Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Banking on a fun weekend!

Well it's back to business as usual, following a lovely sunny bank holiday weekend.  It looks as if the weather is getting back to business too, replacing the glorious sunshine with clouds and rain....

We started the weekend off right with an evening packed full of dances on Saturday at The Girl Can't Help It in Waterloo.  This one-off event was hosted by Miss B Nightingale, who along with Rob be Bop kept the floor jumpin' with a great mix of rhythm and blues, rock'n'roll and jump blues.  My highlight of the night was seeing two of my favourite dancers tearing up the floor - my very own loverboy and a friend of ours, Anthony.  


Considering that they are both used to doing the leading, they busted out an awesome and very entertaining dance!

On Sunday, we headed into Central London to see an exhibition by Bert Hardy at The Photographers' Gallery.  Famous for his black and white candid shots from the 1940s and 1950s, Hardy, from Blackfriars in London, had a knack of capturing the most haunting and yet often playful images.


Serving as a war photographer during World War II, Hardy caught moments of suffering as well as celebration.  He captured images of poverty along with post-war liberty.  One of my favourite photos was the one below, featuring a room full of sailors, and a lady up on stage dancing in a full skirt.  When I got home I was so inspired by this shot that I recreated my own version....you can't see it, but Aaron was probably taking a peek under my skirt, just like the cheeky sailor in the Hardy photo...


I absolutely loved each and every one of his photos on display in the exhibition, as well as the ones in books that I flicked through.  Check out the one below with the cute swimsuit-clad ladies and the crocodile!


We went to a couple of other exhibitions in the gallery, including one by Cristina de Middel entitled 'The Afronauts', documenting Zambia's space programme in 1964, which never took off (ba-dummm-chhhh)...


We also enjoyed an exhibition by Claire Aho, featuring a series of fashion photography images from European advertisements in 1950s Finland.  The photos included so many gorgeous dresses!


On Monday, we hopped on a train and headed to the Queen's favourite weekend home, Windsor Castle.  A lot of other people had the same idea, so it was a good thing that the hubs was organised and bought our tickets in advance, because when we arrived the queue was already winding half way around the castle!


We started off the tour at St George's Chapel, the place of worship and Chapel of The Order of the Garter on the grounds of Windsor Castle.  Photos are prohibited inside all of the buildings, so I don't have any photos to show you, but I can confirm that it was absolutely breath-taking.


Inside the Chapel, there is a carved marble sculpture in memory of Princess Charlotte (1796-1817).  At just 21 years old, the Princess Royal died the day after giving birth to a baby boy, who was stillborn.

Words cannot describe just how moving this memorial is.  The artistry of the actual sculpture is exquisite, and the scene which is set, is a beautiful tribute.  It features Princess Charlotte's body under a sheet, with just her hand half hanging out from the edge, whilst she is surrounded by mourners, shrouded in cloaks.  Above this sadness, however, her spirit ascends to heaven, and she is flanked by two angels, one of them carrying her baby son.  I found an image from the internet to show you, however it is so much more powerful in real life.


The way that the monument has been carved is so skillful, and the sheets look so realistic, that it is awe-inspiring to believe that they are sculpted out of marble.

The Castle was similarly magnificent, and we had a fun time walking around with our audio tours, being dorky tourists...


The rest of our day in Windsor was spent looking around the shops a little, and then sitting in a park by the Thames, eating ice cream, and (in my case) drinking gin and pink grapefruit tonics.  The perfect day, and a wonderful end to a perfect weekend.


20 comments:

  1. sounds such a lovely weekend! my beau and i also visited windsor castle but it was winter and freezing! youre dress is super cute and your hubbies shoes are amazing!

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    1. Thanks Holly, it was! We definitely had the perfect weather on our visit, although I can imagine that there is a certain wintry romanticism when visiting during the colder seasons...

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  2. What a fabulous bank holiday you two had! Certainly made the most of it! I will be adding that gallery to my list for the next trip to see what is on in November. We used to frequent a Photographers Gallery somewhere near Leicester Square I believe. Is this the same gallery owner I wonder? Or did it move?

    Hope the sun returns for you soon ;-)

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    1. Yes, it was fabulous! I am not sure if the gallery used to be at a different location, I am assuming that this is probably a different one altogether, as there are so many different photography galleries all over London! I would recommend checking it out - it is right by Oxford Street, so maybe a little light relief from shopping? :)

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  3. Oh that's what's so awesome about places like England and the rest of Europe. There is so much history and all you need to do is get on a train to get there. I love looking at old architecture and almost anything to do with history. My hubby would probably be bored.

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    1. Yes, we are very lucky to be able to be able to visit so many beautiful and fascinating historical places in this country!

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  4. HOW FUN!!!! You don't even know how jealous I am of you!!! If I could live ANYWHERE else in the world it would be England! UGH!!! I have to plan another trip out there!!! You guys look like you had a great relaxing holiday!

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    1. Hahahha! You should come and visit again soon LaToya, I will totally be your tour guide! :)

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  5. I love that you guys are so in love!!! Plus you have so much fun together. I think being a "dorky tourist" is really the best way to enjoy even your own country.

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    1. Awwww thanks Chris! :) Being a dorky tourist is definitely the way to go (you should see the pics of us wearing the audio tour headphones to get the full extent of dorkiness...)!

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  6. Oh you always have so many wonderful things on in London! I think I need to move there! Windsor Castle is SO beautiful, I stopped there once when I was younger on the way to Lego Land :P
    I love how summery and beautiful everything looks, your dress is so gorgeous! Love that shot of you with the guard :D
    Eating ice cream and drinking gin tonics in the park sounds like an absolute dream *sigh*

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    1. Yes indeed, one of the great things about living in a big city is the multitude of things to do...so many things, in fact, that there are often not enough hours in the day! Thank you for the compliments! It is funny taking pictures with the guards as they are not aloud to move, so I felt a mixture of creepiness and also an urge to make him laugh... ;)

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  7. Your outfits look so adorable! And I'm loving the photos of traveling.

    xx
    http://cephalopodsyndrome.blogspot.com/

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  8. What a dream backdrop London makes for! How can one not adore a city that provides real life castles to pose in front of while wearing a fabulous vintage outfit?

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thanks Jessica! I sure do love London! I think that more castle exploring in other parts of the country is definitely on the agenda! :)

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  9. You're the most stylish-looking 'dorky' tourist that I've ever seen!

    What a wonderful way to spend time, and then ice-cream and gin to top it off? Marvellous!

    www.mancunianvintage.com

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    1. Heehee! Thank you Helen! I omitted the pictures of us wearing the audio-tour headphones and bright neon lanyard! :P

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  10. What a great holiday weekend!

    I would love to go to that photo exhibit with you. I love old photography.

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    1. It sure was! The photo exhibit was small, but all the shots were wonderful.

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