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[cybermule]

I've visited the counties in yellow. Which counties have you visited? made by marnanel map reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey. © Crown copyright 2001.

Despite my outburst of irritation yesterday, I've actually had a great couple of days. Thursday I took a day off, and went to Bath. Bought a nice-smelling bar of soap from Lush, had tea and cake, watched Girl with a Pearl Earring and looked around bookshops (*). Haven't had a female friend that I could do that sort of thing with for years - more "female" activities with a friend with a more "male" brain. Wicked! I want to populate my world with androgynous people and destroy the concept of gender :)

The film was cool - very good cinematography, where every shot had good composition. That dipped a bit towards the end, where everyone got too emotional, but my friend has since lent me a book on Vermeer, and most of the shots were good reproductions of his paintings. I love learning that sort of thing at the moment - how to appreciate something I know must be good, but have no idea why. But I have to have a hook into it, somehow, and it has to be done by someone skilful, who I can relate to on a general level. Picky, picky, picky :)

I learned new things to do in my Arts and Crafts garden course (meh - I was the youngest again!). It started with a description of the Arts and Crafts movement, and its principles, then wnet on to more specific garden-related principles as exemplified by Jekyll and Lutyens. Had a wicked lunch - plumped for a deli raid rather than a soggy sandwich (good move!), raided Borders £1 sale and looked at the crocuses. The public toilets at the bottom of Woodlands Road are scruffy, but spectacular, with marble walls, old fashioned toilets, ots of dark wood and a glazed roof. One day maybe there'll be pictures (woohoo - quick route to being arrested, I'll bet) and I want to take photos of the university generally.

The afternoon session concentrated on a series of famous arts and crafts gardens, with spectacular slides. Must visit Hestercombe Gardens. Had sushi from Temple Meads for tea.

* = Big Fish, Beowulf, What is good?

Comments

[aras-55555.livejournal.com]

I scanned through the page on 'Jekyll and Lutyens', and interestingly enough the reference to John Ruskin brought some interesting things full-circle.

I actually looked him up in the first place because he was mentioned in a Walter de la Mare short story, 'Lispet, Lispett, and Vaine' which is all about an old arts-and-crafts guild that falls into a sort of gothic decay from its once-proud glory days. The story takes on a whole new dimension now when I see the real-life stuff it was based on :)

Re:

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

Excellent - I'm glad I closed a loop for you. Especially as I love picking up little tidbits and factoids that way myself.