Last week I got a bit of a shock, as I discovered I was a finalist in 'Arts and Culture' category in the Blog Awards Ireland 2013! There are four other fabulous finalists in the same category, some of them personal favourites including The Irish Aesthete, writing.ie, A Year of Festivals in Ireland and Lexicolatry. Honestly, to be even uttered in the same breath as these fine blogs, is a reward in itself! It has really encouraged to push harder with my blog, so perhaps some changes will be on the horizon in the near future. For now, I'll continue to blog about my cultural pursuits and interests, (on a budget!). You know, I'm happy that even some of my friends read my blog! I have considered doing some freelance writing because theres still a lot I'd like to contribute, but this content doesn't necessarily 'fit' with the blog as it is, but I am unsure as to where to start, so if you have any suggestions feel free to comment or shoot me an email!
Carolanne with her produce at a market in Johannesburg (via)
Two other Sligo bloggers made it to the final round of nominations also, my friend Carolanne of Carol-Anne's Kitchen (for best Blog of the Dispora), and Seomra Ranga (Best Science/Education Blog). Carolanne is a globe trotting foodie, with a passion for life and new experiences. She has lived in India, Australia, and after training at the reknowned Ballymaloe cookery school earlier this year, she is currently based in South Africa, where she brings Irish flavours to the farmers markets of Johannesburg. The girl makes a mean caramel square. I mean I'm craving it right now, thousands of miles away, I've not tasted better yet, and I eat a lot of things coated in chocolate.
(via)
Seomra Ranga (from Irish, translates to 'class room') is an online resource, for Irish primary school teachers, established in 2007 by the enterprising Damien Quinn. It provides a wealth of free resources for teachers to use in the classroom, and Damien is active on every social network there is it seems, tirelessly promoting his fantastic site.
I wish them both well, both are duly dedicated to blogging and promoting their ideals just as well offline!
Blogging was a total revelation for me, I've made new friends along the way, though I'm not sure I can claim that my photography skills have improved! I find it enjoyable and immensely satisfying but I just don't blog enough! The Blog Awards Ireland is a reminder of the talent throughout this small island of ours, and no matter how rural or urban we bloggers are, we can connect with a blogging community on this world-wide platform, whether we're at home, or one of the thousands of Irish abroad, thinking of home.
St. George's Market
My friend Maeve hosted a Sylvia Plath retrospective on February 11th, marking the 50th anniversary of Plath's death. I stayed with her over the weekend, and I hope I acted as a foil to all the stresses that come with hosting an event single-handedly! Not that she needed the support, an impressive crowd filled the large lecture hall in the University of Ulster lecture hall. In fact, it was the only Sylvia Plath event on the island of Ireland. So congratulations to Maeve for pulling it off so successfullly. She had some engaging speakers, from Plath academics to poetry students, and she gave some impassioned speeches of her own. Maeve is big on promoting Plath studies, removing the layers of myth that come with biographical readings of Plath.
A selection of Plath books donated by the publisher Faber and Faber, especially for the Retrospective.
This time last year my only experience of Belfast was from the motorway. Thanks to Maeve for introducing me to the sights and sounds of the city, I've grown to love the place! When I was up last Spring I visited Titanic Belfast and The MAC.
Due to the trouble in the city before Christmas, local businesses have been running the Backin' Belfast campaign to combat the bad press surrounding the city over the past few months and to encourage people to visit Belfast and support it's vibrant local businesses, who were hit badly by the decline in turnover over the Christmas. On twitter they've been using the hashtag #backinbelfast to offer discounts in local restaurants, as well as printing it on t-shirts and other merchandise.
Vegetarian paella - not sure why there's two forks, I wasn't going to share!
Lily Pink Bakery treats
No visit to Belfast is complete with a visit to St. George's Market. There I visited Belfast blogger, and friend, Claire at her stall - The Lily Pink Bakery, where she sells a popular selection of delicious cupcakes.
The place was buzzing, we skipped breakfast and decided to get brunch at the market. I had vegetarian paella, Maeve and her pal got burritos. Finding a table is a bit of a challenge in the mid-morning, so you do a bit of ducking and diving, but you get to enjoy your food at the end of it! All our food was very tasty and fresh!
One of my favourite stalls at the market is the Blue Door Studio where a mother and daughter team make these very contemporary, quirky birthday cards. I bought a gin one for my desk, for the days I need cheering up (there alongside Tavi's First Kiss Zine from 2010)! The illustration is taken from an original pen and ink drawing by Sarah Majury and you can buy her work from her Etsy shop 'White Hart'.
