Tewkesbury

If this outfit looks a little familiar to the last post it’s because I was only away for 5 days – so just took one coat and bag! I’m always amazed at bloggers who manage to generate 2-3 completely different outfit posts on a single weekend trip; how much stuff are you guys taking? It impresses me as I’m way too lazy to carry my own stuff and never pack anything heavy or bulky. I’m sure that will change when I get my own entourage..!

This dress is a rare new item and it was a Christmas present; I love velvet and I love red and I really love short dresses so it’s a winner all round. I got the coat from a charity shop and including dry cleaning it was a grand total of £14! Everyone describes it as red but it’s more of a very dark orange.

These photos are from Tewkesbury – the main attraction is the stunning Tewkesbury Abbey, but we spent a fun afternoon exploring antiques shops and tea rooms. That was kind of the timetable for the whole holiday if I’m honest – I’ve never really been on that kind of slower-paced, meandering holiday and so it was quite novel for me and a really different experience. I especially loved strolling along the river; I tend to think of London as quite green and full of nature (typical Londoner…) but there’s none of that woodland brand of stillness that I found in the Cotswolds.

Leaves

So if these photos seem familiar I’m basically following the same formula from a couple of weeks ago; take one coloured coat (this time my favourite maroon number, a fiver from Deptford Market 3 years ago), head into the garden… the leaves are so lovely this time of year, what can I say! It seems every time I’m home the trees have changed colour again and I want to document it on my camera! I love this time of year when nature is in technicolour and the changing colour of the leaves are such a powerful and perennial metaphor for the passing of time.

As I was editing this post I was reminded of this set of photos featuring the same shirt and trainers. That post was from when I was last on tour in the South West with Rhum & Clay, and coincidentally I’m on tour again with them at the moment. It’s so brilliant to be able to see different parts of the country whilst in such good company! I wrote the score for the show we are performing and it is so stimulating to revisit a project I care about so much, as so often in art that’s not the case. Completing a painting, finishing a novel or recording an album all have a moment of finality where the product is finished and the time for alterations is over. Theatre is the opposite: constantly evolving and adapting to new stages and audiences, nuances and cadences never quite the same from night to night.

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Snufkin

This post was supposed to show you my coat (new) but as I was editing the photos I found I was blurry in nearly all of them. My camera had decided instead to focus on the trees around me. I think this may have been a conspiracy between the trees and the camera; I was using another tree branch as a camera stand so there was plenty of time for them to plot whilst I had my back turned). At first I was a bit annoyed, but then I realised my camera had the right idea as focusing on the immense natural beauty in these photos is far more interesting than my coat. Just look in the first photo – the irregular pattern of the cracks in the tree closest to the camera and the myriad shades of green are far more exciting and dramatic than an item of clothing could ever be!

Recently I’ve spent lots of time outdoors marvelling at the beauty of nature (especially at this time of year) and it makes me think how impossible it is to capture those moments. You can’t paint those colours, or photograph the crisp feeling of a leaf under your shoe, or sketch the smell of the rotting conkers and leaves in the wet grass. The colours on my computer seem so dull and uninspiring in comparison. If you read this post, go for a walk today and admire the leaves. Tell me what your trees are like.

So, this is my new coat from Greece – leave it to me to go on a beach holiday and return with a winter coat! I wore it on the plane home along with a wide-brimmed black hat; when James collected me from the airport he just said “Hello Snufkin“. I was so happy; as I child I always felt a sense of kinship with Snufkin as he was an outdoorsy, rebellious, loner musician like me. I much prefer owning clothing that looks like it belongs to my favourite characters rather than just featuring them! I love my Moomin skirt but if I wore it in Moominvalley, I’d just look weird whereas with this I would fit in. I’ve got lots of coats, but I spend so much time running around between rehearsals and gigs in the cold I feel it’s justified!

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Mishmash

My blog is now officially a month old as of Saturday! Thank you if you’ve been reading and especially following/commenting – it means a lot to me. Any feedback or suggestions let me know! 

Meetings

One of the best things about working creatively is how often hanging out with friends leads to working on new projects. I had the pleasure of meeting one of my good friends Aella today who recently set up a theatre company with another friend of ours, and she asked me about using some of my music for their first show before taking all the photos you see here. I later bumped into a fellow Goldsmiths alumni in Urban Outfitters who had just returned from touring with Lucy Rose across Europe and America.