Is it just me who gets bored at exhibitions?

Today, in search of more culture than our normal sloth-like Saturday, we met some friends at the Wellcome collection on Euston Road in London in search of some enlightenment and mental stimulation.

Now the thing is that much as i think i like museums and galleries i'm starting to realise that my attention span is not where perhaps it should be, especially given that this was something that i chose to visit.

I think today, however, i finally accepted just what does manage to hold my attention, and quite frankly it's not pretty or girly...

From a child i've always been fascinated by forensic psychology, crime thrillers and fairly gruesome stuff, even though I don't have the stomach for it. For example my favourite film is The Silence of the Lambs and i must admit to enjoying a Patricia Cornwall autopsy-led thriller (not exactly taxing fiction i appreciate). So today when i found myself ambling through an exhibition on Modern Medicine trying to force myself to read articles on god knows what there was one thing that stopped me in my track. And that was a glass case full of amputation saws. Yes yes i know this is wrong on so many levels but item R15 -"finger amputation saw with bone handle" made me return to the case several times with wide-eyed and tight-stomach'd fascination.

Now i don't think i have a problem, more an "interest" that i find hard to explain to decent, non-gore loving individuals. However thinking about it this is certainly not a one off as the exhibition i've enjoyed the most in recent-ish years (after the annual BP Portrait Award - which i know doesn't fit my hypothesis) was Dr Gunthers BodyWorlds at the O2. For those who didn't visit this exhibition had people fainting with shock - but to me yes it was at times yucky to look at but overall was bloody fascinating! (no pun intented)

So i go to bed tonight afriad of spider, burglars and injections but knowing that when it comes to exhibitions the more dark the material, the more i enjoy it - charming.

www.wellcomecollection.org
http://www.npg.org.uk/index.php?id=6757

Hair and pelt, not hairpelt

Not at all helped by the fact that fur has been huge this season, recent weeks have seen the emergence of a horrible horrible fashion faux-pas: matching your hair to your clothes.

Now we all know that coordination, done in moderation, can make an outfit however when that co-ordination is between your barnet and an animal (faux or otherwise) that has got to be a serious no-no, mais no?

Take the lady to the left, captured on the 73 bus near Angel. She was my first "spot" but from that cringe enducing moment i've begun to notice it more and more. From a more subtle fur trim of a hood to a full on snood of pelt, it's just completely unacceptable!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not averse to blondes wearing cream and brunnettes brown, in fact i think this can look super-sophisticated, it's just matching human hair to mammal hair - really?!

So i'd like you to join me in a crusade against hair matching. Next time you see this crime against fashion (and believe me you'll notice it now) and crime against all that is decent in the world, rise up and shout "hair and fur should never match, you womanimal!"

Until next time..

Jx

Fringe update

It's got longer

I've had my first under-fringe spot

I definately don't like it first thing in the morning - very odd angles

It looks better with makeup

It's changed my dress-sense - i'm a bit more quirky now

And finally, my mum still hates it... She came around yesterday, could hardly look at me and kept saying "Ooh it's horrible, where's my little girl gone".. Jesus, build a bridge mum!

Fringe benefits

I've been considering a change in appearance for a while and given that i'm petrified of needles and scalpels (and feel it would be spitting in the face of my mother to defy my genes too much) my hair was one of the few tools I had to play with.

Growing a moustache was out (give it a few more years) so back through the family albums I went to glean inspiration of what might have suited me once upon a time.

My answer: a fringe. My logic: i looked cute with a fringe when i was 6. I did however ignore the fact that I looked hideous with (or indeed without i imagine) a fringe at the age of 12, but hey the brace has gone and the spots don't command eye contact these days.

Off to the hairdressers I poodled with a rather optimistic photo of Zooey Deschanel and a dream of a better life to follow. Snip snip snip.

