Has Spring sprung?

When Mr P and I came back from hols a few weeks ago we were amazed at now the weather had turned.  When we had left it was particularly still snowy but we came back to much milder weather and the first sign of bulbs making their way up in the garden.  Today, after the winter we've had it's been positively balmy and the garden is full of crocuses and daffodils.  Nothing makes me feel more optimistic that winter has ended than having some daffodils in a vase on the mantelpiece.  This sudden sun (which may not last until tomorrow) has really made me look forward to doing things.  Winter makes me want to stay at home with a cup of tea and a good book but the sun makes me want to go out and have fun.  While I plan for the next sunny day we have and I'm not at work it made me think about things I have done before I started blogging.  This in turn made me dig out my hen do photos from just over 15 months ago.  As you may have gathered I am a big fan of afternoon tea so my 'hens' and I started out at The Parlour in Fortnum and Masons in Piccadilly to have a spot of 'after lunch'.  It is a wonderful place to go when the weather is fine because the view onto the street below is perfect for people watching and the relaxed atmosphere means you feel fine about spending hours there.  As the name suggests they specialise in ice cream but do sandwiches, cakes and cream teas.  Here are a selection of photos:

The calm before the storm

Reading one of my presents

Knickerbocker Glory - oh my it's a foot high!

It is true that I have a few favourite dresses that I know I can grab off the hanger and put on to feel happy in.  This Vivien of Holloway is the queen of my favourite dresses.  I have to say though, much as I love VoH I don't love their petticoats so bought my neon pink one online, it's a little big but was a bargain and it's nothing a massive safety pin can't handle. 

After filling ourselves to the brim at F&M we went to the Powder Room in Columbia Road.  I have mentioned the Powderpuff Girls before and their new shop in Soho but here are the photos of what you can expect.  The very talented ladies can give you a speedy new look in just 30 minutes - perfect for lunch hours if you work in London.

As seen above - they can work miracles in 30 minutes!!!

All my wonderful hens :-)

It was such a wonderful day.  In the evening we went to All Star Lanes in Holborn which is very '50s and perfect for a 1950s hen do in London.  If you like the 1950s, bowling and pizza then another thing to do (on the first Saturday of the month) is take a trip to Bloomsbury Bowl in London where they have a vintage fair. The details from the last fair are here:

www.bloomsburylive.com/calendar_event_new.php?id=331 or have a look at:

www.thevintagefair.com/

Vintage Afternoon Tea.....on a train

This weekend was a wet, gloomy one for the UK but it also happened to be a weekend that we'd booked to go away for a night.  I'd been given a free night's stay at any of the Handpicked Hotels chain and we chose Buxted Park Hotel in East Sussex.  Here are a couple of photos of how it looks in the sunshine (we saw it in rain but still loved it!)  In the photo below it shows our room on the top right corner.  We were so lucky with the room as it looked out over the grounds and the gorgeous stone church.

There were great things to do on the way there - Hever castle where Anne Boleyn grew up and The Bluebell Railway which is entirely run by volunteers.  Continuing Mr P's birthday week, I had booked us tickets on the train for afternoon tea.  It really was like stepping back in time when we got on to the platform, advertisements and the conductors' uniforms all from the era.  Even the bathrooms were made to take you back to a time gone by. 

The age of steam travel is often now pictured as a lost age of romance. Brief encounters between proper people on smoky platforms; locomotives alive with power, burbling and breathing before pulling away from a platfom in a kind of long explosion. Unlike modern locomotives the power and vitality of a steam engine is so apparent, pouring out at the funnel, around the wheels, at every seam and joint. Watching a steam engine pull away from a platform it is easy to see how such vibrant machines could have been thought of in human terms. So why do steam engines give rise to these feelings? What makes them so different to nice quiet, clean electric locomotives?

We live in an age of ever increasing efficiency; and it is hard to be unhappy about that. And yet, just for a moment, to step out of such a world is a relief. That is the feeling I had at Sheffield Park station. We walked into a ticket office warmed by a coal fire. On the platform there was a poignant stack of period luggage, waiting for a journey it would never take. Meanwhile trains were plying back and forth on a nine mile stretch of track from Sheffield Park to Kingscote in West Sussex, which for all practical purposes is a journey from nowhere to nowhere. With the Bluebell Railway the journey is the only thing that matters and especially if you are nibbling away on yummy sandwiches and tea!

