have I done? 

I visited all these interesting and beautiful places

 

I've grown all these flowers and enjoyed their colour and beauty

 

I taught myself to crochet and started a new obsession! And I made all these,

 

I have read all the books in this list.

I took 3863 photographs!

And I watched the changing of the seasons

  Starting to write this blog was a big step for me, and it's been quite a journey, gaining the confidence to write and show my photos here. I wouldn't have missed it for anything! Many thanks to everyone who has visited and commented over the year. I really do appreciate you stopping by and all your encouraging words. I hope you'll be back to see what 2010 will bring. Happy New Year to you all :-)

 
 

  

Keats, costumes and crochet.

I went to see 'Bright Star', the film about John Keats and his love affair with the girl-next- door, Fanny Brawne. It's a treat for the eyes, and I enjoyed it; although the pace was slow, it depicted beautifully the stillness and quiet of how life must have been in early nineteenth century Hampstead village. Apart from domestic tasks, time is spent by the characters in contemplative, often silent pursuits; reading, walking and in particular, sewing. Fanny is an accomplished seamstress and her vibrant outfits are a real stand-out, colourful and unusual. One of the costumes has made quite an impression on me, it's the cardigan in this picture.

 

Isn't it lovely?! I've found myself thinking about whether it's knitted or crocheted, I think possibly the latter and if it could be re-created!? It looks like little flowers joined together by crocheted chains. I wonder..........!! It will have to go on my long list of things to research and dream about making. I found a nice article in the Guardian about the costumes, which are on display at Keats' House in Hampstead. What a treat it would be to see them in the place where much of the poet's most famous work was written.

Bits and pieces

An interesting piece at the BBC about the growing trend towards 'make do and mend' and the increase in sewing machine sales since the recession.

Continuing my William Boyd theme, I found this article written by him in the Guardian, an A-Z of A how parks have inspired novelists.

I went to see 'Julie and Julia' and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci who were superb (Oscar-winning performances maybe?). If, like me, you have a little touch of the autumn blues, this film will cheer you up, I can vouch for that!

My new shoes; I bought these in purple, my favourite colour at the moment. They look lovely, are comfortable too, they make me a good 2" taller and I feel like the bees knees when I wear them! What more can you ask for in footwear?

A trip to the theatre last night to see this powerful production of  'The House of Bernarda Alba'. I wasn't sure if moving the setting to present-day Glasgow would work, but it did, very dramatically with some great performances from the all-female cast.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

Over the hedge

The hedge in the front garden was disgraceful. I'd turned a blind eye to its rampant growth for too long, so yesterday when the sun shone, i decided it was the day for a bit of hard work. Shears out, gloves on and 3 hours later I had something more presentable, and can now get up the path without having to push back the Amazonian undergrowth. I couldn't bear to show a photo of how awful it was, suffice to say I had another 5 trugs full to add to these 2

That's better

Afterwards I enjoyed this wonderfully perfumed honeysuckle; I wish blogging allowed me to bring the scent to you, it's delectable!

Smiled at these fuchsia which remind me of old-fashioned boiled sweets

Noticed 2 lovely new rosebuds

Then I enjoyed a well-earned treat!

Lovely!

And watched the evening sky turn pink

Beach Art project

I was looking at the V&A website and saw this page about the World Beach art project. I thought it was a lovely idea, using stones, found in situ, to make a design. You can look at a map of all those people's designs already linked to the project and see their pictures -  interesting to see all the differing ideas the brief generates. I live about an hour from the sea;  I may have to take a trip soon, and see what I can come up with. 

Frill thrills

This azalea is looking so good in the garden right now. 

Like lots of frilly underskirts.

A beautiful start to this week.

i heart hearts

After a little retail therapy the other day, I arrived home with 2 heart shaped items. 2 more heart shaped items to add to several already in my possession. I am drawn to the heart shape. Apart from its romantic connotations, it's such a pleasing and beautiful form, curved and voluptuous. It can be sewn, crocheted, baked, eaten, drawn and even planted in the garden.

I loved this when I spied it on the shelves. Great for all my potions and lotions.

And this little box too.  

Heart-warming!

Golden overture

A shining start to a new week!

Musical notes

I saw this next to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, when I visited there recently. I like the way it cheers up this blank wall, and brings the music, from within the hall, outside too.