London Grammar music video- My misters latest project.

My misters latest music video was released yesterday, and, well,  wow.  I know I say this every time but its my favourite so far. This project demanded a lot of him; 15 hour days, through-the-night shifts, and some serious nerdery. But it was worth it because my god, its beautiful and haunting and ethereal and amazing. The video was shot on 35 mm film, using a home made rig of hundreds of pin hole cameras. The technique behind it is nuts and extremely risky but it worked.

Everyone is going nuts for it so far, and I'm so proud of him. 

You can also see a 'making of' too about how they did it. 

LONDON GRAMMAR - Wasting My Young Years - Behind The Scenes

from Academy Plus (A+) on Vimeo.

I love the track too.

Happy Friday cherries! Have a lovely weekend. We'll be continuing our 'holiday at home', as we all recover from the last few weeks and spend some proper time together. We've been playing with Frankie and her new red ball (best £1 I ever spent), cooking delicious food, baking, and going on some long walks. We're hoping to do some fun stuff in town in the next few days too. Its been lovely to be a trio again. 

London's City Farms

Maternity leave has given me the chance to visit a great many of Londons museums and cultural offerings, many of which i'd previously never explored. This has mostly been in the form of museums, galleries, cafe's and restaurants. But at heart I am a country lover too, and find that if I don't get a dose of countryside regularly, I start to get a bit twitchy.

When I first heard of London's City farms it sounded a little odd, a little oxymoronic. Piles of horse manure, rough hewn wooden fencing, fat honking pigs, smelly jumping goats, loudly bleating lambs and delightfully scruffy chickens, all set in rough courtyards,  paddocks and rolling fields, tended by farmers clad in overalls and wellies. That vision seems anathema to my idea of London.  But you may be surprised to discover that there are 17 (17!) city farms and over 100 community gardens in London. Along with London's cemeteries, these city farms give me just enough of a dose of 'countryside' in the city to keep me ticking along nicely.

I've visited three farms recently and silently berated myself for waiting until I had a baby to do so. The farms are often really inspiring volunteer led community projects, and give a much needed way for inner city kids to interact with animals. Child or no, they are a must visit, and all of them do a blinding slice o' cake.

Chickens at Hackney City Farm

I've visited Hackney City farm a lot over the last year, as I like that its in East London so can be combined with vintage shopping, good coffee and museums. But I recently visited Surrey Docks and Mudchute farms and I prefer them. They are larger, and feel wilder, particularly Surrey Docks with its open courtyard where visitors can mingle with goats, lambs and chickens. All three of the farms Ive visited recently have nice cafes attached with delicious lunches and cakes made from farm produce.

A few snaps of Surrey Docks Farm: My favourite, with a large open courtyard. Its right on the Thames so its a nice walk to and from the station.

 I went with a group of other mums and one of the babies was petrified of the lambs! hah! 

Fellow farm visitors; Some of the lovely ladies I've befriended over the last year

And a few of Mudchute City Farm: Very close to Mudchute DLR station, and accessed by beautiful sun dappled paths. Surprisingly large and like you're a million miles from London, but Canary Wharf looms in the background. 

Frankie loved seeing all of the animals apart from the horse, which was much larger than she thought it was going to be, I think! We'll be making regular visits to Mudchute as its about half an hour away from us door to door- just a couple of stops on the DLR. An added bonus is that we can ride the front of the DLR, pretending to drive it, which Frankie was beside herself about (ok, ok, I was too). She LOVES trains. 

Do you have a favourite 'country in the city' spot?

A contented renter?

As unpopular as this may be, I actually like renting. Well, mostly.

I like not having to pay for damp patches and broken boilers. I like not having to deal with neighbour disputes over land or pay for communal garden fences. I like having washing machines and dishwashers fixed when they break. I am always changing furniture around or wanting to sort through a bookshelf or wardrobe, but I know that if I owned this place, I would be constantly changing and modifying it, ever restless, ever eager to knock down that wall, change the kitchen round, re-plaster those wonky walls, paint, re-paint, have the chimneys swept, add 'value'. Probably never quite happy with it. I can't do any of those things, so I am forced to just be in the space, accept it for what it is. Just live with it. It's oddly humbling. I pass on those concerns about the draughty windows and cracks in the wall and forget about them. One day, those concerns will be our own so we enjoy not having them at present.

