simple pleasures

This is going to become a bit boring for you, but here it is: I am having a wonderful time in London.

It's been active and busy and I've seen stuff that I've wanted to see for a long time. This weekend it was the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre (from the outside but soon from the inside), and the National Portrait Gallery.

The funny thing is, as much as I've enjoyed those things, what I love most about London is more simple.

I love:

a) London's parks. Yesterday I spent time with a friend from university who lives here now, which in itself made me so happy, but we ended up collapsing onto the grass at St James' Park with exhausted feet and ice creams, and it was possibly the best part of the whole day, regardless of the historical wonders we had seen. And today I simply lay on the grass at the park down the road with a book, in the sun, looking up at the sky and the oak tree above me, feeling like I couldn't ask for anything more in the world. It helps that the weather is my idea of perfection.

b) Just coming across things that seem so novel and exciting to me, that I had no idea were around me. The main examples of this so far are all to do with Austen. It took me four days of studying at the British Library to discover that in the gallery just downstairs was Jane Austen's writing desk, one original volume of her juvenilia, and the original manuscript of Persuasion. On seeing this I just about burst into tears, and I couldn't explain why. The other thing was stumbling, in the National Portrait Gallery today, across the original miniature Cassandra Austen painted of her sister, and the only existing likeness that was taken of Jane Austen. Among the grandeur and the pomp of all these artists and subjects who were trying to impress with bigger or better paintings, this tiny, delicate little piece stood in stark contrast, and reminded me of why I love Austen so much. And the fact that it took me completely by surprise made it even better.

c) Travelling by train and by tube. Don't get me wrong, the tube can be thoroughly unpleasant, especially at rush hour. But it gives me a little satisfied thrill when I jump on and off them like a Londoner, figuring out all the links and changes and timetables. And travelling by overground train is generally less busy and also really rather scenic, if you go far out of central London. I sat on one for half an hour today just gazing out the window and feeling so relaxed.

I'm not saying that it hasn't been great, seeing all these historical and cultural landmarks. They have blown me away. But it's almost like you plan them too much, like you're so busy ticking things off your list that you don't get a chance to take a deep breath and enjoy them. It's not always the case, but it is the danger.

snapshots

I don't really know where to begin. But I am currently sitting in the British Library, waiting for some newspapers to be delivered; I have free wi-fi access and no excuse not to blog about something. So, I am providing you with some snapshots of the last week, which feels like about four days.

Me and Karl Marx, at Highgate Cemetery.

The "Circle of Lebanon" at Highgate Cemetery. To anyone who is going to London - I would highly recommend this. Even if you're not a cemetery-junkie like me.

Tower Bridge. I spent a sunny Saturday in central London with the fantastic couple I'm staying with and their kids. I'd be walking along and wherever I turned my head there'd be some other famous, historical image that I've heard about all my life. We walked around the Tower of London but didn't go inside - that is for next weekend.

Buckingham Palace. Here, of course, I did enter. The Queen told me she liked my t-shirt. I reciprocated.

The flight here ... well, how to describe 30 hours of airports and cramped airplane seats? Thank goodness I had the foresight to purchase one of those inflatable neck-supporting cushions beforehand - on the final twelve-hour leg I actually managed to get some sleep, probably solely because of the cushion and the fact that I was absolutely shattered.

However, I will say that there were some cool elements of the flight. One of them was seeing a lightning storm from above as we flew over Brunei. I don't have words to describe how utterly awesome that was. The other was simply that I travelled to the opposite side of the globe, over soooo many countries. Following the flight path on our personal TV screens was thus pretty cool. My favourite part was flying over a tiny portion of Russia... which took hours.

reasons to be happy

1) We had a Pride and Prejudice watching night at my flat a week or so ago. (Obviously - the five hour BBC version.) We created a facebook event and just invited anyone who might conceivably want to come - and crossed our fingers that all fifty people wouldn't show up! In the end, there were about fifteen or sixteen of us, and so we moved all the couches, beanbags, and so on into my room, the biggest in the house, and had a REALLY GOOD TIME. We actually had a few extremely keen males show up, which always makes me feel hopeful about the state of male-kind.