I wandered around the stalls for a cheeky browse, they sell everything you could think of under the lofty Victorian roof of the market. Cakes, jewellery, retro clothing - an abundance of locally made crafts and goods, and it heartens me to see the place so bustling with people eager to buy local. I'd love to see something similar in Sligo, or the North-West. Though, Belfast has the population to cater for it. I do remember enjoying a similar market whe I was in Leeds in the autumn.
Lovely copper studs from Beadmag.
I purchased these lovely copper star earrings from beadmag, made in Belfast, at the Silver Trilogy stall (I assume its a collective of 3 jewelry sellers). Now I have much less money, I'm not inclined to buy cheaper bits of jewellery from high street shops. I cleared a lot of my trinkets out in January. I'd rather buy items made from more quality materials when I can afford it. Copper is very expensive now, but I thought these were good value for £10! I love how you can see the indentations in the metal.
My top purchase was this hot chocolate from the O'Conaill stall. They've recently set up shop in Belfast. Their flagship and only other store is in Cork, and has been high regarded for many years now. As I giddily waited, for my dark chocolate drink to be prepared, I jokingly expressed my dissatisfaction at being stranded in the middle of the two best chocolate shops in Ireland, over a 3 hour journey each way! I don't know if the poor fellow running the stall has any sway in the company, but I was insistent that they open a store in Galway at least! There's plenty of greedy chocoholics in the West!
Find out more about the #backinbelfast campaign here.
Ruth and Irene, the ladies behind The Vintage Sessions
Before Christmas I had the pleasure of attending the first event of its kind in Dublin. The first (of hopefully many) Vintage Sessions took place on December 8th. Somewhat fittingly December 8th is traditionally the date when country folk, from my neck of the woods, make the day trip to Dublin to do their Christmas shopping. A couple of my friends ribbed me for this!
I've been a fan of Irene O'Brien's blog Vintage Irene for a while now, so I knew that the event would be authentic in every respect. Events of this kind are regularly held in the UK, where the audience is larger, so it felt exciting to be a part of something so niche, within an Irish context.
I was so absorbed in the days talks that I neglected to take any pictures, here are the only three I have:
The formidable staircase of No. 27 South William Street
Gúna's on display from Dirty Fabulous
The intimate setting of the day's talks, on the top floor
The South William Space was the setting for the day, an impressive Georgian townhouse, in the fashion quarter of Dublin. Upon entering you ascend the staircase, and passing by each room peeping in to see what treasures lay within. My purse was light so I merely had a browse around some of the vintage trader's pop-up shops: After Sybil, Dirty Fabulous, Om Diva, Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage, Carousel, Golly Gosh Boutique, Elsa & GoGo Boutique and Alice at Home Interiors were all there for the day.
I was most looking forward to the fashion history talks, curated by Ruth Griffin, co-organiser of the Vintage Sessions. They ran as follows:
- The Evolution of the Creative Quarter and the Rise of Vintage in the Area
- The Lost Fashion History of South William St by fashion historian Ruth Griffin
- 1940s Irish Fashion, by photo historian Orla Fitzpatrick
- Forgotten Irish Style Icons by fashion historian Ruth Griffin
- Vintage in Ireland Today and why so many are choosing to turn their passion in to a career (Sarah of The Licentiate was on this panel, along with Irene O'Brien and the co-owner of Shotsy Vintage in Temple Bar.
When you reached the top floor, breathless, you were rewarded with pomegranate and prosecco cocktails in gorgeous vintage crockery, from Me Auld China.
It was a truly enlightening day, both in terms of subject matter, and the people I encountered. I finally met Sarah Licentiate and got to speak to photo historian Orla Fitzpatrick who runs a truly fascinating website Jacolette.com where she draws largely from her personal collection of antique photographs, and uses them to draw out the social history of Ireland at the time, using clothing such as hats as clues to date the photos!
Keep your eye on the Vintage Sessions facebook page for news of future events! I'll see you there.
Sarah of the Licentiate blogged about this event last week, which reminded me that I had meant to write something myself.
I have a treat for the ladies just ahead of Christmas, my blogger friend Khrystyna who runs the Ruby Robin Boutique has presented me with this beautiful locket of My Sweet Rose (1908) by John William Waterhouse to give away to a lucky reader.
