Joy and Weddings

Sidney Walton (born 1924) a welding instructor and Evelyn Mary Banks (born 1925) a worker at a shoe factory, on their wedding day, 1950.

After all the stress of finishing my MRes, I have been spending time contemplating and working out what I want from my life, which amounts to a truly scary prospect. This process of introspection was helped the other day by a photograph my mother showed me and which is inspiring me. The photo was taken in 1950 and it captures my grandparents on their wedding day. I never met my grandfather, and knew my grandmother only during my early childhood, but I feel a sense of closeness while looking at this photograph, a familiarity and warmth which I cannot explain. My grandmothers look of pure, unadulterated joy, excitement and anticipation for her future life as a wife, of a life spent bonded to my grandfather, is infectious. Being nearly the same age as she was when this photograph was taken, I feel a kinship as a woman and of course I'm envious of the effortlessly cool nature of both of their outfits!

 Whilst I don't intend to get married any time soon, the sentiment expressed by my grandmother is something I want to ensure lasts for me. I loved working on my masters, researching and discovering women's place in the art world of the Napoleonic era, and I'm having a wonderful time at the moment being inspired at Wightwick Manor. Hence, I want to make sure that I have goals to strive for, to prolong my happiness. This means as well as being fulfilled at work, taking time to engage with my family and friends, to really appreciate and enjoy their company. I pledge to not get overly pessimistic when things go wrong, or fixate on my failings, but to learn and to feel as my grandmother here feels, joy, often and with abandonment. Hopefully I can also make those around me feel the joy my grandmother does in this stunning photograph.

Best,

Evalily Harlow xxxx

Preoccupation and Steampunk

I know, trust me I feel really guilty! In February I embarked on a fabulous trainee curatorship, which I am engaged in alongside my thesis writing, as well as trying to keep up with my volunteering and outside interests at the weekend, all of which has left me regrettably, incredibly, remiss in posting.  Here is a link to a blog post I wrote about an exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

And also, to give you a flavour of a small part of my time as a curatorial trainee, here is a recent picture of me and Wolverhampton Art Gallery colleagues dressed as Steampunks for a Steampunk day which I helped to organise. It was great fun and I learnt all about a new vintage style that I knew nothing about!

In the course of my time at the Art Gallery I have also learnt a lot about Victorian Wolverhampton, which has been really fascinating. I unearthed some terribly interesting photographs of the town which inspired the Steampunk day itself. The below photographs are only two of the many amazing photographs that are held at Wolverhampton City Archives.

Copyright Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies

This photograph, taken in 1885, is a view of Queen Square in Wolverhampton, with the Art Gallery and a penny farthing present! I find looking at these photographs incredibly fascinating and feel very lucky that my job involves researching my local heritage. These photographs show the beauty and elegance of an area of England that is often derided and scorned as less than wonderful.

I have also learnt that Wolverhampton was once a centre for bicycle manufacture including the creation of some rather stylish penny farthings. And that there were legendary bicycle races in the grounds of the Molineux House. It's photographs like this that excite me so much as a historian and create that abiding connection with our past.

Unlike

Copyright Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies

Inspired by this local industry, I therefore decided to create some Steampunk penny farthing badges and children had the opportunity to make their own, along with creating a Steampunk passport, and getting the chance to get dressed up, have a dance, watch some silent film clips- which I had a great time compiling, including Steampunk inspired clips, such as Georges Méliès A Trip to the Moon (1902). 

 Still from Georges Méliès, A Trip to the Moon (1902).

  The Art Gallery's penny farthing was bought out from the stores and put on display and I used this as inspiration for a kids craft. An activity I had fun devising was these Penny Farthing Badges, using small watch parts, these are the prototypes I created and they seemed to be a hit with children! It's the combination of local history and fun crafts that I wanted to contribute.

I'm having an amazing time at the Art Gallery and feel very privileged to be able to learn more about local heritage and think of fun and exciting ways to impart this knowledge to children. If you want any information about upcoming events at the gallery- https://www.facebook.com/WolverhamptonArtGallery or http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/ And there is a great post about local bicycle racing, on the incredibly informative historywebsite- http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Molineux/part4.htm 

Finally, this is a collage of images of the event which included performances by Queen Victoria in the Victorian gallery space and Swyron the Steampunk revolutionary!

I hope your weekend was not as soggy as mine turned out to be and I promise to write another blog post soon!

Best,

Evalily Harlow xxxx

Good Advice

Pip Pip old sport!

