“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” ― Winston Churchill
Britain’s in the midst of honoring the first year of WWI this year, but this monument is one of my favorite wartime memorials in London. A little vague, still deeply appreciated.
A handbook was issued to American GIs stationed in Britain during WWII that cautioned them how to behave to British women. It pointed out how most of the women they encountered, whether in uniform or out, had been at war a lot longer than they had and had already sacrificed time, skills, labor, and lives to the cause. They had mobilized to grow food, work in factories, provide medical and military service, run businesses, protect communities, and perform critical work to keep the nation together. As such, the handbook stressed they deserved to be treated respectfully as comrades in arms. So say we all.
“Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them.”
~John Shirley
A frustrating but largely good week and an insufficiently restful weekend coming on. We’ve got friends in town, I’ve got a check in the mail, and we had another nephew born yesterday! As Jeff is the youngest of five siblings, I married into a pre-exisiting bunch of nieces and nephews where previously (as not only the oldest sibling but the oldest cousin) I had none, and the posse has continued to grow deliciously. The Woodland clan makes cute kids.
There have been a lot of random visits from the neighboring cat as well. More on this later.
This Is Glamorous has some gorgeous shots of the Dolce & Gabbana couture collection, shown in Capri, Part II here. Italian fashion isn’t my personal mainstay, but those gowns are stunning and look like they move beautifully.
In other fashion news, a mom wrote a letter to Lands End about some of the clothing choices offered for her daughters. The company listened. High fives all around! Next stop, more variation for boys too – choices all around! The company is getting some criticism for being “too late,” but I think they should get credit for 1) acknowledging the validity of a criticism and 2) turning around a solution quickly. Another criticism is that they are only responding to stop negative press, to which I kind of say, “So?” They’re a business and someone pointed out that their marketing was costing them. So they amended their marketing and product to both reduce a stereotype and widen their market. That’s not just the right thing to do, it’s good business practice.
Yes. More advertising campaigns like this, thanks.
H/t to Ruth for this hilarious article. When we were at Teri’s for dinner last weekend, we all had a fascinating discussion about social media and perception that was quite fun.
Gigi New York’s released their fall handbag line and colors (it’s summer, retailers, calm down!), and I have to say, I am crushing hard on that kelly green.
Everybody else can go home, THIS is the best Women Against Feminism parody.
I’m currently off sugar and hating it. It is a drug and it is addicting. But in the midst of withdrawals, I find this Buzzfeed post intriguing.
Jeff and I have been doing something slightly out of the ordinary for us this year: going to summer blockbuster movies…and enjoying them! It’s inspired a lot of heated debate over the future of the movie industry vs. other forms of media, specifically streaming video, so this piece caught my eye. Weigh in.
I would not at all mind coming across one of these.
To round off the week, a thought provoking piece from The Federalist. Who guards the guardians when we don’t acknowledge the guardians anymore?
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace – Christopher Robin went down with Alice. Alice is marrying one of the guard. “A soldier’s life is terrible hard,” Says Alice. – A.A. Milne, Buckingham Palace
“What hath night to do with sleep?” ― John Milton, Paradise Lost
The links post is a text heavy one this week. Why you ask? Because I’ve spent nearly three days on a massive editing project that turned out to be much more labor intensive than anyone anticipated and was up to four in the morning reconciling drafts. I have digested a lot of text this week (including three books, surprisingly), so must you. It good for us.
This weekend I’m doing some volunteering and some napping and am pretty excited about both. Dinner this evening with Ruth and Teri also promises to be a much needed delight, though I might turn into a pumpkin and plead bed at a shockingly early hour. Here are your links, tell me what you’re up to this weekend in the comments!
Goodness, are we already doing this? Live in the moment, entertainment industry! (That being said, I’m fairly intrigued by the next Pixar film…and In Heart of the Sea…and Crimson Peak…okay. Guilty.)
A truly excellent response to the Women Against Feminism tumblr, which I will not link to here. (I initially thought I was reblogging and linking to it on my tumblr, which I use mostly for fun and to track images and stories I think are interesting and beautiful, but I didn’t realize that I had accidentally reblogged it on WordPress. The trial of too many media sites! That happened on Tuesday, and I took the post down, in case you saw it and wondered where it went. I’ve got nothing against reblogging in general, but I’ve never done it here so I thought it best not to start. Plus I want this author to get the clicks and the credit in her own right, because she basically dropped the mic.)
“Forget art. Put your trust in ice cream.” ― Charles Baxter, The Feast of Love
One of the great tourist-y pleasurable things you can enjoy in London is exploring the famed shopping area in the West End. Bond Street, Regent Street, and Oxford Street have a bunch of high street shops that are plenty interesting, plus the city of Westminster goes to great lengths to make it accessible, especially during the summer, but the ream gems are the remarkable department stores like Liberty and Selfridges. Not only are they noted for stocking all the luxury brands, but many of the great British department stores are great at forming partnerships with brands (some big, some new) for events and launches. This year the European ice cream company Magnum is celebrating 25 years, and apparently this is a Really Big Deal on this side of the Atlantic. I thought the idea of throwing a celebrity-studded bash over ice cream was a bit much myself…but my grinch-like heart softened eventually. Because, ice cream.
Last Sunday, Regent Street closed to traffic (something they’ve done every Sunday in July) and Magnum set up booths by the dozen to give away thousands of free ice cream bars.
