June Blog Round Up

As you've probably noticed, I am terrible at sticking to my blogging guns during term time. I was planning a relatively strict blogging schedule of monthly wardrobe features, link posts and other things, but it rather fell by the way side in the face of, you know, passing my exams.

None the less I intend to prepare early for next semester by queuing up plenty of posts, and getting back into the habit of blogging by schedule. So without further ado, here's my round up of June links!

• Meagan over at Coffin Kitsch posted about the amazing Etsy Shop Carousel Ink, which I could almost kill her for, as despite being absolutely skint, I know that I'm going to buy something from there, very soon. :P
• My favourite post of Sophistique Noir's Red and Black Week was surprisingly the most unexpected; The Curious Professor Z blogged on the last day of the week about the cicadas which spring up every 17 years in Staten Island to mate and die off (link not for the bug phobic).
• Mary Rose of The Everyday Goth posted this month about one of my favourite artistic movements, Art Nouveau, and how you can incorporate it into your outfits. 
• Sary Walrus at The Walrus Room is starting a series of interviews with plus size goth bloggers about their experience within the scene - I'm really excited for this, as it's a topic that has only recently started to be addressed and like she says, you can never have too much body positivity. 
• On a related note, Natalie at Gothy Two Shoes posted a list of plus size online clothing stores and her experiences there of. One to add to if you have your own experiences of buying plus size fashion. :)

Until the next post!




Fee


P.S. If you're feeling like film and video game reviews with more snark than there is in a Lewis Carrol poem, my fluffy haired compatriot Ben (mentioned briefly in this post) has started up his own blog, I should be paying attention to this lecture. Just don't listen to a word he says about me.

How To Grow Your Own Poison Garden

Now that I'm back home for the summer, I've been getting invested in gardening once again. Sadly it's not an option for me uni (though I plan on having tonnes of plants in my room next year!), but hopefully if I ever get a place of my own I might have a bit of ground to do something with.

There's lots of suggestions on the web about how to modify your garden to a darker taste; as well as some gorgeous pinterest boards, the Everyday Goth has done a fabulous post looking at horticulture for a darker colour palate. I, however, have decided to blog about something which has been close to my heart for a long time; poison gardens.

Since I was a wean I've always been interested in deadly flora; plants that trapped and ate things, plants that were used as poisons, plants where a single berry could stop your heart... I was a twisted child, I suppose. This has only increased since starting medical school - any drug, after all, can be a poison in the right quantity, and many seemingly deadly plants are used for treating a variety of conditions. The cultivation of these plants has been an art for centuries, with much folklore and many books dedicated to them, and they conjure up ideas of intrigue and mystery, of arcane alchemy. And, of course, one of my great role models is a perfect example of this -

Image from here (original source couldn't be found)

That's right! As any Addam's Family fan worth their salt knows, Morticia is an avid gardener, growing all variety of poisonous and dangerous plants in her conservatory, including her African Strangler Cleopatra. Morticia's green thumb isn't the only example of lethal botany, however; the Alnwick Gardens feature their very own Poison Garden, which cultivates over 100 varieties of both notorious and everyday plants with dangerous effects. I, obviously, am desperate to visit.

Happy anniversary, Open University!

Man, this is off topic for me. But I wanted to post this, and where better than my blog?

The OU, for those of you who haven't encountered it before, is a British long distance and research university which was first set up in 1969. They were initially controversial for their open admissions policy (no academic qualifications were necessary for enrollment), but are widely lauded for their commitment to fostering an enthusiasm for learning and opening up education. Today is the 40th anniversary of their first BBC broadcast, and since then they have grown to the largest academic institution in the UK, with over 250,000 British students and over 50,000 international students.

With a motto of 'learn and live' I am incredibly enthusiastic about the Open University's founding beliefs - where traditionally university and learning has been the preserve of the few, the Open University made education available to people who would never have dreamed of getting a degree or qualifications, and encouraged making learning an integral part of life. Their BBC broadcasts opened up the public to the arts, sciences (the social ones too), maths and many other topics, and they continue to be involved in producing programmes with the broadcaster.

I have a personal connection with the OU, as my dad got his degree there in his forties. After leaving school at fourteen to become a bricklayer, he didn't feel like he was able to get a degree with his background. The Open University gave him a place to do this and realize the importance and joy of learning - something which, in turn, he fostered in me.