 I must first offer my most sincerest apologies for not updating this blog in a long time and wish everyone, if there is still anyone frequenting this blog due to my shabby neglect, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Life has well and truly caught up with me. I have had this post in the works for quite a while, but I have been distracted by writing, Wightwick, winter etc. A lame excuse I know, but it's the only truth I can offer! So, I decided that in this monumentally overdue post I would write briefly about a couple that has fascinated me for years: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. (I will have a Christmas post uploaded in the next week, with taster pictures of adventures I have recently been on and will write about.)

One of my English Literature A-Level set texts was The Great Gatsby, which, according to my teacher, was chosen for us to study not only for its literary merit and its place in the zeitgeist, but also because as teenagers we would be interested in the: parties, money, corruption, debauchery, scandal and love affair. This coupled with my love of the twenties, its: music, films, fashion, sense of abandon etc, ensured that it was inevitable that I became fascinated with the story, its characters, and by extension its writer. The depiction of an ephemeral but all encompassing joy and love is something especially poignant for the teenager.  In fact, interest in the book and to some extent its writer rarely appears to falter, and most recently was manifested in Baz Luhrmann's remake of The Great Gatsby, an arresting montage of images with an amazing soundtrack, who knew Jay Z would fit with the twenties asthetic? I thought Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and by extension Zelda, was captivating, but I still prefer Toby Stephen's Gatsby, however that is due my bias of being enamoured with Toby Stephens, I mean he was Mr Rochester!  But I digress ...

After reading The Great Gatsby, enjoying Fitzgerald's writing style, especially his dreamlike descriptions,'In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.' I decided to read other works in his Oeuvre and luckily Penguin have released these incredibly stylish art deco range of Fitzgerald's books. Below is my collection of Fitzgerald books nestled among a range of mainly twenties and thirties texts, which I am still working my way through.

 

 

I knew vaguely about the comparisons between Daisy and Zelda and so I wanted to research more about the writers relationships, the passionate, abiding, devotion of love that seemed to envelop The Great Gatsby, lead me to want to learn more about Fitzgerald's relationships. Helpfully, I recently caught Sincerely, F Scott Fitzgerald on the BBC. An informative documentary about the writer, preoccupied with the figure of Zelda, as a muse and wife. It's a great initial insight and I would recommend it to you if you have any interest in the author.

The couple themselves were also recently portrayed by the dashing Tom Hiddleston and talented Alison Pill, whose depictions of Zelda and Scott in Midnight in Paris were exuberant and fun, although for the sake of comic effect Zelda's was a rather caricatured depiction as a selfish, flighty, depressed, funny, confident lush and Fitzgerald seems to be lost in the face of the strength of characters of Zelda and Ernest Hemingway. Furthermore, although Zelda's literary aspirations are depicted, her talents as a writer are dismissed by Hemingway, with whom there was apparently mutual dislike. I haven't yet had the chance to read her novel Save Me the Waltz, which she wrote while hospitalised, evidently she spent quite a bit of time in institutions, but I have read about her contribution to her husbands writing,not merely as a muse. Some writers argue that he plagiarised her letters, others use the phrase 'borrowed' and 'was influenced by', her talents have I believe been underestimated and overshadowed, and she is often only described as a distraction and burden to his writing ability, as Hemingway in the film suggests. The fact is that I have always seen Zelda as a troubled but spirited, vivacious, talented and intoxicating figure, but unlike in this depiction with greater charm, compassion and less inbalance (despite her time spent in mental institutions), a woman whom Fitzgerald adored and for whom this strength of feeling was returned (regardless of the suggested short lived affair with a French aviator, alluded to in the film and which has been suggested affected the plot of Gatbsy). When Gil Pender, the protagonist, remarks that she is exactly as one thought, he draws attention to the popular, narrow, stereotypical view of Zelda people seem to hold.

Found at fuckyeahtomhiddleston.tumblr.com

 As a result of these tantalising glimpses into the lives of these two fascinating and brilliant people, and their  romantic, explosive and in some ways destructive love, I became greatly interested in their lives and  so as I love buying books I purchased Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda containing  their beautiful and affectionate letters, which I delve into in my spare moments, away from my thesis.

 

' ... and the only sadness is the living without you ... You and I have been happy; we haven't been happy just once, we've been happy a thousand times ... Forget the past- what you can of it, and turn about and swim back home to me, to your haven for ever and ever- even though it may seem a dark cave at times and lit with torches of fury; it is the best refuge for you- turn gently in the waters through which you move and sail back.'- Scott to Zelda, April 26, 1934.