Organising party food also makes me happy, and arranging the carrot sticks and celery, as in the photo above, was one of the best bits.

2) On Saturday night I went to a screening of the 1925 Russian silent film, "Battleship Potemkin". One of THE classic movies, this was shown in the Christchurch Town Hall, with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra playing the music - which was in this case written by Shostakovich. SUCH a good concert. Sadly I can't watch Soviet films without thinking "propaganda! propaganda!" anymore - but I could certainly admire the forward-thinking, beautiful cinematography, and the music was just amazing.

3) In 48 hours EXACTLY, I will be leaving for Europe. Now that I've got all my preparation pretty much done, I'm not panicky anymore, but EXCITED. And scared in a good kind of way.

precisely two weeks

It is two weeks until I get on a plane and go to Europe for two months. I have been furiously studying and writing up until today, trying to finish a miniature version of my thesis for my supervisors before I go - and suddenly, there are no more major hurdles to cross before I go. It's frightening.

Because I'm a history geek, I thought I would share with you some places that I am DETERMINED to visit.

Krakow, Wieliczka salt mines, where salt has been produced since the 13th century. The miners themselves sculpted these salt figures around the mine. COOL.

An abbey somewhere in England. This one is Rievaulx Abbey, but I'm happy with any, really. This will only happen if, at the end of my trip, I have enough money for it.

Tower of London. Everyone who's been there who I've talked to has said it's not all it's cracked up to be. And still, I want to see it. Gruesomely enough, I just think it would be amazing to stand in the place where Anne Boleyn lost her head, or where Elizabeth I was imprisoned.

Budapest, Statue Park, where the Soviet-era statues are kept.

And because I'm a history geek with a particular interest in Marxism: Karl Marx's grave, Highgate Cemetery, London. Actually I'm planning on visiting a whole heap of cemeteries in London.

Jane Austen's grave, Winchester Cathedral. Self-explanatorily cool.

The Church of Bones, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic. Since I have a taste for the grotesque, how could I NOT visit a church that is decorated with human skeletons, some from the Black Death or the Hussite Wars?

Auschwitz-Birkenau, or Oświęcim. Poland. Not at all cool but just something that I think I need to see.

This is all on the assumption that I don't lose all my bags, or get robbed, or do something really stupid within moments of getting to the UK, and turn around and go straight home.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on the weekend - surprisingly, loved it! The only Harry Potter movie that I liked up until now was the Prisoner of Azkaban, although the Goblet of Fire wasn't bad. So I wasn't expecting much.

I think they did a fantastic job of making a complicated book understandable. They cut things out, yeah, and the purists will have an issue with that, I guess. But we all know that when you turn a novel into a movie you have to change stuff, and I think they changed the right stuff.

The two stand-out performances were, for me, the young Tom Riddle of Dumbledore's memories - who looked like a choir-boy but was deliciously creepy. The other was Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn. I've always liked Jim Broadbent - it's difficult not to - but I don't know if I've ever liked him as much as I did in this movie. He was exactly the right choice for Slughorn. He also made me giggle with delight for approximately two minutes after his hilarious, PERFECT performance at the funeral of Aragog.

are you kidding me?

I was woken at an unknown hour last night by the telephone. I have the privilege of one of the larger, more sunny bedrooms in the flat but the disadvantage of being the only one likely to hear the telephone at night. After a moment of lying in bed going "nnnnnnn" I decided it could be an emergency and jumped up to get it.

"Hello?" I grunted.

"Hi, is Wendy there?" [Not her real name. A guest who is currently sleeping in the sleep-out - a room attached to the garage rather than the house.]

"Yes... but I'm not going to take the phone to her at this time of night."

"Oh, okay. I'll ring her back some other time."

