Palely Laura – Page 3 – A blog about London and other things

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto – V&A

Selection of dresses on mannequins arranged going up a staircase — Some of Chanel’s evening dresses

The exhibition Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto was actually sold out, but then the V&A released more tickets for Friday evenings, and I managed to get one. I was very glad to get the chance to see this exhibition, the first in the UK dedicated to Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. Featuring over 200 looks, it explored the establishment of the House of CHANEL and the evolution of her unique style of design, which continues to influence how women dress today. Curated by Oriole Cullen, it is expanded from a show first created at the Palais Galliera in Paris in 2020.

Cream silk blouse — An early Chanel silk blouse

I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of the Chanel style. I prefer designers like Dior, with a Fifties-style silhouette and wider use of colour. However, I can appreciate the deceptive simplicity of her designs and the craftsmanship behind her looks, as well as the influence she has undoubtedly had on fashion through the ages.

There are lots of beautiful outfits in the exhibition, some arranged chronologically, others thematically. Black dresses make up one key group; suits another, including one pink set belonging to Lauren Bacall. I did enjoy looking at them, and tracing the evolution of Chanel’s style throughout the decades, taking on elements from outside but still remaining definitively Chanel.

Selection of Chanel bags — Some examples of Chanel bags

It’s certainly impressive how a poor, illegitimate woman born in 1883 was able to rise to the heights that she did. Placed in a convent aged eleven after the death of her mother, she was taught to sew by the nuns and worked as a seamstress alongside her aunt after leaving school. With the help of a textile heir, Étienne Balsan, she moved to Royallieu, northern France, and sold hats to his friends. In 1910, an English lover, Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel, enabled her to open the first Chanel boutique in Paris. In 1918 she established her couture house in the city, and her empire grew from there.

Rows of Chanel suits — Some of Chanel’s famous suits

Some rooms focus on her cosmetic and perfume creations – Chanel No. 5 is still one of the more popular scents worn by women today. Other elements explore her relationship with Britain: she had romances with several British figures, including the Duke of Westminster, and knew Winston Churchill, who painted a picture of her. I was interested to learn about her connection to British manufacturing: one item on display is a red evening gown in silk velvet, made for Chanel by the Manchester Velvet Company in 1932. The designer established a company, British Chanel Ltd., in the 30s to allow for her designs to be manufactured in British fabrics including Nottingham lace and Northern Irish linens.

Selection of Chanel cosmetics and perfumes — A selection of Chanel perfumes and cosmetics

There have been suggestions over the years that Chanel was a supporter of the Nazis. She certainly took up with a German spy, Hans Günther von Dincklage, during the occupation of Paris. In 1941 the Nazis recorded her as a trusted source, but recent research suggests she was also an occasional agent for the French resistance. My instinct, to be honest, is that she did whatever she could to survive and thrive regardless of which ‘side’ she was helping – but I honestly don’t know enough about it to comment seriously.

I did enjoy the exhibition, which was fascinating and very thorough, and I’m really glad I got the chance to see it.

Black skirt suit with hat — Chanel’s own black suit and hat

Rebel Fest! Winter Edition

After the excitement that was Rebel Fest in the summer, I was enthusiastic when another event was planned, this time for the winter. The second Rebel Fest took place over the first weekend in December, and was every bit as much fun as the first.

Admittedly, I didn’t join the general chat sessions arranged for the first thing in the morning on both Saturday and Sunday. I’m really not a morning person, but I did turn up for the morning exercise sessions, which were a great way to blow away the cobwebs and get set up for the rest of the day.

The session on Saturday was Drum and Bounce with Emma, who also led a session at the first Big Rebel Meet Up in Reading. I knew what to expect, but it was still great fun. Next we had a talk about dinosaurs from Dr Joseph Bonsor. This was fascinating and made me want to start my Palaeontology badge! After that, we had another fun sign language lesson from Penny and Karen of Vision Signing Choir, this time learning to sign Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’.

After a break for lunch, we had a science experiment session with Ruth Amos. I didn’t get a chance to gather all the ingredients, but I made notes and will definitely be giving these a go in the future. Experiments included chocolate welding, drawing robots and celebration cannons and seemed like loads of fun.

Next, we had a Patrol break out session, in which we had to try and make the face of our Patrol leader out of whatever we had to hand. I had a go at making Rosa Parks’ face out of acrylic earrings, which didn’t really go that well! Following this, we had a wreath-making session with Charly. I managed to get a wire frame for this but ran out of time to get everything else, so I improvised with some green ribbon and a selection of festive brooches.