I'm incredibly proud of what my dad managed to do, against all odds, and I'm incredibly thankful for institutions like the OU that make it possible. We're often dismissive of long distance courses and other non-conventional forms of learning; what we need to remember, both in the gothic subculture (which promotes free thinking and the pursuit of knowledge) and in wider society, is that opening up education and learning for it's own sake is a beautiful thing, and should not be shut down.




Fee


P.S. I should say that it's also the fortieth anniversary of the foundation of the Women's Tennis Organization, a group lead by the tennis player Billie Jean King who campaigned for the discrepancies in pay between women's and men's tennis prize money at Wimbledon to end - which has only recently been abolished in 2007. I'd definitely recommend looking up more information about King and her 'Battle of the Sexes' with Wimbledon and US Men's champion Bobby Riggs. It's fascinating stuff!

Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson: Domestic Abuse in the News

- TRIGGER WARNING: DISCUSSION OF DOMESTIC ABUSE -

The Professor's Monthly Homework Assignment: Let's Polka!

 Woop! Professor Z's homework assignment is due in, and it's time to POLKA!

Sadly, not that type of polka. Though it is a fun dance.

The theme this month is Polka Dots - I actually adore polka dots, and think that they can work really well. Coming into popularity in the UK in the 1800s, they perhaps surprisingly don't share any connection with the eponymous Central European dance (though it's likely that the name was taken from it), and are typically worn in Spanish flamenco.
 

I often wear this at the hospital when we're required to dress smartly - vintage inspired outfits serve to bring a bit of my own taste into work place dress codes without getting reprimanded by the medical school. Normally I would pair this skirt with a plain black top, but surprisingly this actually went not too badly? I'd be interested to hear people's opinions on it.

I could also have used the shoes seen in this post for a more summery look, but them having recently given me blisters the idea was not appealing. Shoes are something I have hell with; with feet that are a very narrow 4.5, most shops don't cater to my size, and I'm limited to Office, M&S and Clarks. It's a good excuse for buying shoes when I find them, though.

My make up was actually more inspired by the sixties than the rest of the outfit - looking at the photo now, I realize that I probably could have used a pinker gloss, a wee bit of eyeliner below my eyes and more highlighting on my cheek bones, but it was a fun experiment.

Look who came to see me while I was taking photos!
He's recently had a hair cut and is fluffy once more.

I'm not actually sure on what my blogging plans are for the next few weeks - I'm planning some more goth oriented stuff as I've been feeling like my darker aesthetic side has been neglected recently, but other than a few unfinished posts I don't have anything specific in mind. I'm also going to try and write up more posts in advance as I'm hoping to get a second job, and uni will leave me with less time on my hands when it starts back.

 

I won't be blogging for the next few days as I have the gamer coming over to stay, but I can promise more posts will be coming soon (possibly something on steampunk!). Until then!






Fee

West End Festival: Pick of the Month

The West End Festival has recently arrived in Glasgow, and I'm really looking forward to it! The Mardi Gras Parade (details in a previous post) was excellent, and there's a lot of other interesting events to come. I'd have posted about this sooner, but my internet's been doolally recently. Here's my pick of the month -

Literature, Art and Drama

• Hairy MacLairy & Friends (Thursday 13th June)
• Bard in the Park: Othello (various dates)
• Glasgow & The Clyde (various dates)

Culture

• Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation (Friday 14th June)
•  The 13th Japanese Matsuri (Saturday 15th June)
• Japan Fair! (Sunday 23rd June)
• Al-Furquan Mosque Open weekends (various dates)

Music

• Peter Murphy (Saturday 15th June)
• David Bowie Night (Saturday 15th June)
• The Shiverin' Sheikh's & The New Piccadillys (Thursday 27th June)
• The Retrospex (Sunday 30th June)

Other

• Waulking the Tweed
• Vintage Bus Service

I'd give a wee explanation as to why I chose each of them, but I'm running late and the West End Festival event pages for each of them will undoubtedly do so better than me. Ta ta for now!




Fee

West End Festival: Mardi Gras

 WARNING: Picture heavy post!

Yesterday I went to Glasgow's West End Festival Mardi Gras, and damn it was good fun. It was almost going to be cancelled this year, but thanks to a sponsorship deal was brought back in full force.

I'd actually found out entirely by chance that the parade was on the night before, and dragged my mum along with me. Thanks to the combination of concrete, sun and lots of sweaty people, Byres Road was ridiculously hot, but despite that it was an awesome day.

Taking part was a crazy variety of groups; charities, the Conservatoire, dance groups, cultural arts societies, CND, nurseries, steampunks, drummers, plus many more I forget.