Little, And Good

Are you aware of the Japanese company Muji? The name is a contraction of a phrase meaning "No brand, quality goods". They have half a dozen shops in London. You can read about the company and its philosophy here. Everyday items, well designed, sustainable, minimum packaging - stationery, homewares, basic garments.

They have recently opened a store in Hong Kong, and to celebrate, they invited artist Tatsuya Tanaka to produce some artworks featuring their products. I've posted about TT before, here in 2017. He uses regular items as the basis for minuscule works of art. Look at the ones he has come up with for Muji

He made a tiny Muji store using various items, stationery bits and small shopfitting components. Then he did lots of pieces which have witty names referencing the products used.
I like the jeans waves on the socks beach, and the ice-cream store...  His attention to detail is fantastic

Finally, to the delight of the residents of Hong Kong, he recreated Victoria Harbour and its iconic skyline - using Muji products for the buildings, a brush for the circular exhibition centre, a toothbrush for the pier - and staplers to represent the ferries which carry passengers back and forth,

What a clever guy, what a lovely shop!

Je Ne Sais Pas!

 

I really don't know what to make of this. I was so looking forward to Clive Owen's appearance as Sam Spade in a "What happened after he left being a PI in the US and settled in a beautiful French Village"story. But for me, it didn't quite deliver. No Spoilers Here

Pros

1. the scenery is lovely - beautiful countryside, great French mansions, and all set in the amazing, ancient village of Bouzoul which is built round a massive canyon. 
2. the vehicles used are lovely 1950's & 60's French cars 
3. the background music is great, with Brigitte Bardot, Francise Hardy and others
4. the costumes are gorgeous and correct for the time [1960s]
5. Clive Owen interprets the Spade role brilliantly imho

Cons

1. it is quite violent. Ok, I know it is 'film noir', but it was a bit too graphic in parts [eyes down, concentrate on my knitting through these bits...]
2. you really do need to concentrate on the English subtitles, as much of the dialogue is in French, although the spelling of some subtitling is execrable.
3. some of the characters seemed too caricatured to be believable.
4. there were just too many characters. I found it hard to follow the plot
5. the story seemed to move slowly and there were lots of flashbacks. But I think if it had been faster, I'd never have kept up and the flashbacks were essential to understand the many characters.
6. A better knowledge of the Algerian War of Independence would have helped. I couldn't follow all the references to SDECE, OAS, FLN, CIA, MI5 etc
7. at the end, all the loose ends were tied up [just about] by a character who flew in just for the last 5 minutes. I found it a rather unsatisfying denouement.

Short Video of Bouzouls - I mean - wow, look at this place!

Forget everything you remembered about Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon, which was set in 1930s America, and enjoy this for what it is - a thriller set in 1960s France, with the backdrop of the Algerian War of Independence. [De Gaulle, Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth all get a mention]  After Spade, I found the teenage girl the most interesting, and the little boy was very sweet [but his character was a bit colourless]
See what you think - I know quite a few of you who follow the blog have a much better knowledge of the French language, and experience of the country than I do. 

I'd rate it trois étoiles et demie ! 
Monsieur Spade is currently on U&Drama,free to watch in the UK

Wake, And Pillage

My own fault, I shouldn't have mentioned my fondness for Peanuts Cartoons, and  Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse. I've been a bit Peppermint Patty myself this week.
I'm not saying I did fall asleep, but afterwards, the friend sitting behind said "Bob said before the service that you had a disturbed night, and I noticed him squeezing your hand during the sermon" [oops! I didn't actually snore though]
The problem was that at 4.30am I was woken up up this random bleeping noise.
I tried to identify it
Not the smoke alarm - Not a phone
Not the new microwave [which is given to random bleeps, as part of its "childsafe" setting, which I cannot unset]
Not the washing machine - that plays little tunes
Not the insistent alarm clock - Not that wretched Alexa woman
What was it? - I decided I ought to wake Bob 

It was the carbon monoxide detector

When we check that, we get a single continuous alarm - not this cheep every 30 seconds.
Bob decided it was a battery alert.

He removed the battery, and opened windows and internal doors so there was a good air flow
And I made the obligatory middle-of-the-night-event recovery pot of tea [glad it was a warm night] On Sunday morning, Bob read the small print inside the battery compartment, which warns that after 7 years of use, this chirping will alert you to replace the unit. So that was OK, and we didn't die...
Bob has had his own sleeping issues of late, but a new memory foam pillow has made a significant improvement. He no longer has a pain in the neck in the mornings [other than his wakeful spouse]
... and Pillage? Not the Violent Vikings, but rather the whole medication routine which is now part of our daily sleeping and rising rituals. I am very grateful for the things which help

• free meds from the NHS via our efficient local GP Practice
• Tony at church, who recycles our pill packaging for charity
• the health benefits which the pills provide
  

I am not so thrilled with the way the various tablets sometimes come from a different manufacturer- and so my Vitamin D pills [evening] are the same shape as the ones for my digestion.[morning] I have taken to drawing lines with a sharpie over the packing of the latter when that happens, so I do not take the wrong ones by mistake.
And the side effects of tablets are sometimes hard to manage

There is much historical evidence showing that Martin Luther [German Theologian] had digestive troubles. It is my belief that his doctor prescribed him omeprazole too...