HANG UP. Turn on my cell phone to check the time; it's 2:50am.

Seriously??? You had to wake me up at that hour of the morning on the assumption that I would stagger out of bed, put on shoes and warm clothes, and carry the phone to your girlfriend (as I think it was her boyfriend calling) whose bedroom is not inside, and who is probably asleep? All for a non-emergency?

Possible reasons: a) sheer stupidity; b) forgetfulness; c) the assumption that as we are all students, we party the nights away in blissful freedom from the necessity of sleep; d) cruelty?

Grrr! GRRRRRRRR!!

memory

Tomorrow the theme at church is going to be "Memories", apparently. I was rung up and asked to be one of three people who will share a few of their vivid memories of anything. Hm, I thought. What will mine be?

Sometime during the years 1988-1990

Finding out that some food (generally my favourite) is bad for you. Before, I had thought that my parents wouldn't give me more dessert or chocolate or whatever because they didn't have any more, or they wanted it for themselves. The day I found out that when I was a rich grown-up, I still wouldn't be able to eat all the chocolate I wanted - that was the day I lost my innocence. I compare it to finding out about death.

1993

My big brother married a Chinese Malaysian woman, and so at their wedding there was a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony. I was one of the family members chosen - because I was younger, I would serve them tea and they would give me a red envelope with a whole FIVE DOLLAR NOTE in it. It was very exciting.

When the ceremony was announced at the wedding reception, my mother poked me in the arm. "This is your turn," she said. "Off you go." I walked nervously out of the crowd towards the tea table, and everyone started laughing at me. It was NOT my turn. I felt completely humiliated as everyone laughed at me and said how cute, and I had to walk back into the crowd, and then out again when it was my real turn. Mum apologised but I have never quite forgotten the embarrassment, even though I think now, "well, it wasn't THAT bad, as embarrassments go".

2001

Reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time.

I re-read it recently, after a long time of not reading it, and besides enjoying it HUGELY, I got very vivid flashbacks to when I read it the first time - a feeling of absolute delight that an author like this existed. It felt like my own discovery.

domesticity

I share meals with two of my flatmates, so I cook at least once a week now. Which is great, because if it's only once or twice a week I have the energy to try new things, be creative. Some of the things have turned out beautifully so I thought I'd share them with you! Starting with this:

Butter chicken soup

I ate the leftovers for lunch today and only remembered halfway through to document the process for you. Here is half a bowl of the yummiest soup I've had in a while. Unfortunately you can't see the white blob of yoghurt and the coriander scattered on top - because I ate them! - but it looked very pretty at the start.

I got this recipe a long time ago from a recipe book called "Destitute Gourmet", but didn't use it until last night.

Marinade for chicken:

1 TB lemon juice          1 t coriander            1 t grated fresh ginger

1 t cumin                       1 t chilli powder       2 cloves garlic, crushed

(I cheated and used already crushed garlic and ginger.)

Soup ingredients:

1 large boneless chicken breast        1 TB butter

1 finely chopped onion                       1 t coriander

1 t cumin                                               1/4 t chilli powder

1 t ginger                                               1 can diced tomatoes (with juice) [400g/1 lb]

3 cups chicken stock                           1/4 cup basmati rice

2 TB tomato paste                              1 TB plain flour

2 TB brown sugar                               1/4 cup cream or milk

Natural yoghurt and fresh coriander to garnish

Marinade thin slices of the chicken for at least one hour in the fridge.

To make the soup, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add marinated chicken and chopped onion. Stir constantly until chicken is sealed and the onion is soft. Add the dried spices and ginger, then stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock.

When simmering, pour in the basmati rice, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix together the tomato paste and flour and whisk this, a little at a time, into the soup. Add the brown sugar and cream, and season to taste. Serve in soup bowls with a dollop of natural yoghurt and some chopped fresh coriander. Provide some torn-up naan bread for dunking. (Although I just used a baguette and that was better than fine!)

