Spacebarspeeds

During my A Levels, I had to write a project based on my favourite Illustration. For me, the choice was easy. I’d always adored the detailed and jovial drawings which accompanied one of my favourite children’s books – Alice in Wonderland. It was a coincidence then, that Lewis Carroll attended Christ Church College in Oxford – the very city where I grew up and spent most of my teenage years.

Yesterday, during a fleeting visit to see my mum, we revisited the site where Charles Dodgson taught as a professor. Christ Church is a majestic, enchanting place, steeped entirely in history. References to the story of Alice are scattered throughout the tour, but one of the most spectacular is certainly the huge, colourful stained glass window in the dining hall. If you look closely, you can just make out the characters from the story – Alice, the White Rabbit, the Dodo and The Mad Hatter. It’s unbelievable to think Lewis Carroll met Alice (Liddell as she was in real life) here and it’s where their unique friendship blossomed. This window can be found in the Dining Hall, the grand hall where Harry Potter was filmed (here the geek in me burst with pride)! We also visited the Alice Shop – a tiny, wooden shop that sells everything from Alice tea pots to Cheshire Cat clocks.

Alice in Wonderland is a tale that will always remind me of my childhood in Oxford and growing up into a young woman. Much like Alice herself!

I indulged in a performance of King Henry VIII on Saturday night @ Shakespeare’s Globe. It was a truly majestic.

I studied Shakespeare at school, but I don’t remember it being like this. I remember being fascinated with the language, but spent most of my time trying to decipher what the characters were saying.

This performance literally brought these famous words to life. I do believe I went through a complete spectrum of emotions as I sat on my red cushion, clutching my gold embossed programme. The calibre of acting was flawless, and it’s beyond me how these talented individuals remember not just lines, but full verses of coherent Shakespeare.

The venue itself is very impressive. Our seats were in the Upper Gallery, and you really get a sense of what the view was like for the wealthy – looking down on the peasants and paupers below.

Well worth a visit – I might even go back for a second helping of the great word smith myself.

Yesterday I indulged in purchasing a glorious girlie glossy. Sometimes I do this on a whim, normally when I am craving some gossip. Grazia’s headline ‘Our amazing 3D issue’ immediately jumped out at me. Could they be the first female glossy to dip their toes into the augmented reality world?  The idea is that you can unlock exclusive, hidden content via your webcam or iPhone – making their cover star, Florence Welsh sing and dance. I especially liked the 3D view of some particularly cute summer ankle boots. A nice idea in theory, but very poorly executed. The activation squares just act as a trigger to play video content. It doesn’t actually generate the translucent 3D images augmented reality is now so famous for. A touch disappointing!  Still, a great novelty, and one which certainly quenched my thirst for fashion gossip even more so than normal. Go team Grazia!



Then call the Apology Line! This art project, set up by Will Bridges and James Lees, is designed to get the UK public to open up – literally. People responded in their hundreds by leaving messages on an answering machine. My particular favourite comes from a bumbling young gentlemen apologising for occasionally taking his girlfriend for granted. Too cute and a great insight into the things that make Briton’s tick.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/805016333/the-apology-line

Okay I admit it. The sight of another red rose or pink advert might make me want to die a slow, painful death. Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day. No, it’s not an excuse to throw every single cliche  known to man onto a poster. So thank you Droga5 for Puma Hardchorus. This hilarious piece of digital marketing gives blokes all over the country the chance to send an apology to their lover, just in case they have to forgo their celebration for – you guessed it, football. In short, it is Savage Garden’s ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ performed by a group of tough looking football fans. It’s smart, simple and for a lad’s lad, relatively sincere. And as a girl, notice that I’m commenting on this, not the latest brand to shove a hot guy on a baby pink background. Lovely.