After a break, we had a talk by Paralympian athlete Claire Cashmore, who was a brilliant speaker and incredibly inspiring. After a Bronze Maverick presentation, we had another cocktail making session with Tom and Crystal, followed by a chat room to end the day.

Sunday began with a Rock Fit session hosted by Carli. This certainly helped to energise me for the rest of the day, even if I couldn’t quite manage all the moves! We then had a talk on beekeeping from Colin. I had no idea just how fascinating bees are.

The third class of the day was a baking session with Allegra, who ran a successful Challah bread class in the last Rebel Fest. This session involved the creation of an Apple & Cinnamon Cake, which I didn’t make (again I ran out of time to buy the necessary ingredients) but I definitely plan to in the future, as it looked yummy.

After lunch, we had a talk from Sarah Graham, author of the book Rebel Bodies. I haven’t yet read the book, but it sounds fascinating, judging by Sarah’s talk. I missed the breakout room session which came next, as I hadn’t read the book, opting to carry on with my crochet project instead.

I joined in once again for the next session, Laughter Yoga with Alison. Honestly, I don’t know if laughter yoga is my thing but it was good to try something new and all respect to Alison for encouraging us.

After another break, we had a ‘bakeineering’ talk from Bake Off’s Andrew Smyth, who discussed his great loves, baking and engineering, and how he likes to combine them. The talk was fascinating and included the making of honeycomb – again I didn’t manage to get the ingredients in advance, but I will definitely be trying this later!

Finally, we had a pub quiz with Toby. It was great fun, but incredibly hard – I was pleased with my score, though it was nowhere near the highest achieved!

A final chat followed to round off the weekend, and then I went to bed – exhausted, but having enjoyed another brilliant Rebel Fest.

Rebel Badge Club: Inventor

I was both excited and apprehensive about this badge. Excited, because it looked like fun; apprehensive, because I’ve never done anything like this before and I haven’t done science since school. I really enjoyed working on this badge, however.

Learn about Rube Goldberg machines. Try your hand at creating one and film it in action.

A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption designed to perform a simple task in a(n overly) complicated way. They are named after the American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, whose drawings often featured such machines. In the UK, such machines are often known as “Heath Robinson contraptions” after the illustrator of that name, whose work actually predated Goldberg’s.

My brain was full of complicated ideas about how I might go about creating such a machine. However, once I began I found that it was incredibly difficult. I kept having to simplify the design so that it would work, and my final successful contraption was very basic indeed! I am full of admiration for those that can create massive and complex machines.

Choose an invention that you admire. Research its origin story.

I’ve always said that the person who invented contact lenses should have a statue dedicated to them. I researched the history of contact lenses and it seems that several people over the years have had a hand in their creation.

Read or listen to a book about innovation.

I read How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley. I really enjoyed it, particularly its central idea that innovation does not happen in a vacuum or on the spur of the moment, but through persistence, trial and error, and the sharing of ideas.

Listen to at least three podcasts, or watch at least three documentaries, about how popular inventions or innovative products were created.

I’ve been listening to the Patented: History of Inventions podcast, which is very interesting. Some of my favourite episodes are those about condoms, the number zero, and coffee.

Brainstorm ideas of inventions which might improve your life.

I found this clause quite tricky, as I don’t really have an innovation mindset. However, I managed to come up with some ideas.

Choose one of your ideas and create a blueprint of it. Make a basic prototype of one of your inventions.

Inspired by my wild swimming this summer, I decided to prototype my idea of a tow float with a tripod attached meaning that you can take pictures and record while in the water. I’m not the best at art, but I hope my blueprint conveys what I want to get across. I made a prototype from my existing tow float and small portable tripod – in real life I think it would be better made with the doughnut type of float, but I made use of what I had.

Make at least three inventions (from list)

I decided to challenge myself by making inventions selected from the list that involved no or little cost. I chose an amplifier, made of cardboard; a compass, made with a (magnetised) needle in a bowl of water; and a potato clock, made with a kit I picked up from the swaps table at Stockport.

Find instructions to make an invention not listed above. Follow the instructions and make your own version.

At the National Archives exhibition, Spirit of Invention, I followed the instructions to make a Social Media Hat – I even wrote ‘Rebel Badge Club’ on it!