Such a yummy meal. If I do say so myself, I don't think I've ever had a nicer soup. And there are so many things in its favour - butter chicken without the fattiness of the original curry; a more authentic-tasting butter chicken without the skody Westernization that tastes like, well, butter and chicken; it's really quick - probably about 30-40 minutes including preparation; almost all the ingredients are things that we would have in the pantry or freezer anyway. The only things I had to go and buy were the coriander, which totally makes the meal (and which is now growing on our kitchen windowsill), a tiny tub of natural yoghurt, and the baguette.

It's a really good hearty meal for winter (we are freezing in our student flat, and meals have to warm us) but I have a feeling it would not be too much in summer either. It serves probably about four hungry people as a main, or if it was an entree it would serve six easily.

three degrees of separation

The godfather of the pastor at my church was an interpreter for the British Embassy in Moscow. He met Stalin on numerous occasions. To use the bathroom in the Kremlin from the room where diplomatic negotiations were carried out, he had to walk through Stalin's bedroom (one single iron bed sitting in the middle of the room). He heard the Soviet leaders cracking jokes which made no sense at all then but make all the sense in the world now. He heard them talking about people who had been discovered as not very "loyal" and had been "shifted" to "another department".

I think there's a danger for me, studying history, to treat it like a branch of English literature. Gathering information and sorting it into a pattern; making clever deductions, links, arguments; compartmentalizing and boxing and fitting in; writing with clarity and creativity. All of which is necessary but sometimes masks the fact that this stuff actually happened. It's REAL. It gives me a little shock to be reminded that what I'm doing is something important and something that needs to be remembered, something that really happened to real people who disappeared off the face of the earth.

leaving, on a jet plane

It's all getting real, and when it's getting real, it's getting exciting.

I am holding plane tickets in my hot little hand RIGHT NOW - okay, so a few seconds ago, as right now, I'm typing. They look like this:

Aug 6-7: Christchurch > Sydney > Singapore > London

Sept 29-Oct 1: London > Singapore > Sydney > Christchurch

Along with this is an Oyster card (slightly discounted rates for public transport in London, which is just ridiculously priced from the point of view of New Zealand dollars), a Eurail pass for Eastern Europe, and an ISIC card (international student card).

Free accomodation is practically sorted in London, a HUGE thanks to several acquaintances who have offered to have me to stay (or who agreed to my offer of myself to stay!). Extremely cheap accomodation in Brighton for one week is almost sorted. Probably within the next week flights to Europe will be sorted.

I actually bought the flights a week or two ago, but I was so freaked out by the amount of money they cost, and by the amount of work I have to do before I go, that I didn't really think about it.

Anyway, me? A poor student? Somehow managing to get to Europe this year? I've always expected that, sometime in the next ten years, I would be able to go. But definitely not this soon. That is probably why it didn't seem at all realistic. But now... I'm very, VERY excited. And very grateful.

Dunedin

I went down to Dunedin on the weekend, with one of my sisters and her family, to see two other sisters and their families! Had an absolutely lovely time hanging out with my siblings, their spouses, their kids. We stayed with the sister who has just moved house - and by gum it is a good location. They are still in the city but up the hill and around the peninsula a little, so from their kitchen window they can see out to sea, but if they take a short walk in the other direction, into the reserve right next door, they can see right down the harbour on the other side of the hill.

I went for a walk on Sunday morning to catch some views. I love that sunrise in winter is quite late, so these photos didn't require extreme earliness. That view was quite something.

There's something about Dunedin in the sun that is just - phwoar. It's still freezing cold, but it's the prettiest city. If only it were always sunny there!

I also enjoyed playing with my sister's cute dog, who was a tiny wee puppy last time I saw him and is now a boisterous but reasonably well behaved Jack Russell/bichon frise cross. We took him to the dog park, where he and other dogs delighted us. Example: this hilarious video - Oscar and a big German Shepherd playing hide and seek. Enjoy!