However, Jeff and I didn’t feel like standing in one of these lines. We decided to stand in a much snootier line instead!
Selfridges had a super-fancy exhibit for Magnum in their famous Wonder Room, where participants could create their own ice cream bars with super-fancy dipping chocolate and super-fancy toppings. Alas these were not free, but we figured that VIP ice cream would be a fun weekend treat so we sprung for it anyway.
The decor was, of course, delightful. Selfridges is famous for their displays, primarily in their windows; I love their emphasis on visual design and engagement. But on to the main event!
Toppings were tossed together in cocktail shakers before being lovingly spread over the hand dipped bars. Jeff and I managed a combination of ice cream, dip, and drizzle that included all the chocolate variations, plus toppings that were just wacky enough to be interesting—hazelnuts, brownie bits…and cornflowers!
Too weird for your taste? Trust me, it was delicious.
“If you’re going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you’re going to be locked up.” ― Hunter S. Thompson
The dearth of posts is unfortunate but necessary, minions. I’m up to my neck in one of the heaviest work load weeks in recent memory. Things are good but busy and I’m quite looking forward to the weekend, since I’m pretty sure I have not left the flat in any substantial way since the last one. A writer’s life for me!
Today’s snapshot is more of a PSA or plea than anything. Stop the tyranny of lovelocks! They’re collapsing bridges in Paris, it’s only a short time before their dastardly weight crosses the channel. Plus this is a construction site, probably not the best place to document your undying devotion. Just saying.
Interesting and important piece from the NYT about the financial realities of freelancing and how writers are opening up about it. Finances are a constant presence for me since going freelance full time and in my first year, there have been plenty of months where I didn’t make what I wanted or needed to and our savings has had to come into play. Luckily I’m finally in a place where starvation isn’t a glaring possibility, but it still feels like a constant threat. In spite of recent successes and steady work!
For those interested on a longer view of Mormon Feminism (a history that dates back to the suffragettes) plus some perspective of it in the digital age, Nancy Ross, an acquaintance of mine does an admirable job of laying it out.
A video game idea generator, shared on Seth Godin’s blog and emailed to me from friend and Friend of the Blog Caitlin.
H/t to my sister-in-law Camille for this series on wardrobe building. I edited down everything I owned to two suitcases when we moved to London and it was a great experience that’s really made me rethink clothes and possessions, so the idea of capsule wardrobes really interests me.
“For those of you in the cheap seats I’d like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!” ― John Lennon
Confession time, we have not been taking appropriate advantage of London in the summer and we need to rectify this immediately. Working from home obviously contributes to the problem, as does the fact that my clients are several timezones behind me and I often have to be at least partially available during hours that most people spend frolicking. Jeff also has a lot of studying to do for the ever present reality of tests, and weekends are largely devoted to the necessary errand running that we haven’t been able to do during the week.
But it’s summer. In London. We need to be outside absorbing as much Vitamin D as humanely and safely possible because the cold, dark days will arrive much sooner than we all probably realize. To that end, we’ve started making an effort to track down as many outdoor adventures as possible, while varying up the routine a bit.
If I’m a theatre girl, Jeff is the resident music guy. When we were deciding what to do for our anniversary this year (travel being out of the budget for a while to go, alas), I picked the midnight matinee at The Globe and he wanted a concert and found a great one.
Somerset House, on the banks of the Thames, has a long history. The site has been home to a Tudor palace, a residence for members of the Royal family and their entourage, and apparently later a barracks. It was demolished and rebuilt in the neoclassical style and has moved over time to house various arts and learning societies and is a popular venue for performances. Particularly in, hey! Summertime! We first heard about the band Daughter on NPR and Jeff snapped up tickets as soon as he found out they were going to be performing.
Not bad, venue.
Drinks boys circulated the crowd with these signs and easy-to-spot flags that I probably found entirely too funny, but that I clearly had to document.
No makeup and summer allergies, but pretty happy to be here!
A disproportionate amount of my music is tragic or vengeful, the blues feature heavily, so make of that what you will. Daughter makes music that is gorgeously sad and depressing, and the lead singer Elena Tonra has a perfectly haunting voice so she’s right up my street. The band is still learning how to tour and their stage presence could use some work, but the music is the slow, quiet kind that gets its claws into you.
Just as pretty in the dark. Hopefully there can be more concerts in our future, as this has only been my third ever. My second, incidentally, was my first date with Jeff, so things are working out pretty well so far.
“Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
At least, one worth knowing. The Golden Hind, named for Sir Francis Drake’s famous ship, is 100 years old and has been serving acclaimed fish and chips for the entire time. It’s an absolute culinary landmark in London and a required stop on any gastronomic tour of the city.
The shop itself is not grand. The tables and chairs are beat up and wooden, I’m not entirely sure they all matched, and the crockery is utilitarian. The cash registers are straight out of the 80s and the decor is minimal and mostly involves photographs from the city area in the early 20th century. Don’t let that fool you. There is almost always a line to get in, and you need to go in slightly off-peak hours to guarantee a seat.
The plaque detailing the ownership of the Hind.
The only major deviation in the menu is the type of fish you can serve, and the sides that can accompany your main course. I recommend the cod, which along with haddock is the traditional choice. The fish slabs are absolutely massive, I could barely finish a third of mine on our last visit, it was easily the length of my arm from fingertip to elbow. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t order the chips, though. Slather those suckers in vinegar and get stuck in!
Small Dog Syndrome 