Kay makes necklaces, earrings, brooches and beautiful hairclips, all packaged beautifully and to a high standard, you can see them all over at her etsy boutique Ruby Robin Boutique.
Kay lives and works in the rainy city of Cork in the South of Ireland with her boyfriend and four mischievous cats. She makes all sorts of vintage inspired jewellery and accessories in her bedroom studio, which is on the bottom floor of a wonderful old Georgian building overlooking the river and railway line.
As with any blog competition, there are a few rules to follow:
1. Like the facebook page for Ruby Robin Boutique.
2. Follow me on Google Reader/bloglovin' (over there to the right).
3. Comment below with your favourite item from the Ruby Robin Boutique!
This giveaway is open worldwide, and the closing date is December 7th.
Its Kay's dream to work full time selling her designs, so I urge you to have a look around her lovely Etsy Boutique and find something for that special someone (you!) this Christmas!
She is generously giving an exclusive 20% off to readers, so use code VAGABOND to get your discount!
Maeve of The Plath Diaries has become a close personal friend of mine, and this weekend I had the pleasure of staying with her in Belfast once again. We've got very similar tastes and outlooks, so our wanderings around Belfast were most amiable and relaxed!
Myself and Maeve
Once I'd diposed of my backpack at her flat we went for a walk around Queens University and the park there, bustling with people enjoying the unusually warm weather. After sharing some heart to hearts we went to a ~cool coffee shop, Common Ground and caught up some more. I finally got to see the Queens Film Theatre, and its setting was not at all what I expected. It is linked to the university itself, being part of the QUB Drama and Film Centre and is cosily nestled in a beautiful Georgian house. I can only say that next time, I'll include a trip to the cinema in my visit. The evening that followed was unplanned and of course we ended staying out until the wee hours, I having bought a £4.75 bottle of red to accompany dinner.
Interior of St. George's Market
The next day was exciting as I had been looking forward to seeing Claire of French for Cupcake, who had recently secured a permanent stall at St. George's Market, with her independent bakery Lily Pink Bakery. I think one of the positives of this recession that some people are finding fulfilment in alternative means of employment and Claire is pursuing her dream, and I couldn't be more pleased for her. She works so hard! In fact I'm devouring one of her best sellers, the red velvet cupcake as I type.
Claire at her stall
Claire's beautifully iced cupcakes
Maeve & I outside the iconic St. George's Market gates
St. George's Market was a joy to wander around, independent businesses all plying their wares, from independent artists to leatherworkers, the stall holders were as engaging as the ware of their stalls. I bought a very delicious vegetarian burrito from the father and son team of Sol Catering (I believe that was the name but I can't find them after googling), as well as a Flax Fox Designs postcard illustration of the iconic Harland & Woolf shipping cranes "Samson and Goliath", that I'd seen on my list visit, to Titanic Belfast. She had a lovely range of quirky prints and beautiful tea towels, I wished I could have afforded to buy more.
(Also for Game of Thrones fans, there were some Stark children about while I was there, in fact Claire seems to have her photo taken with a different cast member every week!)
"Samson and Goliath", Flax Fox Designs
A leisurely hour or so later, we meandered through the streets of Belfast, making our lazy way toward The MAC, a recently opened contemporary arts centre in the heart of the city.
Gavin and Maeve, unconciously making good poster candidates for the gallery!
(Gavin's picture)
Rather decadently, instead of making our way up through the galleries directly, I was somewhat awed to see a long, well stocked bar opposite the reception desk. No generic gallery cafe, not for Belfast! The painfully chic black booths were organised along the red brick interior walls. We made our orders at the bar, what better time than now to try out "the hair of the dog" hangover cure. As we later made our way up through the galleries, I recognised Mark Garry's handiwork:
Mark Garry, The Permanent Present, 2012 (Gavin's picture!)
As we resolved that because I was "on holiday", we made our way to a favourite bar of Maeve's, and probably beloved of tourists, I don't know if there's an Irish equivalent for the word Americana, but this place was literally wall to wall of Irish bar paraphernalia. I liked it though, it was laid back with its snugs, mirrors, copper topped tables and wooden benches. It didn't feel forced, more like they had been accumulated and acquired over time.
Gavin & I, that was the first outing for the rather wonderful 1960s lurex suit I have had in my wardrobe for a number of months! It recevied loads of compliments at St. George's market, a different environment to small town West of Ireland though!