If you're the praying type, I'd appreciate you glancing at the post previous to this.

prayer request

The baby of a facebook friend of mine was kidnapped last night. Please pray.

even Elizabethan playwrights need their privacy

I've been planning planning planning today for my European trip. Tomorrow I will buy tickets, then I will knuckle down and work really really hard so I have enough done by the time I need to go. But today was devoted to travel.

I google-mapped the British Library, where I will be spending most of my time in London, and found this street view picture of it:

View Larger Map

You will probably need to fiddle with this picture a little by turning it slightly to the left and slightly upwards, but...

I think it's hilarious that Google Maps picked up the picture of Shakespeare on the wall of the building and automatically blurred his face! And so I am sharing it with you!

By the way, as I write, there is a rat making merry in our kitchen. It is FREAKING ME OUT. It is at times like this I wish I was a) rich so that I had my own fully rodent-secure house, and b) married so I wasn't lying in bed by myself trying not to feel tense and frightened. The drama over the last week... all caused by one rat and one mouse who have taken up residence in our flat and have so far outwitted all attempts at trapping/murdering them. I used to feel slightly bad about the fact that we have to kill them just because they want somewhere warm to live... I no longer care. I just want to sleep securely.

washing machine from hell

Just a quick note - if you are feeling depressed and need something to cheer you up:

GO TO THIS LINK.

Actually, go to it even if you're already happy. It made my WEEK.

Make sure you read all the comments.

Update: This whole story has gotten pretty crazy - it's been on national news, so far almost 150,000 hits on the page, and a range of t-shirts have come out based on the illustrations. All over the last 24 hours. Crazy! The illustrations are now being sold for charity.

eeee!!!!

I am probably going to be going:

here: Krakow, Poland;

here: Prague, Czech Republic;

here: Vienna, Austria

here: Budapest, Hungary;

and here: Ljubljana, Slovenia!

Turns out I didn't have to pick just one place :) and I am EXCITED!

David Bain

New Zealand has, over the last three months, been watching an important trial take place. The retrial of David Bain, fourteen years after his family was murdered. Bain was convicted in 1995 of the murder of his father, mother, brother and two sisters, and spent the next twelve years in jail. In 2007, the Privy Council decided that this was a "substantial miscarriage of justice". The re-trial has taken place over the last few months. Yesterday evening, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" on all five counts of murder.

The other theory of what happened is that his father, Robin Bain, killed the others while David was out of the house, and then killed himself. David returned, and found his entire family dead.

The horrible thing about this case is that there is just not enough proof either way. There are damning circumstances on either side. But never proof. The police happened to "lose" a lot of important material that could have had a bearing on the argument that Robin Bain did it. So there will be a large amount of people around the country who still believe that David did it. Right now, he is probably the most famous person in the country, and he will never be allowed to forget this case and move on fully.

I don't think he did it. But even if he did, I wonder how it happened that he ever got convicted in the first place. It seems that the police and the media made some rather huge assumptions, even tampered with evidence, didn't follow up other leads, and it is absolutely shocking that the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" was so distorted in this case at the beginning. It is incredibly frightening that an innocent man--or at the very least a man who could in no way be proven guilty--should be left to rot in prison for thirteen years, only being given a chance to appeal his case because he was lucky enough to find a wealthy and determined supporter, Joe Karam, to fight for him and shell out millions of dollars for his cause.

I am only happy that David Bain is now a free man. I hope he can move on with his life, and be left alone by the media, who were following him like hounds last night in the hope of emotional footage (which they got). I am also extremely happy that New Zealand does not have the death penalty - at least Bain got his chance to appeal at all.

a secret no more

I am a  Sort-of Modern Girl. Although the idea of getting married isn't all bad and I'd like to get married one day, I'm not hanging out for it and I don't think I'd mind staying single. Really! It's true! Please believe me, despite what I'm about to tell you!

I have a THING for collecting walking-up-the-aisle music.

