The craic was mighty !

When I was about two I lived with my mum and her family while my dad went looking for work in Canada, with a view to us immigrating there.I stayed in the bungalow where my mum grew up,in the seaside village of Blackrock -not the posh one outside Dublin where all the rock stars live,the one in Louth,the smallest county in Ireland! Anyway,I went on to spend all my childhood summers there. Staying with my amazing grandparents, Mamma and Pop, in the bungalow whose back garden lead down to the sea.It was such a magical time for me and I always dreaded going back to inner city Manchester[we didn't move to Canada ,not enough work and too much snow]after the six weeks summer break.Blackrock was where I could roam freely with the local kids ,it's where I had my first drink,my first cigarette,my first boyfriend-it holds a big piece of my heart and I was lucky enough to be there last week end.
There's a store in the village called Danny Hughes and it's been there since I can remember ,selling buckets and spades ,toys,  anything you can think of really.A couple of years ago RTE radio made a programme about Danny and his son Connor which I think is a beautiful and funny story magically told about the relationship between a father and son.It's worth a listen ,you can google it-RTE Radio Danny and Connor Hughes.

Here's a song about Dundalk ,the main town a couple of miles away from the 'Rock'.My mum's friend wrote it years ago and I can remember her playing the 7"single and us dancing around the sitting room when I was little-she must have been homesick! It's Cheesy but I love it!  


               M.M.W

BirdDog

The other week end I watched one of my favorite old movies -'The Birds' by Alfred Hitchcock- with my daughter who hadn't seen it before. She loved Tippi Hedren's beautifully styled clothes by Edith Head and the scenic shots of Northern California.I love the fact that a news story from the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 1961 was used by Hitchcock as research for the film . The story goes that the town of Capitola,a place I know well,was attacked by Kamikaze seagulls  and the streets were covered with dead birds-sounds awful! It's thought that the birds must have eaten a nerve damaging toxin that was found in the anchovies and squid that  made up their natural diet , causing them brain damage.

     That said,there's something strange happening with the birds in our local park.A fellow dog walker I know made this film about a week ago-should I be afraid ?!!






                m.m.w

Cali Dreaming

With the state of the British climate being none too clement at the moment, my mind has been wandering back to my Easter vacation in L.A and Coachellyeah. Then, up pops this vision on Miss Moss, showing the Palm Springs home of the industrial designer Raymond Loewy in the 1940's. The beautiful clean lines and open plan living, so contemporary then, has lost none of its slickness and is still so desirable today. 


http://www.missmoss.co.za/2012/05/16/raymond-loewy-house-palm-springs/

It put me in mind of a book I read a few years ago, 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. It is about an architect called Howard Roark and his struggles, in the earlier part of the 20th century, to stay true to his modern designs. It's a great piece of fiction and was also made into a film with Gary Cooper playing Roark. 

Back to Palm Springs, here is the trailer for a Spring Break movie made back in the day called 'Palm Springs Weekend'. Enjoy!

M.M.W

'A Way of Life Like Any Other' by Darcy O'Brien

The acclaimed social documentary 'Seven Up', directed by Michael Apted, has returned to our screens for a 3 episode update on the 14 'children' that were chosen back in 1964, 7 from working class backgrounds and 7 from 'well to do' upbringings. They have now reached the dizzy heights of 56 up and having grown up watching them grow up {I'm 9 years younger} I was intrigued to find out how they were doing. I guess, as many people do, I see them as torch bearers showing me what might be up ahead. I have to say the first episode on Monday left me with a feeling of hope and comfort. They all appeared to have reached a point where they knew and accepted themselves more. Even the troubled Neil had found a purpose in life and seemed, dare I say it, 'happier' in his own skin. It must be difficult to open your front door to the nation every 7 years and talk candidly about the ups and downs of your life, but I am grateful that they continue to do so as it is a fascinating piece of modern social history. 


Talking of soul bearing, I found an interesting post on one of my favourite blogs, Creature Comforts, called 'Things I am afraid to tell you'. Quite a number of bloggers have participated in this and it was just great to hear their honesty and confessions that they too have problems and hang ups etc. Although their blogging lives look picture perfect, they are human like the rest of us. RELIEF!

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2012/5/3/things-im-afraid-to-tell-you.html

M.M.W

Dance first. Think later . It's the natural order Samuel Beckett .

I love Dance. I'd love to be the sort of person who just gets up on the dance floor when a song they love is being played, but instead, I do a kind of geriatric shuffle in my seat. The thing is, when I dance in public, my upper body and my lower body somehow become detached from one another, they move to different beats and they're not even the beats that are being played at the time,it's just awful! So, for now, I'll just sit back and admire you naturals out there! I did just that on Friday evening when I was lucky enough to go to Sadlers Wells with my husband and daughter to see the ballet 'Snow White' which was choreographed by the Frenchman Angelin Preljocaj.The biggest attraction for me was the fact that the costumes were designed by John Paul Gaultier.We were not disappointed, it was a beautiful visual feast, my daughter loved it and so did hubby who, miraculously, did not fall asleep once !  

Here's a couple of fun clips along the theme of letting go and just dancing. One of them is of a favourite blogger of mine, Garance Dore, in a Petit Bateau short film and the other is from the comedy series 'Everyone loves Raymond'
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend,


                     m.m.w 

Fight For Your Right - Revisited

It was so sad to hear about the loss of Adam Yauch the other day .

Apart from being an amazing rapper and musician in the seminal band The Beastie Boys,he was also a great activist, organizing concerts in aid of Tibetan Freedom and New Yorkers Against Violence to help victims of 9/11 . In 2002 Yauch launched a film production company Oscilloscope Laboratories which released the acclaimed Banksy movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop". Here's a short film  directed by Adam Yauch last year ,it should make you smile!       




              m.m.w.

Down Home, But Out There

A few years ago I read a really interesting article in the New York Times about a couple, Butch Anthony and Natalie Chanin. They are 2 very creative and unique characters, so I dug out some Youtube footage of them so you can see what I mean. They even host their own art festival each year, called 'The Doo Nanny'! Pretty awesome.

M.M.W