Multiple Narratives in Songs of Female Empowerment

I managed to get this into my essay as a footnote:


BEWARE!!

Attic Christmas

Sat in the attic writing an essay about Beyonce (!) and hugging a heater with my feet. The cat is not permitted to leave me. We cling to each other for warmth. There is no snow at home, only rain. I hope we don't get stranded here.

New Year

A year is a funny way to mark the time, I think it should rather be by new events. Now I have started a new year, I moved away from the countryside and I moved to the city. I live in London and I study at UCL. It was so scary at first, everything here fast and loud but now I love how busy and interesting it all is. I live a ten minute walk to classes and the buildings and library are lovely. Although Exeter is a nicer place to be, the campus and university were always so 60's and never felt so academic. I blame that for the fact that I had too much fun while I was there. This year I will work hard and try to do well but I'm meant to be writing an essay now this minute so maybe things don't change. I am definitely reading more and understanding more and hoping for better marks.

There's a potential wasted in being young. I feel I've let my 17 year old self down, so much hope just messily spent. You can always do better I suppose.

From this:




To this:
(via www.lse.ac.uk)


(via pps.org)

(via www.fx-mm.org)



(via www.world-guides.com)

I like it here but I miss my house, garden, space, quiet, fields, the sea and most importantly all the friends who now seem so far away. At least London is easy to visit for most people and next year I can move to somewhere with more Exonians (?) and I'll be content. Living in London for a year is an amazing opportunity and I'm really lucky to be able to live in Bloomsbury, which is a lovely community and madly central. I just need to do some work...

Happiness and Haircuts

I needed a haircut but I won't get round to booking one and at the moment it feels a little frivolous to buy one when I have no money. I thought perhaps I'd try to do it myself but Robin offered and with the assistance of youtube (very instructional) he cut my hair and gave me a surprise fringe. It looks very professional because he is a careful and gentle person. I am not patient enough for this, in my first year at university I cut a hole in my friend's hair that was affectionately known as 'the crater of jupiter' for months after. I always wanted to be a hairdresser, just to take long ponytails and plaits and chop them off with my scissors, so satisfying. Swish snip snip.

Alas, I have lost the batteries for my camera. No fringe pictures.

It is quiet here

Today I am covering reception at work (Arts Council) and when I arrived I found a tiny calling card on my keyboard, a sleeping boy under a blanket and a dream of trees. On the back of him was typed ‘Clare Owen Illustration’. So I visited http://www.clareowen.co.uk/ and her drawings are lovely things. Bon Iver and Laura Marling, The Moldy Peaches and ukuleles also a good call.

From reception I can see the four gold tips of the cathedral tower over the office buildings. And although today seemed mostly to involve stapling and unruly fax machines, I spoke to people with kind voices in Edinburgh and Ely and here in Exeter, even if it was only about office supplies.

Later today my lovely friend Clare is coming to stay (although she is not a Clare that draws) so I am excited. She is a very sunny person and we will drink lots of tea together.

I am grateful for the beautiful things I encounter in life but perhaps more grateful for the simple things; a cup of tea made for me, small kindnesses from strangers and a patch of sunlight to eat my lunch in.

A Softer World

Today is International Hug Day, although I'm never sure if these days are real. I suppose it doesn't matter.

I met some friends in the middle of town and we held up signs offering hugs and I hugged many strangers and hopefully made the day a bit softer.


"I spend my lunch hours surrounded by people who apolgise for every touch, so today I hugged a stranger and a thousand lonely people rioted"

The resolution is all fuzzy but got here: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=225

I love 'A Softer World'.

(image via http://www.asofterworld.com)

Tissø Lake

In my final year of University I lived with my friend Janoh who plays music as Tissø Lake with a rotation of musicians. We visited him in Cambridge in the snow a few months ago and last week he came to stay and played the first show of his summertime tour at the Hourglass in Exeter (a fine establishment, full of cats, boardgames and good food) on Sunday. The show was as beautiful as expected, the music is cold and clear and lonely like Dartmoor on a wet day.

Although he is my friend I am not so biased as to pretend the music is good for politeness sake, just that I am lucky enough to like those kind of songs already and then I was lucky enough to live with him and go to lots of shows. Robin plays violin and drums and they have set off for Bristol-London-Brighton-Cambridge-Sheffield-Edinburgh to play for friends and strangers.



(image via banazan.com)

http://www.myspace.com/tissolake

http://www.mathilderecs.com/

And here is my old house by candlelight, and Janoh playing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkoZDks1kFw