It started when a friend of mine got engaged and asked me if I knew good wedding music. I went home, spent a whole afternoon and evening listening to music, and made her a mix CD. Of course, it turned out she didn't want classical music (a standpoint I simply can't understand), least of all the sort of music I recommended, which were definitely not the traditional wedding songs. She ended up unable to find a modern walking-up-the-aisle song, and fell back on Pachelbel's "Canon in D". Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with "Canon in D", or "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" or "Trumpet Voluntary" or any of the other standard wedding songs; in fact, I think they're beautiful and appropriate, but I've just heard them so many times at weddings, and I want to be a little more creative in my choice.

Then another friend got engaged, and soon after I was hooked on collecting wedding music. I now have a playlist on my iPod of possible wedding music. Some of it more possible, some of it less so. I justify it by saying it's for friends. But I know if I get engaged, ever, the choice of music for walking up the aisle will be just about the most important decision to do with the ceremony, in my eyes. And woe betide the fiance who gets in my way!!

So here is my list of ideas for slightly original wedding music.

Classical

Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, by Saint-Saens. [the first few minutes] You're going to have to have a BIG personality, or at the very least a big cathedral to pull this one off. Okay, so it's a bit OTT for a wedding - and I don't blame my friends for turning down this option - but something in me WISHES I could walk up the aisle to music like this. Maybe if I marry Prince William like I intended when I was nine.

Nimrod, by Elgar. This is an absolutely gorgeous piece of music with a perfect crescendo, I think, building up to what could easily be the entrance of the bride. It has slightly bittersweet overtones, but not too much so - easily could be interpreted joyously.

Ode to St. Cecilia's Day, by Handel. This is a lovely, lovely, happy piece that my recorder ensemble used to play. Definitely in keeping with the wedding vibe, but not especially well-known.

Madrigal, from Romeo and Juliet, by Prokofiev. Dreamy, pretty, romantic... Creating exactly the right sort of feeling, I think. A charming little flute part at the beginning that would be perfect for the flowergirls walking in, then building up with the bridesmaids and the bride.

Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, by Rachmaninoff. I can't claim this to be my own idea, as my sister used it for walking up the aisle at her own wedding, but I remember thinking it was a lovely, classy choice. The only thing that's necessary, I think, is a reasonable-sized wedding party, or the gaps between bridesmaids and bride may be too long, as it builds so beautifully towards the bride's entrance, and you can't really cut it off early.

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, by Grieg. Obviously not my idea, given the title, and it so happens that another sister walked up the aisle to this (as did I, as I was her bridesmaid). We only played the last section of it, about two and a half minutes, which was sectioned perfectly for our bridal party - one flowergirl, three bridesmaids, and then the dramatic entry of the bride. I would recommend this one more highly than any of the others, because it is an AWESOME piece of music, unusual enough not to bore people, but totally suited to a wedding. Some people dislike it because it's not quite as dignified (or dull?) as some wedding music, but I love it!

Bist du bei mir, by Stolzel. This is a gorgeous song for voice and keyboard accompaniment, and is not unusual at weddings. My suggestion to make it your own is to have piano or organ accompaniment, with an alto recorder on the tune. I know, I know, you've never heard a recorder played pleasantly. Honestly, an alto recorder is perfect for this song, and if you will pay my flights and accomodation, I'll come and show you!! Otherwise, find a good recorder player, and they will show you.

Finlandia, by Sibelius. Okay, so not the whole thing - that would be incredibly inappropriate. However, if you have a pipe organ in the church you're using, I once heard a pipe organ version of this song which I thought would totally fit the occasion. Start from about 3:30 in, and go up to the point at which the famous hymn tune begins. A grand wedding march!

Rustle of Spring, by Sinding. This is a beautiful piano piece, evocative of spring and happiness! Another piece with a fantastic build-up towards the entrance of the bride.

Cello Suite #1 in G, by Bach. This would be an amazing and VERY classy entry. My only concern is that it's slightly sombre, but although it wouldn't work for everyone, I think some people it would suit precisely.