The beautiful Zelda Sayre, July 1918. Photograph taken from Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda.

Zelda, Scott, and their daughter Scottie.

One for the holidays! Christmas, 1925. F. Scott Fitzgerald,  Zelda, and Scottie in Paris, taken from Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda.

I also read a bit about Scottie, their daughter, and found this video illustrating a letter Fitzgerald wrote to his daughter giving her great advice, which I will strive to follow, and showing his great affection and love for his 'egg':  F. Scott Fitzgerald's Letter to his Daughter YouTube Video  (Copyright ofActuallyAlexa)

The love that pervades these intimate letters is truly wonderful. I wanted in this post to pay homage to these exceptional people, whom I became enamoured by, and their tragic but beautiful devotion. Christmas has evidently made me very sentimental!  Best flapper winter wishes,

Evalily Harlow x

p.s. This picture was taken on a scorchingly hot summer day in Berlin last summer whilst on holiday, and though I wasn't adventurous enough to dance in the fountain, I hoped Zelda might approve. I of course got some very funny looks and had to walk back to the hostel with a wet, dripping behind. It was totally worth it!

Thesis Writing Stress

©NTPL/Derrick E. Witty

This image is of the poet Christina Rossetti, depicted in the imagined throes of a passionate rage. Her anger was caused by a bad review of her poetry in The Times (quoted on the left of the picture sideways).  I decided to blog about this picture as it perfectly encapsulates my present mood, not that I am in any way endeavouring to compare myself to this marvelous poet, or suggesting that I intend to ransack my living room! It demonstrates the frustration I feel when I wish: my brain could work faster, my hands could type quicker and I could be a far better writer than I am. This humorous caricature depicting Christina was sketched by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1862, and shows Christina living up to the reputation she shared with her brother Dante in the Rossetti Family as the two 'storms'.

Whilst getting incredibly annoyed this afternoon my mind conjured up this image for me, a picture I am incredibly familiar with as it resides in my beloved dining room at Wightwick Manor.  It is a drawing sure to garner chuckles from visitors; an emotion I'm sure is shared by my sister who looks at me rather perplexed and amused when I start banging the keys on the keyboard with great force and flouncing off to get a drink, muttering to myself.

However, I don't want to spend the whole of this post discussing my frustration, and instead want to implore those of you who are not familiar with Christina's Rossetti's poetry, to seek it out. I find great comfort and joy in her poetry, especially the fantastical nature of Goblin Market and the somber, poignant and beautiful, Remember.

Remember

By Christina Rossetti

Remember me when I am gone away,

         Gone far away into the silent land;

         When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

         You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

         Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

         And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

         For if the darkness and corruption leave

         A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

         Than that you should remember and be sad.

Yours, a lot less vexed,

 Evalily Harlow xxx

J K Rowling Magic

A Wizardly Winning Wimbledon Welcome to you all!

Firstly, being British I just want to say that I was: so nervous before, apprehensive during, and extremely happy after Andy Murray's victory at Wimbledon. He became the first British male tennis player to win Wimbledon in 77 years! After the Lions win, the Ashes, and all the momentum from the the Olympics, our nation is having an amazing love affair with sport after our previous cynical defeatist attitude, not helped by our shocking football performances!  The sporty zeitgeist has definitely motivated me to dust off the old tennis racket and attempt to get more fit this summer.

Now to the focus of this post, all things Harry Potter. I'm still extremely ecstatic, exhilarated, and lets be honest a bit smug, about meeting, if but briefly, J. K. Rowling. It will be difficult for me not to gush incessantly, but I will true to reign my desires in. My sister, to whom I will forever owe a debt of the deepest gratitude, had heard whilst at University at Bath, about the book festival occurring there in January and had booked two tickets for us to attend a discussion with Rowling about her new book, The Casual Vacancy. She was, as expected for a national treasure/childhood hero, very witty, intelligent, engaging and affable, showing great affection for her characters, describing interesting insights into her writing habits, plot development, and offering valuable information for aspiring writers, whilst also answering copious audience members questions with good humour and aplomb. Unfortunately I was far too petrified at that point to even begin to concoct a coherent question. Then came the agonising wait to meet her, as one slowly gravitated closer and closer towards her orbit. Although I only had a few seconds in which to bask in her presence, I will forever remember my quiet reverential; " Thank you so very much" as she signed my book, her fixed gaze (she has the brightest blue eyes and gold spun hair, which was quite unnerving in its perfection, one doesn't usually expect authors to look as if they could  also work part time as an actress or model) and sweetly refreshing reply of 'Your welcome'. I was left shaking from the encounter, although luckily my nerves are not as evident in the cherished picture below my awesome sister took for me. The strategy behind which me and my sister had spent ten minutes deliberating about. I then hurriedly took a picture of my sister after which I practically floated back to my sisters flat, completely unaware of the journey, with the night air sweetened by my awe for this woman whose books helped and nurtured me through a difficult time in my early secondary school life and provided me with beloved fictional friends. My copy of The Casual Vacancy, with her precious signature, is reverentially on display in my room, ready at a moments notice to be shown to the, lets be honest, very few people that have not yet seen it and been subjected to my fawning wittering.