The Bluebell Railway opened in 1960 while steam trains still worked on British railways. The idea was to preserve part of the Lewes to East Grinstead line, using trains and rolling stock from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

In the summer there is an amazing vintage bus that takes you between the stations:

...and finally, the afternoon tea, I've never drunk so much!!  I really want to recreate the scones (which you can't see, hidden by the mini meringue.)  They were tiny little things with a dollop of strawberry compote, cream and strawberry slices on top.)  We also had lemon shortbread, custard tarts, fruit cake and mini eclairs......

 It would be lovely to take our train to nowhere in the summer when the bluebells that give the train its name are out and lining the track,  We'd be happy just taking the journey without the tea as it's a really wonderful feeling taking a trip on a steam train.  Also, the warmer weather will allow a more glamorous outfit ;-)  This time it was so cold, all you could see of my dress was the hem over my thick black tights and under my thick grey coat!

Events and Competitions

At the end of my last post I wrote a few paragraphs about some events and it didn't save so I have to rewrite them.  How annoying!!!!  A couple of my photos were rejected too - how rude.  In any case, I had a cup of tea and am now starting again.  Right...here I go. There is still time to get to the Letchworth Garden City Museum to see the exhibition on the area during WWII which goes on until March 2011. This is a great exhibition if you're local to Herts.  Earlier this month they held an evening vintage swap shop to tie in with the exhibition with stalls, dancing, music, refreshments and a hair and make up demo.  Fingers crossed they do another soon.  If any of you fancy popping along here are the details: http://www.gardencitymuseum.org/exhibitions/letchworth_garden_city_world_war_ii

If you fancy something a little racier....What Katie Did, the makers of the divine faux vintage lingerie,  have teamed up with FYEO to launch a Vintage Pin Up photoshoot package. FYEO specialise in full body makeover portraits in 5 locations around England. Their What Katie Did Vintage Pin Up package will take it's inspiration from the silver screen with dramatic (and flattering) lighting to produce your own iconic portrait.  This leads into a competition that they are running, 3 would be pin ups will be invited to FYEO's head office in High Wycombe to sample the Vintage Pin Up shoot, to be styled by Katie, to be featured on the Vintage Pin Up packaging and FYEO website. The lucky winners will also receive a £200 gift voucher to spend on What Katie Did lingerie. To enter, simply post your picture on the What Katie Did Facebook page (I don't belong to Facebook so can't post the link, you can find it from the WKD website though.)

Lastly, Mrs Bear's Swap Shop is on tomorrow at the new North London venue for 2011 and Mrs Bear has recruited a new Swap shop organiser - Sarah. Sarah will be hosting the first North London Swap Shop event on Thursday 17th February 2011 @ The Circuit Gym @ NLPAC in Muswell Hill. You will be able to redeem all your coupons from any previous Mrs Bear’s Swap Shop event, so don’t forget your coupon book and of course, don't forget your swaps! They take up to 7 good-condition items.

 

There'll be bluebirds over.....

You know I love things handmade and with a vintage feel, and I am lucky enough to have some wonderful friends who know this too.  Last weekend one of my lovely friends took a trip to the coast at the weekend and came back with a lovely find. 

Valerie May and and her felting can be found online (yippee) at ww.Nunovalenki.co.uk  here you'll find her amazing felted necklaces and corsages.  I had no idea when I looked on there that I would find this gorgeous little bluebird pin.  I fell for him instantly and ordered him.  He was with me the next day, preceded by a friendly email from Valerie herself.  I intend to make a trip to her shop as soon as I have a free weekend as she was kind enough to mention a couple of links to me which I want to thank her for.

The first mention was of the shop opposite Valerie's called Wayward Vintage Fabric & Trims, which sells some amazing fabrics and bits and bobs http://www.waywardvintagefabric.com/  I had a look at the photos and it looks like an Aladdin's Cave of vintage finds and would be a great way to spend a few hours.  It would be the perfect place to find some genuine vintage material and make a truly original dress.  Talking of which, a couple of weeks ago the designer from http://www.digforvictoryclothing.com/ was there buying material to make her fabulous dresses with. 

Dig For Victory is a sustainable fashion label which creates one-off pieces from vintage fabrics. Designer and maker Eleanor Callaghan selects vintage gems from antique fairs, charity shops and flea markets to create a palette of intense colours and patterns to work with in her Brighton Studio. A self taught pattern cutter, Eleanor plays with contrasting colours and textures of fabric to create panelling which accentuates the curves of the body in a playful take on traditional femininity.

