50’s Sketchbook

Been busy today sorting out my administration and trying to find out if I have the appropriate kind of education to register for a bachelor degree. I wrote to the dean of the school I attended and asked his help. At the time, six months after getting my diploma, I received a letter telling me that I could upgrade it if I had worked for so many months.

At the time I thought it didn’t really matter because I had a job and I didn’t need to show my diploma, I never have actually. But since I’d like to register for this bachelor degree I need the upgraded diploma. The dean sent me a reply that he was willing to help and is sorting it out for me. I think that is very kind of him since I had no idea who to ask!

While looking for my diploma I found my mum’s sketchbooks, some years ago I’d asked her if I could have them since she didn’t want them. This is just one page of many and in the picture you can see her assignment: she had to draw a pattern from a fashion picture. She also gave me an awesome ’50’s and ’57’s set of bound women’s fashion magazines.

Treasures!

© Zesty Gal – Mum’s assignment

Magical Evening

This Thursday I will be visiting the world’s oldest and last surviving grand music hall called Wilton’s. A wonderful and magical place hidden in the centre of London near Tower Hill. John Wilton built the theatre behind his pub ‘The Prince of Denmark’ in 1858, later know as the Mahogany Bar. A sun-burner chandelier with 300 gas jets and 27000 cut crystals dominated a mirrored hall. The auditorium remained incredibly intact: the original cast iron ‘barley sugar’ pillars support a papier-mâché balcony under paper roses set in a vaulted roof. In Wilton’s day, 1500 people used to cram into the music hall to hear the top acts: artistes from the Covent Garden were lured over in full costume to perform late night arias.

Here, I will be attending The Soldier’s Tale by Stravinsky which was recommended to me by J. A music-theatre performance: a mix of drama, music, film and physical theatre. Presented by the world famous Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which joins forces with director Lawrence Evans and internationally acclaimed and highly versatile violinist, Anthony Marwood in a unique production of The Soldier’s Tale, a Faustian fable of a Soldier cruelly tricked into giving his soul to the devil. I’m really looking forward to this, I will bring my camera along *as usual* and will try to catch the perfect moment to share… I’ll be accompanied by Chris that evening and will be wearing my chocolate satin dress that I’ll have to finish tomorrow. I think it will blend in nicely with the magic of the evening… :)

© G. Allen, The Entrance

© G. Allen, The Auditorium

© Wilton’s, The Auditorium

© Wilton’s, The Auditorium