Audrey Hepburn, Posthumous Saleswoman

I don't normally have adverts on my blog but I will make an exception in this case.  A well known British chocolate brand with the help of CGI has remastered footage of Audrey Hepburn and turned it into a television advert, the advert has been beautifully done.  Quite what Audrey Hepburn would have made of  posthumously promoting chocolate I really don't know especially bearing in mind she was a good will ambassador for UNICEF an organisation that was close to her heart, Hepburn herself was helped by the organisation receiving food and medical help after World War II.

The Independent has an interesting piece on this advertisement and the subject of posthumous advertising here.

So what do you think, Is it ethical to use departed icons in this way?

I'll take one in every colour!

Once again my blogging life has become sporadic, I seem to be very busy at the moment mainly catching up with jobs I have been putting off for far too long.  Outside my windows the sky has been grey for days, I am not a fan of this time of year but I know Spring which is my favourite season is waiting just round the corner.  To brighten things up  I bought some Anemones from the local Sunday market,  Anemones are one of my favourite flowers and here they sell them in mixed bunches of vibrant colours, their jewel like presence in the house is a tonic for my soul...

His Masters Voice. The End?

Sadly it does not really come as much of a surprise that HMV is the latest casualty of the British high street to fall, they missed a few tricks and succumbed to the might of i tunes, Amazon and Netflix and the rise and rise of the slightly out of town supermarkets.  The former giants of the British high street and town centres have failed or are flailing, I ask myself what is the future? A flagship store presence in the capitol city and the rest, well, internet. That is of course assuming they can find buyers and not go under completely.

Is there an opportunity here?

I would love to see a future of local, independent boutiques, places to discover, with internet savvy, so you can continue to buy from them no matter where you live,  florists, restaurants and cafes etc. Reclaiming Britain's town centres and high streets, a renaissance if you like but I doubt they could afford the exorbitant rates unless the local councils take a long term view and put substance over quick return in the way the South Devon town of Totnes has.  So what will we be left with? Big name bar chains, nightclubs, McDonalds and KFC a very gloomy outlook indeed for some of the wonderful town centres of Britain and indeed the world, alas they will all end up looking the same, as I write this I realise it's already happened.

Happy New Year

Just checking in to wish you all a Very Happy and joyful 2013

I have been away for three weeks without a computer but I did have my camera...

First stop Yorkshire, where I spent ten joyful days with my family, unfortunately it rained heavily every day I was there so interior shots only.

No i phone or complicated portable just a good old fashioned British Telecom standard issue telephone, the one's I grew up with, they are considered retro now, I so enjoyed curling up on the sofa, twirling the curly cord in my fingers and using this to call absent friends and loved ones.

I had five star treatment staying with my Brother

Oh I do love a big bath with a view!

I even bought sweets from my childhood (also now considered retro) for the kids but they were more interested in computer games!

And I helped my Mother with afternoon tea.

Next stop Prague for seven days and mercifully no rain but it was cold I was secretly hoping for snow but it was not to be, still, it was beautiful and there is more to come on my Prague adventure

I won't be back home until Sunday, at present I am in my spiritual home on the Provençal Coast.

See you soon, wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

XXX

Rain, Clementines and Mulled Wine

Image via Seabois

Yes, it's been like this all day, relentless.  I had plans to go to the big town today, I spent a couple of happy hours on Sunday Christmas shopping on the internet (nearly all done) but there are some things that you need your olfactory senses for.  The big town will have to wait until the rain stops.

So I stayed at home, did some work and marvelled at my clementines which have started popping up in the greengrocers along with other seasonal delights such as lychees and pomegranates.
  

Yesterday evening whilst I was toiling in the study I could hear MG rustling about in the kitchen, soon the whole house was filled with the most beautiful aroma, a while later I was presented with a glass of the most delicious mulled wine, MG had clearly been inspired by the arrival of the clementines.  He used Jamie Oliver's recipe which can be found here.

 Image via Jamie Oliver

I feel the urge for another glass coming on...

The Cup Cake Lady

A touch of Christmas whimsy for the first Sunday in December.

Almost Advent

How did it get to be the last day in November?  Advent starts tomorrow and I am starting to panic.  Cyber Monday came and went, I have a feeling this weekend will be my cyber moment, I really need to get cracking to ensure delivery.  We are away for Christmas and the New Year so no tree but I will be putting festive touches around the house.

There has been much discussion on blogs regarding high street shopping versus on-line shopping, for me it's a no brainer, on my laptop, warm and cosy, dog at my feet, glass of wine by my side.  Modern shopping centres or malls filled with all the usual suspects are my biggest nightmare although I will make an exception for this beautifully restored Victorian shopping arcade which is crammed full of wondrous, interesting and mainly independent boutiques. I will be visiting it shortly before Christmas, I will not be able to resist a few extra stocking fillers, there is  no doubt they will be wrapped on Christmas Eve.

The Victoria Quarter, Leeds, Photo from flickr

 MG has asked me what I would like for Christmas I have requested a wide angle lens for my camera... but then I saw some exquisite evening bags...

Available from here

How are your plans going? Is all your Christmas shopping done?

Wishing you all a Wonderful Weekend.

XXX

The Simple Things

A beautiful painting of a simple thing...a bedspread airing through an open window.  I love this painting this is a typical French scene, the times I have driven from my village to the local town on a beautiful morning, houses with shutters and windows flung wide open, bedspreads, duvets, eiderdowns, dangling.  A simple morning ritual, played out all over France.

Elisabeth Baysset, the artist responsible for this painting, sadly passed away far too early, last month.  Elisabeth was an artist that I discovered through the blogging community, I think she was a huge talent, her beautiful works are a testament to her memory...