 

 (My favourite picture,  I'm seriously considering printing it and getting it framed! )

Whilst writing this post, I realised I had also forgot to update the blog with the pictures I took last summer, when still sporting my beloved bob, of a family outing to the Harry Potter studio tour. It was an impressive and very immersive experience into the wizarding world, whilst still managing to maintain and highlight the integrity of the film sets, to show what was created and what was green screened, so that an outsider can  see the processes involved, and the level of dedication and attention to detail.

A bit older than 11, but still persevering to persuade Ollivanders for my own wand, whilst waiting for my Hogwarts letter!

 I was unsuccessfully practicing Parseltongue just before this picture was taken!

Anyone else for Hogsmeade?

 

(I would really like to one day own my own sky blue Ford Anglia, preferably with flying capabilities!)

Yours, Inspired, Evalily Harlow xxx

p.s. I'm incredibly annoyed by the unmasking of J.K Rowling as the writer of The Cuckoo's Calling, a book which incidentally was getting great reviews regarding the characters, plot and author's writing skill, before its recent surge in publicity. J.K. Rowling must be feeling such a loss of freedom. I wonder how many recent and future publications will now come under this unwanted, though lucrative scrutiny.

Masters Mayhem and Fire Fighting

Profound apologies for being absent for so long, but I do have a few necessary excuses: firstly my masters has taken up a lot of my time, writing presentations, giving presentations, writing essays, debating vigorously feminism in seminars and so forth. Additionally, I wrote a post for The Golovine, the University of Birmingham blog about my experiences volunteering for Wightwick manor-

 http://thegolovine.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/postgraduate-student-hannah-squire-discusses-her-experience-volunteering-for-the-national-trust/
I even got a tweet from the Wightwick Manor twitter account and re-tweeted by the national trust account, how very exciting!

On the website there is also a post regarding my involvement in a group of five art historians, endeavouring to, enthuse, educate and excite art history novices in five great works at the Barber Institute - http://thegolovine.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/five-paintings-ten-minutes-each-300-years-of-art-history/





Furthermore, I have also become involved with  a Heritage Lottery Funded project- Digbeth Speaks- an amazing, interesting and important group recording the history of Digbeth,  http://digbethspeaks.blogspot.co.uk/ - on which I wrote a blog post about my time voxpopping.

Finally, I just wanted to briefly touch on the misfortune I encountered recently, which has left me with with great pain, irritation and embarrassment.   I accidentally caught fire in March, it was quite a harrowing experience, recovery included a lot of bandages, E45 cream and a concoction of pain medication. My mom was an invaluable help, she changed my bandages and washed my hair when my hand was bandaged.
 I have been spending time trying to distract myself- listening to audiobooks: Mansfield park, Persuasion, sense and sensibility and North and South, followed by viewings of the films. Anne Elliot, Margaret Hale, and Fanny Price are great confidants and comfort, providing great escapism from my burn induced confinement and I am much obliged to Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell for their help in easing my mind. I also received a beautiful letter and glossy Pre-Raphaelite book from Wightwick to help ease my recovery, which was a welcome distraction and allowed me to indulge my love of the brotherhood and have beautiful reproductions of their amazing paintings that have inspired me for decades, since I first saw Millais' Ophelia at a young age.

Copyright of http://www.bethsquirephotography.com/

This is a picture my sister took five weeks ago of my fingers, she did take some pictures of my back, sans bandages but its very gross, so I will spare you that image.