Fantasia on Greensleeves, by Leonard Bernstein. The beginning section of this is atmospheric, romantic, and would create a really special feeling as the bride walked the aisle, I think. Almost like she was walking on air.

Non-Classical

So I don't really approve of walking up the aisle to modern music... but because you're my friend, and if you absolutely INSIST on it, here's some ideas for some modern instrumental music - mostly from films, funnily enough - that wouldn't be completely horrible.

Message to my Girl, played by Carl Doy. [instrumental version of the Split Enz song]

Forrest Gump theme.

Pepinot, from the film "Les Choristes". Gorgeous song.

PM's Love Theme, from "Love Actually". A little OTT but if you're into that...

Maggie and Finn, from "Waking Ned Devine". Celtic feel - lovely.

Bridge over Troubled Water. I have an instrumental version of this played on piano by Karel Roessingh which wouldn't be bad.

And one vocal song which actually would be kind of lovely: Fix You, Coldplay

My Secret Weapon

Finally, The Song that I want to walk up the aisle to. It is a close call with "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen", but at least Troldhaugen is specifically a wedding song and if someone else uses it, I can still use it. This song, however, is not a traditional wedding song, and I do not tell my friends about it, in case they steal it. I feel about it similarly to how you'd feel if your best friend or sibling used the name you've been holding on to since you were ten for their child.

However, my siblings are all married now, and my face-to-face friends don't read this blog, and so I am going to break my silence. Drum roll, please.

Romance, from The Gadfly, by Shostakovich. Not all interpretations of this work for weddings, but I have a recording of it which is probably on iTunes everywhere - the artists on this version are Tamsin Little and Piers Lane. It is the most beautiful piece of violin music I have ever heard, with piano accompaniment. It is the perfect timing for a walk up the aisle - about three minutes. It crescendoes perfectly. I can't say enough good things about it.

So there you have it. My secret is yours. Use it well.

buy me!

I have a weakness for good advertising. There's so much shoddiness out there when it comes to ads that if a really good one comes along (and isn't played too often) - I get happy! And I want to buy things! May this encourage you, advertising magnates, to be more creative, feel-good and funny. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite NZ ads with you.

This is one of my favourites ever, from a few years ago, and - I am absolutely certain - is voiced by Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords, before he got well-known. It advertises L&P, New Zealand's very own soft drink. Please don't be put off by the exceedingly well-chosen picture for the video:

Possibly one of my favourites at the moment, this is advertising a promotion for Cup-of-Soup:

This is one of a series of ads for Instant Kiwi. To tell the truth, I don't know exactly what this has to do with Instant Kiwi (lotto tickets), but it never fails to make me smile:

This is a slightly older ad, but I've always remembered it because I thought it was so sweet:

Deathbeds - so much potential for advertising, it would seem:

What are your favourite commercials?

mall etiquette

It has been really miserable weather here in Christchurch for the last, oh, two weeks [substitute "what feels like eternity"], except for a few days of spring-like sunshine and warmth, which I think made it even worse - just as you begin to defrost a little and to think that maybe this will last, BOOM! back comes the rain, the sleet, the hail, the rain and more rain. We've even had snow but it didn't settle on the waterlogged ground.

Last year this was all kind of fun, because I was living at home with my dad, with (a) zero appreciation of power bills, (b) heated towel rails and such-like, (c) a new-ish house, (d) a clothes dryer, and (e) a car. This year, I have none of the above. My flatmates and I even have rules about not using heaters and so on. I have discovered that freezing cold living quarters are not all that bad if you dress up warm, but no matter how many items of clothing you are wearing, it is impossible to be comfortable if you have cold hands and feet. Fingerless gloves have made studying a whole lot easier, but my feet are ALWAYS COLD.

So, despite the horrific weather today, I went to the mall, for the purpose of investing in WARM SOCKS. My umbrella broke on the way, my jeans got soaked up to the shins, but I no longer have cold feet. I also have very cute feet because this time I didn't get boring black socks.

