Teapots – All Things Alice

 Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ film  is released March 5 this year and from  this clip,  it looks a lot of fun.  I’m not keen on Alice’s off the shoulder dress though – is there any need really?  The visual effects look very interesting though.  I found the floating Cheshire cats floating head on the trailer

More Bog Bodies – Ireland

The peat bogs of Ireland hold many treasures and are a rich source of bog bodies.  The properties of the peat preserves these ancient peoples – even the contents of their last meal. In 2006 two bog bodies of men were found and displayed in Dublin.  One, a giant of a man (6ft 6in) had

Happy Birthday Renoir!

Today is the birthday of French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir  (b. 1841- 1919).  He originally started his artistic career as an artist in a porcelain factory.  His first exhibition was in 1864 at the Paris Salon and his early work portray scenes from life.  But real recognition came 1874 where he exhibited 6 paintings in Paris at the first Impressionist

On with the Motley

I’ve been very busy at the moment doing all sorts of things.  Some of it  involves getting my house straightened, which is boring, boring, coconut flooring.  Still blogging on Bookstains  (not as much as here) and have written quite a few poems lately (my Arachne rising seems to have arisen again after all these years!).  It

Poetry of the past and present

I’ve read rather a lot of poetry lately.  Mostly off some excellent blogs that I have discovered.  I used to write quite a bit myself.  I still do occasionally (usually if I’m a bit squiffy).  Unfortunately, when I come to read it the writing is very scrawling and almost ilegible.  This seems to be a quirk

Weird and wacky design: Walk a mile in these shoes?

I’ve not put any ‘Weird and Wacky designs’ on here for a while – so I shall address that now.  I love strange shoes, though it takes me all my time to wear high heels these days (though I just will not be told and do try to persevere).  I rather like these shoes. I like the

Melt in the mouth sculpture

     Sculptures come in all forms of media, not just stone wood and metal.  In Thailand, sculpting edible foodstuffs is an art form and enhances the table.  Butter sculpture is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist tradition, used to celebrate  religious ceremonies and  the Tibetan New Year.  In North america it goes back to the 19th century and 

Watched: Of Mice and Men (but no rabbits)

Probably because I had been recently writing about  regionalism (Wood, Stueart Curry and Hart-Benton) and about the Great Depression, I watched a DVD   I hadn’t watched in quite a while the other night.  ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novel by John Steinbeck, set in the Great Depression.  It tells the sad story of two wanderers