This one is my favourite:

Inspired by the dressing up box she loved as a child, Eleanor takes inspiration from the many different eras of fashion represented in her vintage finds. Working with vintage fabric gives each piece a history and individuality while also avoiding the potential negative impact of modern textile production.

Joy of Vintage

I realise it's been a while since my last post but sadly, I've been through a very tough week which came to a head last Wednesday with an operation in hospital.  I'm feeling fine now but still very slow on my feet.  A couple of things have really cheered me up though, needless to say one of them is Mr P and the other is seeing that I am officially part of the Joy of Vintage Fair in Watford.  Like I said in an earlier post I am signed up for the whole year and the event seems like it's just getting better and better.  At the March fair on the 26th there will be a pop up makeover parlour.  In a way I wish I didn't have a stall there and could just go as a visitor and enjoying a wander and afternoon tea!  It will be such a fabulous day and definitely something to look forward to.  

The link to the website is http://www.thejoyofvintage.co.uk/links  where you can see my website as one of the links of people involved.  I would include a print screen but not sure how to do it on this computer!  It feels great to be part of this event and reminded me about my website http://www.vintagegarden.co.uk/  It looks better than I remembered!  I focus mainly on this blog and etsy but it's good to have the 'dotcom' for ease of reference.  Have to admit I felt rather proud of myself this morning.

So the sun is shining and that means it doesn't look too odd to wear dresses, so wear them I shall!  I am still raving about my Cath Kidston and am wearing it every chance I get.  It fits wonderfully and makes me feel good which is all you can ask for.  As an added bonus I have finally seen the episodes of 'Upstairs, Downstairs' that were shown on the BBC over Christmas.  Set just before the second world war I was very pleased to see a lady wearing the same dress as me!

Vintage Victory

Hi everyone, hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Mine was very self indulgent and involved me not doing a great deal.  I did however manage to finish watching the second series of Land Girls the BBC's great drama.  The had it on every day for a week and then the series finishes. This one was a lot darker than the last season but it still had the same great fashion, attention to detail and music.  Sure it will be out on dvd soon enough.

Another thing that I did was wear my new Cath Kidston dress.  I indulged myself with the bright red brownie dress in the post below.  This is my first Cath Kidston dress and I love it.  Fits perfectly and is so flattering.  The bonus is that it is a perfect match for the MAC lipstick Ruby Woo - yay!

So this post is called Vintage Victory.  This is site that has been a wonderful FREE vintage community for a while but now it is a one stop shop for anything and all things vintage - literally.  There is now an online vintage marketplace.  I missed out on being one of the lucky first 100 takers for a free shop (to celebrate the launch of this enterprise) as I was on holiday.  I took the time out this weekend to investigate the new look VV and love it.  It's a great source of information and now shops!  The link is simply www.vintagevictory.com/

On the subject of holiday here are a few photos of where I was just over a week ago...(sigh)

A Vintage 2011

I never like to jump the gun and have been keeping this news to myself but now I have confirmation that I will have  a stall at the Joy of Vintage fair in Watford for the year.  The dates are 26th March, 4th June, 24th September and 26th November.  Talk about getting organised ;-) The first JoV had stalls offering everything from fabulous frocks to heart-warming homewares with a sprinkling of trinkets, treasure and accessories galore. In the Tearoom, the kettle was on all day and Betsy served up delicious cupcakes, truffles and sponges, as well as warm soup to fend off the cold. While on stage, lovely young musicians and the gorgeous 'Jiveswing' dancers kept everyone entertained.

What I love about this fair is that it is an event more than just a fair.  You can take a few hours, learn to jive, watch demos and have a nice cup of tea with cake.  Best of all, for me as a stall holder, it's inside - yippeeee!  The next fair in March looks to be bigger and better, spread across 2 floors.  Hope to see you there! http://www.thejoyofvintage.co.uk/

 Another announcement that came out this week was about the festival 'Vintage' that was held last year at the Goodwood Estate.  This year it's coming to London.  Dates are 29th-31st July 2011.

In 2007 Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway and the HemingwayDesign creative team developed a concept of a festival that celebrated the history of British Creativity. Working with a team of researchers from Wolverhampton University they forensically assembled the archives, the experts, the knowledge bases that would enable an authentic celebration of the music, fashion, art, design, film and food of the 40s , 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s and be able to look at how these “decades of cool” are influencing today’s world renowned British creative culture .

