V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum is next door to the Natural History Museum.

Handy.

A lot of people go for the fashion and pretty things.

I go for scale.

Whilst the internets are full of 1930's China, folky hand drawn lettering or sleek Danish design, i want scale. The sort of scale you only get from Ancient civilisations, or religious tyranny.

If you walk into the cast room and see the cast of Trajan's column, there is a very sweet man in there, who doesn't mind if you shout out an expletive when you see the size of it. Scale is something we lack in the country.

also the cafe is beautiful, but stay away from the apple cake. It is dry and they don't have pastry forks.

Back to the flowers tomorrow, it's Easter. I have been fashioning things out of pussy willow.

The appliance of science

It always comes as a surprise when people find out i studied science. I think perhaps people expect i might have read or art or French, it often comes as a surprise to people that i ever studied at all. In certain circles you can cut a conversation dead by answering "florist" to the "and what is it you do?" questions.

"How lovely" they say.

I avoid these circles.

But i did, study science, i spent time dissecting human brains, classifying plants, discussing mathematical algorithms, wearing a white lab coat and burning my biro in the flame of a bunsen burner.

The Natural History Museum is like a paradise, I'd take it over Selfridges any day. Museums are one of those things i tend to do solo, i can get quite excitable, especially if there is a penguin, a dinosaur or a big piece of fluorite. The building alone is enough, the carvings and sheer scale are awe inspiring.

I eagerly await Jen Altman's new book Lustre. The colours of minerals are so very different to those of flora, they make for a very welcome change.

Also the Natural History Museum, like a lot of them in London is free. Gratis. Nothing to pay.

and there is a shop.
and you can get married there
and if you have small children you can literally spend a night at the museum.

SE4 and beyond

London, Brockley. To see Clara, to eat French toast and admire the magnolia in the sunshine.

and then to Shoreditch, and Hoxton, and Dalston, to be amongst the hipsters and their Disneyland that is Spitalfields. It's the stuff of blogs, achingly cool people in their straw trilbys, geek specs and moustache shaped everything. They all look the same. It made me giggle. Maybe i am getting old, or maybe being cool is a lot like the house with the golden windows.

We also went and had cake at Violet because when you see a mannequin on the street, you have to take it for cake and lemonade, such delicious lemonade.

Also ate beigels on Brick Lane
Went to Laetitia's book launch at Clifton nurseries
and met Ms Marmitelover
feasted on Corsican pizza with Cityboy1
bought kirby grips in Greenwich
drank gin in Primrose Hill
and turned data services off on the Blackberry

Such fun, and this was only the start................

what have you been doing in my absence?

Fermeture annuelle

Mothering Sunday is finished, bouquets delivered, an empty shop.

Thank you to everybody that bought something for their Mummy.

and an even bigger thank you to my loved ones who so valiantly help every year.

I am overtired and have wept a lot. My work here is done.

Now there is adventuring, see you in a week or so.
xx

Every now and then the stars align

Boy and girl meet by the great design
Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?
Lana Del Rey

The stress has kicked in, i need a slap, or somebody to massage the knot out of my left shoulder.

I need to start drinking water and stop with the coffee/ diet coke/ nurofen.

I also need everybody to understand that ranunculus are the best thing in the whole world ever, because i have a lot of them.

In the shop

;

 

A new book by Laetitia Maklouf. Do you remember the first one?

This one is called Sweet Peas for summer. It is as lovely, but with extras because we get a mention. Yes we, the blog, that means all of you too. Amazing.

Buy it for that reason alone, buy it from me, we will be stocking it. It would make the perfect gift for Mothering Sunday.

It's the sort of book you don't need a degree in Latin or special qualifications from the RHS to read. I find those books intimidating. Also i have been to the pub with Laetitia, she is our sort.

In other news, people are being quite taken by Tillandsia Xerograhpica, I have been wearing one on my head.

and The Hound is being The Hound, and doing sod all to help with the impending weekend.