The 'Duke of York' Irishy bar (the English name puzzled me too, but its Belfast) was down this lovely wee alley with punters taking the opportunity to drink in comfort on the gaily painted red benches outside.
Dali looking over the aforementioned alley
Dinner next, and we enjoyed a curry in the delicious, it was very quiet when we were there which seems such a shame because I really enjoyed my meal. This blissful day ended, I'm not ashamed to say, with a tired Maeve and myself watching When Harry Met Sally, squeeing over our favourite scenes. Feels good to watch it with a fellow fan, rather than introducing it to an indifferent friend!
A really beautiful Catholic church that we passed on the walk home
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P.S. I have been neglectful of the blog as of late and not for the first time, there's so much to say and I scribble enthusiastic notes in my notebook, hoping one day to turn them into a tangible post, then I quickly loose confidence... and nothing.
The blog will be poorly attended to for the next number of weeks, but more of that soon.
So my main objective for going to London at the end of May was to take part in A Weekend with the Oliviers, organised by Kendra.
It was two days spent with a legion of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier aficionados, bliss! The schedule consisted of a tour of the Old Vic on Saturday morning, followed by a screening of That Hamilton Woman (Vivien in the role of the infamous Emma Hamilton and Larry as Nelson, naturally). Sunday was my personal favourite venture of the weekend, we met at the Olivier statue at the National Theatre and from there began our Vivien and Laurence themed walking tour of London.
Olivier's statue outside the NT, erected in 2007. Olivier was the first director of the National Theatre, 1963-1973 (during its years at the Old Vic).
Aldwych Theatre, Laurence Olivier directed Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire here in 1949.
Vivien as Blanche du Bois, 1949.
The Savoy, where Vivien and Larry first formally met in 1937.
Vivien's memorial plaque (erected by in, as Vivien has no formal gravestone, having being cremated after her death).
St. Paul’s The Actor’s Church, Covent Garden
The Ivy
This famous, exclusive restaurant near Covent Garden was frequented by London’s smart set, including Vivien Leigh who could often be spotted dining alongside Noel Coward and other theatrical luminaries.
The Noel Coward Theatre
This is where the Old Vic company performed during and after the war while waiting for bomb damage at the Old Vic to be repaired. The stage at the New Theatre is where Laurence Olivier officially became a theatrical superstar during the 1944-1945 season.
Ambassadors Theatre
Just next door to the Ivy, Vivien Leigh became an overnight star when The Mask of Virtue opened here in 1935.
Vivien as Henriette Duquesnoy in The Mask of Virtue, 1935, a reformed prostitute masquerades as 'a paragon of innocence'.
Afternoon tea - Having a very creamy waffle at Patisserie Valerie, 44 Old Compton Street, London
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, Vivien Leigh’s public memorial service was held here.
Her Majesty's Theatre, Just across the street from the Theatre Royal. Vivien Leigh starred alongside Ivor Novello in The Happy Hypocrite here in 1936.
Theatre Royal Haymarket, When The Doctor’s Dilemma came to London in 1943, it opened at this theatre and ran for over a year because audiences were thrilled to be able to see Scarlett O’Hara in the flesh.
Publicity still of Vivien as Jennifer Dubedat in The Doctor's Dilemma, taken by Angus McBean. Also, Larry's favourite photo of Vivien.
St. James House, Holland Park, London. The former site of the St James’ Theatre. It was demolished and rebuilt as a modern office building, but the alley between the office and the pub next door boasts a relief of the Oliviers in the Two Cleopatras as well as a plaque commemorating the protest to save the theatre that was led by Vivien Leigh in 1958.
This flat (flat D) in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in London, was purchased by the Oliviers in 1958, Vivien lived here until her death in 1967. Today it is occupied by Louise Rainer.
Vivien & Larry at Durham Cottage, Chelsea, SW3
Vivien Leigh's Duel of Angels costume, Dior, V&A
Laurence Olivier's Oedipus Rex costume, 1946, V&A
For a comprehensive list of these and other Larry and Vivien places of interest around London, you can find them here and here.
After this exhausting day, we went for some food in Leicester Square before going to see Susie Lindeman's performance as Vivien in A Letter to Larry. Tarquin Olivier was in residence! I was too shy to shake his hand but others took the opportunity. It was a strong performance by Ms. Lindeman, based on Larry's request for divorce from Vivien, so some dark subject matter was being dealt with.
We then said our respective goodbyes, and took our exhausted but happy selves home.