The concept had its birth in August 2010 at the highly acclaimed Vintage at Goodwood event. 50,000 people came to party, the majority “dressed to the nines”. Vintage 2010 dominated the media coverage of summer events and dominated the nominations at the 2010 Festival Awards, walking away with the Best New Festival category. The feedback proved the Hemingway hunch that there is a glaring gap in the summer festival calendar for an annual event the reunites music and fashion and ties in the wider cultural influences.


The media and cultural commentators agreed;


“Loved the atmosphere, the amazing attention to detail, the music, the fashions....everything was so inspiring .My new favourite festival” - Simon Price writing in The Independent


“Simply the best festival I have played in a very very long time .A truly inspired festival weekend” - Norman Jay MBE


“Brilliant , loved it .We had such a great time “ - Sir Peter Blake


Vintage is a glamorous and cool antidote to a festival in a field where wellies and cagoules are the norm and this year Vintage is coming to the world’s coolest city, London. Vintage 2010 was described as the “new Festival of Britain” so where better to host Vintage 2011 than the South Bank especially as The South Bank is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the most iconic of all festivals , the 1951 Festival of Britain .


On the 29th , 30th , 31st July London’s iconic Southbank Centre will host the award winning Vintage concept .This wonderful 21 acre section of the Embankment, including The Royal Festival Hall , The Hayward Gallery , Queen Elizabeth Hall , Purcell Room , The British Film Institute ,the shops , restaurants and bars and the Thames Embankment itself will be transformed into a Vintage Wonderland .All the wonderful clubs, bands , fashions, art , and design , film ,shops , vintage retailers , dance lessons , make overs ,workshops that made Vintage 2010 so memorable will be there along with some cool new surprises. Vintage on The South Bank will celebrates the music, fashion, film, art, dance and design from the 1920s,30s, 40s 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, that has made Britain the world’s creative and cultural hot bed. Vintage explores this rich cultural history and the extraordinary influence that it has had on the modern world.


Vintage on the South Bank features an inspirational line up of world renowned bands, DJs, collectors from each decade as well as current bands and brands inspired by Britain's rich creative heritage. Vintage pays homage to the best of British fashion design through a line-up of catwalk shows, hands on creative experiences with a gathering of over 200 of the finest purveyors of vintage clothing, accessories, and homewares in a Vintage Marketplace running for hundreds of metres along The Thames.


Visitors can have their hair + make up done in a iconic style, can take part in fashion, design and art workshops and the best dressed get their chance to strut their stuff on the Vintage Catwalk .


Learn to do a Northern Soul backdrop or to Jive during the afternoon and then try out your moves in the clubs that evoke the ambience of classic venues like Wigan Casino , The Blitz Club and those much missed 80s warehouse parties . Have a supper inspired by the classic dishes of the 40s and then dance off your dinner in South Bank Ballroom to a 20 piece swing orchestra.


By night the whole of the Southbank complex is transformed into a series of evocative set dressed venues, complimented by a flotilla of party boats, cruising The Thames on a summer evening specialising in genres from funk, to electro swing. Anyone fancy recreating the 1977 Sex Pistols Jubilee boat party?


The British Film Institute will be joining the party with a 3 day extravaganza of 20th century classic and iconic movies, Public Information films and documentaries.


The event explores the musical, design and cultural lineages and with Future Vintage offers a glimpse of where we go from here.


Whether your thing is Swing, Rockabilly, Mod, Soul, Funk, Disco, Ska, Electro, Burlesque, Film, Art & Design, or you just want to dress up and get an authentic ‘flat top’ and make-over for a day, Vintage on The South Bank is a visual, aural and sensual, a big family dressing up box, a collectors dream and a joyous creative feast for all ages.


This promises to be London’s best looking and most uplifting weekend for many a year so get yer glad rags on and let’s celebrate everything that’s great about British creativity in the past, present and future


For more details visit www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk

I loved 'Vintage' last year and will look back on it as being part of something very special.  Goodwood is beautiful and it's a shame the festival will not to be there this year but I think holding the event at the Southbank will be amazing.  not only is the potential mindblowing but it's just a short ride on the tube for me.  Yay!  After last year I think tickets will sell twice as quickly (especially being in London) so might be wise to sign up for updates at the link above.