Half A Century Later...

I have always loved Peanuts cartoons. As a teenager I collected the books. A friend gave me a lined Jaeger skirt when I was 17. It fitted perfectly, but was mid calf length on me. I shortened it to mini-length, and made a pocket with the trimmings, on which I embroidered Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse. I adored that skirt and wore it all one summer. [I had slim, tanned legs back then!] Sadly no photos remain. 
When I was 21, a friend sent me a Snoopy Teeshirt as a birthday gift. In 1981, there was a hitch with a house move. I rang cousin Gill and said "Everything is packed in teachests and I just have an overnight bag. I'm running out of clean clothes" The next day, a large envelope arrived containing two pairs of pants and a Snoopy Teeshirt. I wore the tees often and treasured them both. But after having children, I never got back into size 10 tops, they went into a memory box. At the last Winter/Summer wardrobe swap I took them out. My granddaughters like Snoopy too. So Rosie now has the pale lemon one, and Jess has the white one [a little big, but it will make a good summer nightie]

"Look after it!" I told Rosie "I have had it for 50 years" She knew about Gill, Julian's Mum - but enquired about the friend who gave me the lemon one. I said I hadn't seen him for a number of years- but that he became a Baptist minister like Grandad, and is also retired now. And that  when he gave me the teeshirt, it was originally a custardy yellow colour! These were among the oldest items in my wardrobe.

The sweatshirts from the 70's and 80's were recycled into a blanket 35 years ago, 

I repaired that during lockdown and it's still in use as a garden blanket inside the teepee.
I do try and squeeze as much use as I can from my textiles!
Do you still have any garments from decades ago?
Have you recycled them into other projects?

Close Friendships

My Dad used to have a poster like this. A reminder that we cannot pick and choose our neighbours- but we are still called to care for them. 


We've had quite a few new people move into the Close in the past year - none of them is a trombone player, as far as I can tell.

But we are blessed to have some very pleasant people around us.

I was busying planting beans, when a lady walked round the corner, with her dog. "Are you Angela?" she asked. I said I was - and she said she wanted to say thankyou - her daughter is one of the newer residents, and she just wanted to thank me for making her girl feel welcome, and helping out [in a very minor way] when she needed assistance. I thought that was very kind.

I have been learning even more about Sewing Machine Maintenance from the guy next door - he helped me to fix a machine for a teenage friend last week

Another gentleman spoke to me as I was pulling out the wheelie bin - to say thank you for the Yard Sale which Bob [and his Shedmates] are organising next Saturday. He is hoping to have a few bits outside his garage.

When I was putting out the yard sale flyers [with help from Jess and Rosie] I asked a guy round the corner if he'd be interested in taking part. He wasn't sure. I said I'd been really pleased with the plants I had brought from him at a previous Yard Sale. He turned up this week with a tray of 7 plants for me [Cucumber, courgette and tomato]
"How much do I owe you?" I asked. "Nothing, just return the pots and trays" - what a lovely chap!

Six Years Old!

 
Six years old today- we are so proud of you. You are a thoughtful, friendly boy, with a great sense of humour, and such fun to be with. We hope you have a wonderful day. God bless you always - lots of love from Big Grandad Bob and Little Grandma Angela

What Is The Returns Policy On This Item?

I love giving, and receiving, slightly quirky gifts. Nothing expensive, but things which are just a little out of the ordinary, somewhat unexpected. And there are always friends and family members for whom buying gifts can be a challenge. Charity Shops can be absolute treasure stores for such objects. 

One of my best gifts was Christmas 2008, when my SIL gave me a vintage wooden knitting needle holder. It is still in use to hold needles. 

It was even repurposed as a Policeman's truncheon in a school production of Wind in the Willows!

I came across something else the other week, which seemed a good gift for a family member. It is a boomerang! The enclosed booklet explained that boomerangs have been found across the world, not just in Australia - citing a gold-tipped one in Tutankhamun's tomb, and another found in Poland, fashioned from a mammoth's tusk.

I suspect this was previously given as a gift, but not really used, hence its arrival in the CS [The British Red Cross Shop, St Benedicts, St Norwich - always full of wonderful stuff]

If the recipient is not happy with it, I guess he could try and throw it away - but with a boomerang, you never know...