I do look forward one day to being able to do some major work to a house, and I confess that my dreams occasionally consist of builders rubble and wallpaper. But until then my wall adornment fantasies (why yes!) will have to be satisfied elsewhere. Until recently I had a garland wall up behind the sofa but it was beginning to make the room feel a little too cluttered and claustrophobic so I took it down, as part of a wider de-cluttering drive. Now these lovely little red triangles introduce just the right amount of colour and pattern without making the walls feel like they were coming to get me. These decals are removable too, so perfect for a renter or homeowner, for that matter.

(I was testing these decals - from UW Decals- for work so they were sent for free)

Our cheap silver kitchen cabinets have always bothered me but I had a moment of washi inspiration recently and decided to customise them. I use my Papermash washi tape for so many things- present wrapping, sticking prints to the wall, decorating greetings cards so why not to create triangles on my kitchen cabinets?! My mister used a craft knife to get the tips nice and straight. It stays on perfectly but will be easy to remove when we move out or if I get bored of them. I think stripes would also look good, yes? I have always wanted to add new square handles too but we've never got round to it.

I know many people feel they are 'pissing money down the drain' by renting, or that they aren't settled or 'grown up' until they own their home but I don't feel like that about it at all. We're paying for our home and for the benefits I listed above. It's far more normal to rent in other European countries, but in those countries there are rent controls and much better regulation- two things sorely lacking in the UK. 

Are you in a rented house? Are you a contended renter? Or a restless one? Do you have a positive renting story (they seem to be few and far between!) Or have you had a nightmare?

P.S In other news, we're at another low point with the sleep (the last one was at about 8 months). Frankie is waking every hour and a half. In between those wakings she is kicking me in the vagina. YEAH. Not fun.  My mister has also been working 15 hour days and unable to help for the last couple of weeks so its been a bit of a toxic combination. And just for good measure, we were burgled and they got our camera, lenses, memory cards and battery etc, and there is a bit of uncertainty about insurance.  There have been some lovely times too- we're still trooping around London with Frankie, who becomes more adorable daily, and I've been able to do a bit of writing work. But generally, I'm the poster girl (woman?!) for the frazzled mother stereotype; deep bags under my eyes, a technicolour set of stains on all of my clothes, slurred or non sensical speech,  and mainlining (decaff) coffee. FUN TIMES.

Ansell Adams, Man Ray & Ottolenghi; a very cultured London weekend.

Breakfast is the very best meal of the day, yes? I often have breakfast for lunch. Or dinner. Or both. I’ve also learnt that the best conversations flow over breakfast and it's the best way to visit more expensive restaurants and not spend a fortune. A recent case in point is a trip to Ottolenghi for breakfast with one of my oldest friends who came to stay.  The breakfast menu is affordable and delicious. The restaurant welcomes babies, and apart from a bizarre conversation with the manager about why I was taking photos it was most satisfactory. My friend and I rose early to venture there with very specific cravings in mind. We wanted the Shak-Shuka; which arrived sizzling in mini pans, eggs baked amidst a spicy tomato and pepper stew (£9). The enormous wedges of cinnamon French toast with lashings of crème-fraiche and berry compote (about £7) was another strong draw and fabulously gluttonous, and the homemade chocolate hazelnut spread was a very palatable side dish. Between the three of us, we managed to polish off a lot of their breakfast menu.

Another day we perched atop Greenwich hill, surveying sunny London spread before us, blanket spread on the ground beneath us, home made sandwiches in hand, sun warming our faces; the first picnic of the summer. Afterwards, we meandered down to the National Maritime Museum to see the Ansell Adams exhibition, the triumph of which was the triptych of huge canvases depicting epic mountainous American landscapes.  

We lazed in the sunshine outside the train cafe in Deptford before seeing the Man Ray exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. It was fascinating, showcasing some of my favourite writers, actors and models. I had no idea how prolific he was, but I was pleasantly surprised to see portraits of Virginia Wolf, James Joyce, Picasso, Ava Gardener, Gertrude Stein and Aldous Huxley, to name but a few. Frankie-Rose fell asleep in the sling whilst breastfeeding so I was able to spend a decent amount of time looking around properly which felt almost indecently decadent. (Discreetly breastfeeding whilst walking round galleriesis my latest mother skill!) 

Shak-Shuka at Ottolenghi

Mmm croissant

 

Ottolenghi salads

Picnic in Greenwich park

Pianist at the NMM

My beautiful friend

A babychino for Frankie

Looking a bit sleep deprived outside the National Portrait Gallery

It was the perfect weekend, taking in some of London’s shiniest gems. 

I have much I want to blog about but any free time has been taken up with working- I've had a couple of writing commissions (more about them once they're published!) which is GREAT but I wish I could spend more time on work AND the blog. 