Date completed: 1 December 2023

Rebel Badge Club: Science Fair

I was looking forward to the November monthly badge: Science Fair. I haven’t done any science since school, but it looked fun: pick a project, work on it, and create a poster about it.

I did a ‘Gold Rosette’ project to create a Rube Goldberg machine, mainly so that I could use it as part of my Inventor badge. The machine proved much harder than I’d expected: it was far more complicated in my head, and in the end I had to create a very basic machine. It doesn’t look like it, but it took me all afternoon to construct it!

Still, I had fun, which is what counts.

DIVA – V&A

I visited the DIVA exhibition at the V&A, all about the history of the ‘diva’ figure throughout history. Taken from the Italian term for goddess, the term was popularised in the nineteenth century as composers wrote outsize roles for female sopranos.

The exhibition begins with an exploration of the earliest divas, from the actresses Ellen Terry and Sarah Bernhardt to the singers Jenny Lind and Adelina Patti. As time moves on, the term is applied to movie stars, such as Clara Bow, Mae West and Elizabeth Taylor.

Sarah Bernhardt artefacts in the exhibition — Items relating to Sarah Bernhardt

The term is often loaded with negative connotations: “divas” are frequently seen as difficult, demanding and rude. The exhibition tries to show the positives of the designation, emphasising their artistry and the sense of control they seek in their work. Upstairs, the second half of the exhibition looks at modern-day divas, with costumes from the likes of Tina Turner, Cher, Lady Gaga, and even Elton John (the term is no longer exclusively female).

Costumes of modern-day divas — Some costumes worn by modern-day divas

Titanosaur: Life as the Biggest Dinosaur – Natural History Museum

Entrance to the Titanosaur exhibition

I had some days off work to use up before Christmas and decided to pay a visit to the new Natural History Museum exhibition, Titanosaur: Life as the Biggest Dinosaur. Who doesn’t love dinosaurs, right? The exhibition had lots aimed at children, including an interactive game where you had to try and keep baby titanosaurs alive, but even as an adult it was hugely informative and fun.

The exhibition is all about the huge titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum. It was first discovered in 2010 when an Argentinian farmer spotted a large bone sticking out of the ground. Scientists descended on Patagonia, aiming to discover more, and as they dug nearby they found more bones from other titanosaurs: hundreds were found over a period of two years, from at least six individuals. By piecing these bones together, scientists have been able to recreate one nearly complete skeleton.

Thigh bone of the Titanosaur

Scientists have examined these bones to learn more about the titanosaur, and have modelled their skulls based on Sarmientosaurus, a close relative. Their peg-shaped teeth show that they bit leaves and swallowed them whole: usually conifer, horsetail and tree ferns. They had lots of space for jaw muscles, suggesting a strong grip. Their eyes and nostrils were placed far back to prevent twigs poking them as they explored trees for food.

A whole section of the exhibition explores the childhood of the titanosaur. Only one in one hundred babies survived to adulthood, as parents would lay eggs and then just leave them. The babies were tiny versions of adults from the very start, and only took two months to grow ten times their hatchling weight. Scientists can look at their bones to see how they grew: one ring equals one year of growth.

The exhibition also looks at how the titanosaur coped with being so huge, and why it might have grown so big in the first place. Patagotitan absorbed oxygen when it breathed in AND when it breathed out, helping it to function. It had light bones, with air sacs to make them even lighter, and wide hips for support, with a long tail for balance. They may have been able to keep warm by trapping heat in their body, generated by their guts and muscles. Their long legs also enabled them to walk huge distances in search of food. Their large size made it harder for them to get eaten.

With their rapid growth, long neck, sturdy legs and efficient lungs, they are the heaviest animals to ever walk the earth. The skeleton on display at the end of the exhibition makes you realise just how massive they were. I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating exhibition.

Model of the Titanosaur skeleton

Big Rebel Meet Up – Stockport, November 2023

I couldn’t make it to the Stockport meet up last year, but I was finally able to get to this one, the last Big Rebel Meet Up of 2023. I didn’t have to get up quite as early as I did to get to Bromsgrove, but it was still a pretty early start, and then a short walk to the venue.

I was Patrol Leader of Greta Patrol this time. Our first session was Self Defence with Mike. This was really interesting and incredibly useful, allowing us to try some handy self-defence tricks that don’t rely on fitness or strength. It was also great fun getting to punch things!

After lunch and our group photo, it was time for our planetarium session with Annette. We had a lovely, relaxing session inside the mobile planetarium and it was captivating – I am glad, however, that I didn’t fall asleep during the session as it was so soothing!

