The Wellcome Collection

Anagram (detail), 2005 by Julie Cockburn, (British). Mixed Media. Commissioned by the Wellcome Trust. Julie Cockburn produced this work as her response to the history of the Human Genome Project. It is based on a colour chart, used by designers to explore all the tones available to them. Cockburn has used these basic building blocks as a substrate for the building blocks of life: The As, Cs, Gs and Ts that make up human genome sequence. Like the replication machinery of the human cell, she has also thrown in some mistakes, words such as Joy and Heaven, reminding us that this data has more than an abstract existence: it is human.

I finally went to the Wellcome collection this weekend, our main reason for the visit was the exhibition of skeletons. Daisy wants to be a Pathologist so I thought it would interest her to see some real bones with their history attached. The exhibition was fascinating as were the other galleries. I had no idea they were so large. I particularly liked the Medicine Now which featured a range of contemporary artists responses to various medical issues including Malaria. One brilliant piece of work was an outline map of the world made up of squished mosquitoes! At the end the public was invited to make a visual response to a topic covered in the exhibition. Daisy was very quick to produce a lovely illustration of someone holding their breath. She explained that she had learnt that week that oxygen ages us, so the very thing that keeps us alive is what makes us grow old.

I on the other hand, am incapable of imaginatively doing anything other than colour, and the felt tips were horrible, so I drew a spiral of ZZZZ's to represent sleep, something that obsesses me 24/7. The whole back wall contains the illustrations drawn by visitors, some of them were fantastic. Well worth a visit.

After, we went to the Kings Road to worship at the temple of Tabio, I did try to find the coat I liked in Whistles but no size 16's to be found. I tried on 5 in Zara, none fitted as Daisy pointed out if she had to buy a size L (and she is a petite 12) then what hope is there for a chunky monkey like me!

Roos Van de Velde

A truly beautiful website with wonderful fragile ceramics.

Alice O’Malley

Ethereally beautiful images by Alice O’Malley

The show was curated by Hujar fan Antony, the lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons, whose eerie and poignant songs include paeans to the possibility of boys growing up to be beautiful women. more from here

A Peek at Comme des Garçons’

…[A] range of tailored jackets, many deconstructed, along with cropped pants, baggy shorts and a variety of skirts in stretch wool. On the perkier side are polkadot knits in jersey or merino wool, colorful shirts—some with dots—and a “showpiece” coatdress decorated here and there with dense Victorian ruffles. from here

I am really looking forward to this but I have a horrible feeling those EBay spoilsports will grab them first. It's the polkadot's I want the most, they look amazing.

Tabio wishing

I realise I have a wish list longer than the contents of my wadrobe, but I have added these, how ginky are they? Tabio now has a blog Yipee.

The White Company

Finally, I give to you the most beautiful perfect pair of black trousers, they fit like a glove, look gorgeous. I did baulk at the price a little, but decided that sometimes you just have to pay. I may not wear them for work because sometimes you have to keep something back. They are from The White Company, which I will now add to my 'must visit' list along with Muji, Jigsaw (online any day now) Kew, COS and Banana Republic, Yes, just before the holiday I lost my BR virginity by purchasing a beautiful Jersey top and cardie. It has taken a long time, I find the clothes quite formal and the trousers seem very low rise for me, but I am confident now I will find more.
The changing rooms are wonderful too.
Once again this year Jigsaw has triumphed in the jersey department, the new tops that arrived are beautifully cut, and best of all wonderful colours, most definitely fit for Paris.
I wore a lovely retro grey tunic from GAP for the first time on Monday and made the fatal mistake of not changing when I got home the result is it is covered in spots of grease. Nowhere is safe. Time to invest in an apron I think.

This top is just beautiful too, I bought it in the black, sadly the Babycord Jeans that it looked lovely with, did not fit, so I now have a handful of tunics but not enough slim trousers.
I am blessed in just one physical department, that is my legs, they are flawless, which allows me to wear shorts in the summer. They also look fine in straight leg jeans because at nearly 5'8 my legs are long enough for most trousers.
I will however not be embracing the 'peg leg' style this year. As a super slim 18 year old I clearly remember owning a pink pair which I teemed up with a pink and purple checked shirt. I think only the tall and slim can really get away with them, because they require you to tuck in, and when you have a generous middle age spread to disguise and flatter you NEVER tuck in.
Potato's and sacks.
Now having nearly bankrupted myself I am still in need of a new coat, I saw a picture of a lovely one from Whistles in The Times yesterday which I may try to find, although size 16's in Whistles are as rare as hen's teeth so I will not hold my breath. I may wait until I hit Köln during the Christmas break.
Also on my wish list, black knee high boots and a grey Pashmina. M&S had a beautiful grey cashmere knitted scarf not cheap at £59 but it felt so dreamy. Daisy raised her eyebrows and proclaimed it the same as every other scarf I own, so I put it back, very reluctantly
I am currently waiting like a poised cat for the cashmere to arrive at George of Asda. The three pieces I bought last year became the lynch pin of most outfits as they were so well cut and best of all warm and comfortable, and now Daisy has left behind her uniform day's, my life is getting a little more costlier.

Grey

Grey, from an exhibition of Jasper Johns wonderful mixed media work which was on at the Met earlier this year. Sums up my mood today...

I am now sitting back at my desk, the peace and quiet is just beyond words, and yet I miss my girls, they did not even phone to say one or the other had kicked off, I eventually phoned home to be told all was quiet and calm.

So here I sit crunching numbers, making plans, reading blogs, and generally feeling quite at a loss, not because I have nothing to do, but because I have so much to do, I literally do not know where to start. The students return on Thursday, although I get to meet the sixth form on Wednesday, maybe they can galvanise me out of my trance.