Finally, I need to include in this post a cause very dear to my heart which needs funding,-https://www.justgiving.com/WightwickManor

'The National Trust has launched a campaign to bring four beautiful Philip Webb sketches home to Wolverhampton for display at Wightwick Manor.This acquisition appeal has been launched by the Trust to ensure that the four beautiful Webb drawings are returned home to Wolverhampton and displayed alongside Wightwick’s other important Pre-Raphaelite pieces. The drawings were initially owned by Laurence Hodson, another of Wolverhampton’s Victorian industrialists who lived at nearby Compton Hall, now Compton Hospice. Like the Manders, Hodson was also a local philanthropist and collector with Compton Hall originally containing Morris & Co. furnishings in the 1890s.'

I have included images of the four drawings below to showcase the majesty, exquisite handling of the medium and beauty of the detail of the drawings which will fit in and enhance the interior of the manor.










Yours, still slightly singed,

Evalily Harlow (yes my real name is Hannah but humour me!)

Bliss in Bath

 An amazingly indulgent Christmas was had by all in my house, the day ended with the sublime Downton Abbey Christmas special, by the end of which I was trying to reign in my sorrow, a few stray tears falling onto my mince pie. I will post soon about the presents I received but before that I wanted to post these beautiful pictures taken a few weeks ago. I know this Christmas post is a bit late, I was meant to upload it on Christmas Eve but I spent a lot of the time doing last minute wrapping and cooking, however the Christmas spirit  still infuses the air, and I really wanted to upload these pictures of Bath. I know the city to be  culturally and historically rich, embellished during this time of year with touches of the magical and joyous. So, under the guise of checking on my sister studies, the family took a sojourn down to Bath for the Christmas fair. The fair attracts stallholders from as far a field as Russia and Germany selling hand crafted gifts and amazing hot delicacies, I love German gingerbread!

Poor elves! I love the need for clarification, that the pies contain pork not elf ... 

The night air was teeming with enticing smells, beautiful sights, and the melodious warbling of an effervescent, enthusiastic choir singing carols in aid of a local hospice.

I wore: my vintage inspired plum cloche hat, black 1950's suit with white fir trim and silver brooch, green glass vintage necklace, Dents gloves and Clark's t-bar shoes. My mom was also wearing her amazing 1920's elaborately detailed flapper coat.

                  

                      

In the evening we visited the 'Cosy Club' a relaxed restaurant incorporating a mix of industrial loft space living, with a shabby chic, eclectic, antique style. I greatly admired the assortment of pictures displayed, providing sustained interest for the eye. The lighting was also perfect creating an intimate, warm, friendly ambiance conducive to sustained lively conversation.

               

My father became transfixed by this cow creamer, delighted that the cream/milk poured directly from the cow's mouth. He was so enamoured with it he went on a mission the next day to find one for himself, as my mother refused to hide it in her purse, fortunately he did, so we were saved from enduring further effusions of love, regarding the great genius and beauty of the object, and moreover his desire to own it.

Traditional English fattening fare, fish and chip with mushy peas, definitely the best fish and chips I have ever had, evidenced by the fact I polished it off sharpish!

Day 2

After a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling as if I had overindulged far to much on food the previous day, in part due to the fish and chips, but mainly due to the many sweet treats I bought from the various stalls the night before and insisted on eating there and then!

I decided on wearing my plum cloche hat again, brown Victorian reproduction shoes,Cadbury coloured purple blouse and my often worn brown skirt from Puttin' on the Ritz  perfect for nipping in the waist when you feel a little bloated! You can also see my beautiful 1940's plum coat on a coat hanger.

After strolling round the many beautiful boulevards, admiring the architecture and imagining women in Regency era clothes, we stopped for lunch at this amazing French restaurant for a healthy light bite. The restaurant had a charming vintage french flair, reminding me of an old Parisian coffee house.

                

After lunch we indulged in our love of interior design and drooled over the many desirable objects (not literally as we would have been asked to leave).

               

                

They also had amazing Christmas decorations.

               

Furthermore, I managed to find the time to visit a few of the vintage clothes shops of Bath. I came across this amazing fur astrakhan coat, I would have tried it on but then I saw the price tag, over a £1,000, it was truly amazing but I wonder who will be able to afford it at that price, wouldn't it look perfect on the Orient Express, I have however never seen anything like it before, très chic!

In this picture you can see the my favourite coat, a beautiful 1940's number, incorporating adorable brown pompoms and an amazing collar, which fortunately also matches my cloche hat and Mulberry handbag.

                

I hope you all had a splendid Christmas and Boxing day.

Yours,

Evalily Harlow xxx