Following this, we had a candle-making session which I really loved. We had a choice of scents (I chose gingerbread) and were able to decorate our containers with cute stickers.

A session on First Aid Scenarios followed, delivered by Allan who had given a talk at Rebel Fest. This was really handy as we got to practice using defibrillators on mannequins of different sizes and shapes. We also got to practice first aid on dummies who had suffered a variety of horrific accidents, which was somewhat traumatising, but as Allan pointed out, if we can deal with the worst-case scenario, we can deal with anything.

Our final session of the day was scrapbooking. A calming and relaxing session, it was much needed after stressful first aid! I made a collage inspired by RBC and by Christmas.

After a Maverick presentation, we did the hokey cokey and then it was time for cake – which I ate on the way to the station to make sure I caught my train.

Beverley Knight at the London Palladium

I’ve been vaguely aware of Beverley Knight for years, but she really came to my attention when she started to perform in musicals about a decade ago. I thought she was brilliant in Memphis, The Drifters Girl and Sylvia, and when the chance came to go and see her on her 50th birthday celebration tour, I had to take it.

Beverley was full of energy from the moment she came on stage and was still singing as she walked off at the end. I had hoped that she would sing some of the songs she performed so brilliantly in musicals. She didn’t – but she put on such a good show that in the end I didn’t mind.

Beverley Knight on stage

The concert began with Greatest Day, followed by Made It Back: classic songs which set the tone for the evening to come. Beverley performed a number of songs from her new album, The Fifth Chapter (which I have now put on my wishlist), as well as some deeply moving ballads (including Fallen Soldier, a moving tribute to Stephen Lawrence). Towards the end of the night, Beverley treated us to her most memorable and popular songs, inluding Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda and the pop-infused Come As You Are. Arriving back on stage for a triumphant encore, she sang Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Woman and Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, ending with Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.

If anything, Beverley sounds even better live than she does on CD. She’s a superb performer and comes across as a lovely person. I’m so glad I got the chance to attend her gig.

Setlist

Greatest Day
Made It Back ’99
Systematic Overload
A Little More Love
Not Prepared For You
Flavour of the Old School / Moving On Up (On the Right Side) / Get Up!
Keep This Fire Burning
Gold
Cold World
Fallen Soldier
Sista Sista
The Need of You
I’m On Fire
Shoulda Woulda Coulda
Someone Else’s Problem
Last One On My Mind
Come as You Are

Encore

I’m Every Woman
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Everything’s Gonna be Alright

Fantasy: Realms of Imagination – British Library

On Saturday morning I attended the exhibition Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at the British Library. I went along with a couple of friends and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Fantasy isn’t my favourite genre, however the exhibition left me with a long reading list and a new appreciation for its history. The exhibition began with an exploration of fairy and folk tales, the foundation of modern fantasy. These began as oral folklore and over the years have been written down over and over, adapted to the needs of contemporary audiences, and constantly reinvented. Many are dark, especially the original versions, unsanitised for children.

The next section looks at epics and quests, another ancient form of literature. Some of the best known works are the Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Another section, on the weird and uncanny, follows, which was probably my favourite since it is most closely linked with horror. The final section looks at portals and worlds, which are particularly popular in the modern age. Some fantastical worlds, such as Wonderland, are reached via a portal; others are entirely separate from our own.

The overarching themes of the exhibition are the timelessness of fantasy storytelling and the ways in which it has been updated and reinvented to ensure its relevance to each generation. It’s a thorough, comprehensive exhibition with plenty of treasures on display, including a glorious fantasy map, the manuscript of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, and a room inspired by American series Twin Peaks. It’s definitely worth seeing, and you will come out with a new appreciation of the genre.

An Evening with the Cast of Ghosts

The stage of the Gillian Lynne Theatre

I love the TV show Ghosts so was happy to get the chance to attend An Evening with the Cast of Ghosts at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London. In attendance were Mathew Baynton, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Martha Howe-Douglas, interviewed by Bridget Christie.

The evening was funny and lighthearted, as the actors and writers reminisced about their time on the show, discussed their favourite moments and treated us to excerpts from the newly-released book: a particular highlight being Lady Button’s (Howe-Douglas) letter of complaint to the White Star Line about her cancelled voyage on the Titanic. I’m sad that the show will be coming to an end following the forthcoming Christmas special, but this was a great experience.