Pae White at the South London Gallery & The Light Show at the Hayward.

Following my blog earlier in the week about the butterflies at the Natural History Museum, I wanted to blog about another couple of exhibitions I've been to recently and loved. I've actually been to loads but I don’t always have time to write them up. They are all, however, documented on instagram, so follow me there for more timely gallery tips. (hannahseedsandstitches)

I frequent the South London Gallery at least once a month as its a hop, skip and a very easy bus journey down the road from me. Plus the cafe connected to the building, No 67, is one of my favourite cafe's in London. Their coffee is delicious; small, sharp and strong, but for me their brunch menu sings the loudest. Expect runny baked eggs sizzling in peppery tomato sauce, stacks of fluffy American style pancakes draped with stewed rhubarb, or creamy porridge with fruit compote and flaked nuts which is also very reasonably priced. It's set half in a beautiful old building with exposed brickwork and half in a light filled glazed square extension on the back of the building. It is also very baby friendly with changing facilities (although they are located in the only toilet, so you might have to queue). The gallery has a frequently revolving roster of contemporary art, the latest of which happens to be my favourite to date. 

The PaeWhite installation sees the main hall swathed in hundreds of meters of coloured thread that stretch back and forth over the ceiling of the building, like a canopy. The work is inspired by the artists insomnia,  and I can see why. The words spelled out in the thread; “Tiger Time” and “ Unmattering” have a half-sensical feel to them, like the disconnected, random thoughts of a dream.  The thread is sumptuous and absorbing, almost touching your head. It’s like being enclosed in a duvet. As you walk through the tunnel in the middle of the installation, it seems to reel and morph as the threads, cross over, uncross then cross again, according to your perspective. The sense of movement is thrilling, it almost made me feel sea sick. Frankie loved being able to crawl in such a large space and seemed to enjoy the bright colours and sense of movement as much as I did. It’s on until the 12^th May with free admission. Go for cake! Go for thread! Go for seasickness! 

The second exhibit I wanted to mention was the Light Show at the Hayward. I actually went to this a while ago but have been meaning to blog about it since then. For the £14 entrance fee (ouch!) I expected it to be brilliant. It both met then surpassed my expectations. It is behemoth like, room after room of glittering, glowing, sputtering artificial light. A temple to Tungsten.

Anthony McCall "You and I Horizontal". Image by Blaise Adilon

 There are too many artists exhibiting for me to discuss them all, but my favourites were the Leo Villareals “Cylinder II”, the opening gambit of the show, and arguably the most enthralling. Long cylindrical tubes of light hang in concentric circles, as light pulses up and down in a pattern, we are told,  that is never repeated. Anthony McCalls “You and I Horizontal” is a filmic beam of solid light, projected onto an opposite wall. The use of smoke machines means you can “touch” the side of the light, walk into it directly, slink around it, create shadows with it. It is exciting and rare to be able to interact so deeply with a work of art. I also loved Carlos Cruz-Diez’s interconnecting coloured rooms, where moving from one intensely lit red room, to another intensely lit green room, actually hurts your eye balls. I think the reason I loved this exhibition so much is that you can be so deeply involved with so many of the pieces; that you can literally change their form, stand right in the middle, 'handle' them, mould their shape with your hands and in return the pieces have a profound physical affect on you.

Frankie was agape for most of the exhibition. She repeated “wow” throughout the show, and even in the most intense room- a strobe light lit room full of fountains- she oohed and ahhed and held her hand out quizzically. Regardless to say, it is fantastically stimulating- perhaps even too much so- for kids and babies. There was a whole section just for buggy storage outside the exhibition, so I am not alone in extolling the benefits of the show for littles.  It's on until Monday 6^th May and I can't recommend it enthusiastically enough. Go for glitter! Go for photons! Go for sore eyeballs!

P.S The winner of the Mama Wolf giveaway, according to random number generator, is Meg, who wanted to give it to a little boy who has just become a big brother. I dont have contact details so please get in touch with me, Meg, and I'll arrange delivery! Congratulations. 

P.P.S I'm sorry that these posts are always so London centric- but that's where I live! Hopefully it's interesting to non-londoners and those thinking about taking a city break some time soon. 

P.P.P.S Who posts on  Friday evening when no-one is reading blogs?! The person who has literally had a post-jabs sad baby in her arms ALL DAY, for 4 days, thats who. This has been my only opportunity so here it is. *polishes off second Gin and Tonic*