It turns out that half of Christchurch was at Riccarton Mall today - or so it seemed. And this brings me (in a very circuitous way) to the main point of this blog post:

MALL ETIQUETTE

1) Walking through the mall.

A brisk yet measured walk should be the order of the day. If you are stopping as you go to gaze at shop displays, keep to the left. However, if you are wandering aimlessly through the mall simply because it is heated and you had nothing else to do, it is polite to either keep out of other people's way, or to walk at a more bearable pace for the people behind you. Exceptions will be made for the elderly or those with impediments such as crutches, which brings us to another rule of etiquette: be patient in cases where a slow walk really cannot be helped.

If you are one of a gaggle of teenage girls, try to remember not to walk five- or six-abreast. You are giving your age group a bad reputation.

If you are a teenage boy, repeat this mantra: "Be civilised. Be civilised." Do NOT start beating up another random kid with your friends (as I was unlucky enough to witness). It's not impressive, and the mall, which is not the bad part of town on a Saturday night, is not the ideal location for you to go all Stone Age.

2) The clothes stores.

When I was wandering round the women's clothes department at Farmers today, I became what is termed "boxed in" in dancing and shopping terminology. This simple diagram may explain my predicament.

  X              O              X

 O            ALLIE       O

  X            O               X

[Where X = shopper and O = clothing stand.]

If you are shopping - please! Look out for potential "Allie"s. Don't fence them in. Remember, to them, you are just another shopper, and if you don't listen to "excuse me"s and continue to get in their way, they may take out their frustration on you. Instead, pull aside - perhaps with an apologetic smile - and let them out.

3) The changing rooms.

When it's a busy day, and there is a line of shoppers waiting at the changing rooms entrance, do not - I repeat - do NOT walk in, blithely ignoring the "Limit 4 garments" sign, and proceed to sit your boyfriend/girlfriends outside your door, subjecting each of the 12 items you are trying on to a detailed analysis in front of the mirror at the end of the hall. When you are finished with your garments, hang them on the rack that has been left there for that purpose - do NOT leave them lying all over the changing room so that the next customer has to either hang them up or walk all over them.

So! Hopefully that has all been cleared up, and now we can all actually enjoy the mall.

writer's block

I have been trying to think of something to write about for what feels like ages now, so that you no longer have to look at bright blue and pink cupcakes every time you open this page. Unfortunately, I'm slowly falling into the state of mind I fell into last year when I first started getting into my research - being unable to think about any ideas beyond the very beginning of them, unless they are somehow related to my study. So the blog post today is a blog post of fragments:

- I have just been reading a speech that was read at the Second National Congress of Peace and Friendship with the U.S.S.R., in London, 1937. The speaker was Mr. Dingle Foot. Perchance the funniest name ever?

- On Monday I am meeting the Prime Minister of New Zealand. I didn't vote for his party and I would prefer it to be the former PM, but still - it's kind of exciting!

- My two-year-old niece is in love with Jeff, from the Wiggles. If you haven't come across this children's entertainment group, well, don't go rushing to buy a DVD. However, she loves them, and especially Jeff, who is always sleepy. She has had dreams about him, and she insists on wearing a "sleeping hat" to bed because Jeff always wears one. She informs me and everyone else just about every time I see her: "I like purple. Jeff is purple. He's always sleeping."

- I graduated about a month ago, complete with funny hat and Harry Potter/gospel choir gown and pink hood. I could have graduated a year ago with my BA but decided to wait until I had my BA (Hons) degree. It was fun - we got to march through town, police holding up traffic for us, led by a bagpiper, and then to file into the Town Hall to the blare of a pipe organ. Walking across the stage, trying to remember to hold your trencher in your left hand, smile, shake with the right, take certificate with the right, put on trencher with the strings hanging over the left edge, then walk down the stairs without tripping - I know we all have university qualifications, but that's complicated!!!