Now is it me or is it a bad sign when people either hesitate when asked if they like something or choose not to even mention the fact that you've had a radical appearance-altering haircut? I ask because these were my first 6 encounters post fringe (here-on-in refered to as PF). Granted my hairdresser has an obsession with straighteners so it was more Worzel than Zooey to start but still, i'd at least have liked a big of feigned fringe-appreciation.

                                             Zooey - The girl who launched a thousand fringes

Over the next 3 days fringe-loathing took up my every waking thought: it's too hot, it's wonkey, i'm going to get spots, i look 6 years old... but as my hair came out of shock and i went back to work for the first time PF the bang loving began. It certainly helps that i work in advertising where fringes are super cool and it's almost good to look odd/ugly/androgynous whereas i have no doubt that had i worked in another industry (or indeed not in London) i would have been met with silence or refused acknowledgement.

I am now almost embarrased at the fringe love, it's raining down like a torrent of petals every step i take (well kind of) however on meeting my mother the other day, the women for whom i disregarded botox or a chin implant let us not forget, pre even "hello" I was met with "i hate it, it doesn't suit you". But give it time and even she'll find it hard to remember life pre-Fringe.

Dog Judo anyone?

A playful little something has entered my life and brightened my working day.... "Dog Judo"

http://www.dogjudo.com/

I can't remember how i came across it but all i know is that i'm hooked. Is it the awkward animation, maybe. Perhaps it's the sadistic Rexley, or could it just be the fact that i tweeted Roy (yes, i messaged a fictional dog) and am now the proud owner of dog judo badges, t-shirt and a postcard of Roy's dad - Rik Mayall.

Yes yes this all sounds a bit mutts, sorry nuts, but check it out and if you don't like it you must be barking.

Over and out

(Team Roy)

Ben 10 my shoulders ache!

Wanted: One eager couple. Must love little boys more than little girls. Proven experience necessary in playing with cars, pretending to be horse and painting. Knowledge of zoo animals and Toy Story a bonus.

Stepping out of our adult-only bubble we spent the weekend in Diss with a good friend of mine Maria, her husband Paul and Max (5), Oscar (3) & Lucas (1) (kids not dogs i must stress).

With the boys growing up quicker even than i'm developing wrinkles, they remember me from visit to visit so it takes far less time for them to go from shy to shoulders. This was, however, the first time I subjected my boyfriend Chris to the delectable madness and the result was impressive.. 

Whilst i consider myself a fairly child-friendly character it appears that Chris was born to be a horse, give shoulder rides, play mind-numbing games with balls and cardboard and tell whopping lies to small children. The result: a rather noisy and certainly strange legacy left on the already hectic household.

In the space of 24 hours he had the 2 boys who are old enough to talk screaming "Zulu" at the top of their lungs without knowing why or when this was appropriate. He taught them to mimic in a strangely posh accent "oooh have a banana" which quickly changed from banana into just about anything (that's not going to get annoying mum and dad - honest) and he had them believing that he ate spiders for breakfast, lunch and dinner (apart from Saturdays when he was allowed to substitute arachnids for a Chicken Biriyani).

But my favourite moment of the whole weekend came whilst Oscar, the angelic (for 24 hours) 3 year old, was sitting on my lap on a rather futuristic looking see-saw in the park. Chris stretched himself across the plaything to get it moving at which point Oscar turned to me and whispered "Oooh, Chris is so long", and to be fair to the lad why would the opposite of short not be long?!

So back and slightly bruised our bubble is once more in place. And next time we visit all 3 will be walking, talking and still guilible...

My favourite jewellery designer...

When looking for something special and sparkly for my recent 30th birthday i came across Jessica de Lotz and instantly fell in love with her "The Love Story. Paris 1946" collection. So much so that my lovely group of mates got me a "J" necklace in rose gold. Jess makes them all to order and the wax seal can be designed to your own brief. Take a peek next time you want that special something for that special someone (or yourself!).

http://www.jessicadelotz.co.uk/