A Very Vintage Weekend

It takes a lot to lure Mr Shoestring away from Shoestring Cottage for an entire weekend but last weekend just such a thing occurred.  On Saturday the Very Vintage Day Out was taking place, on Saturday night the magnificent Tami Neilson was singing at a bar in Auckland central and on Sunday the annual Art Deco Picnic at Highwic was scheduled, so he couldn't resist - what right minded person could ask for anything more, after all?

The weather is still warm and sunny (I suspect almost too warm for some ladies in their stockings, hats and corsets) and there was a great turn out for the Very Vintage Day Out at Alexandra Park where we had the bonus of seeing the horses racing around the track in the background.  I suspect some of these were only beginners because one or two were very naughty and insisted on breaking into a gallop instead of trotting, which is what Mr Shoestring assures me they were supposed to be doing.  (I couldn't really tell the difference but the drivers obviously could, because they would bring the horses up short and have to start off again when it happened.)

The crowds at the Alexandra Park Raceway where the event was held had the benefit of seeing some fine detailing and craftsmanship in the construction of the old stands

but most of the happy visitors only had eyes for the lovely old cars.

This intrepid lady motorist brought her Jowett Jupiter and was thoughtfully attired in a matching costume, taking elegant motoring to a new level. You can't quite see her red dress underneath her motoring coat, but the shade was a perfect match for her car.

I thought the caravans with their coordinated accessories, right down to every last piece of crockery and curtain, took the prize for attention to detail though.  Imagine having one of these lovelies for your very own!

And what about the ultimate picnic set, no thought of chucking some disposable cutlery into the car here, it is all perfect with a place for everything and everything in its place.

There were so many wonderfully turned out attendees that it was hard to pick a favourite costume

but the gents in their military uniforms deserved a medal for managing to keep their jackets on in that heat.

There were free swing dance lessons

and displays

and a competition for the best dressed which was fiercely contested by ladies sporting garb ranging from twenties through to fifties decades.  I didn't manage to get a photo, but the gentlemen were very competitive too, and it was a very close thing when the winners were announced.

The fabulous Tami Neilson took to the stage with her band and sang a whole selection of numbers from her just-released album.  She was gloriously pregnant and somehow didn't let that stop her from belting out a wide range of songs which made us all admire her wonderful sweet voice, and flock to buy our own copies of her new CD Dynamite as soon as she finished her set.  We had the chance to hear her again that night when she performed in Auckland as well.

Then on Sunday it was time for the Art Deco Picnic at Highwic.  I posted photos of this event last year but couldn't resist taking one of this little fox "Nelson" whose kind owner noticed he was missing an eye (wear and tear is only to be expected after all those years), and provided him with his very own eye patch.

This year we were treated to a Charleston lesson (surprisingly difficult on asphalt in warm sunshine and wearing heels), and the dancers took to the grass as the band played a lot of great old classics for their delectation.

With the late afternoon sun casting lengthening shadows over the garden and the strains of music in the air it really was a magical afternoon and we all went home very happy and with a lot of happy memories - and ideas for new costumes of course!

A Well Rounded Weekend

Well, upon my word what a well rounded weekend Mr Shoestring and I had this weekend possums.  There was a surfeit of delicious comestibles including fresh fish from Thames by the sea, the first of the mysterious berry fruits (possibly raspberries) which we managed to salvage before they were stolen by the birds, and some catching up with the dear mama and the sisters, a coffee with Mrs Peaceable (during which we came to the conclusion that we could put the troubles of the world to rights if only we were in charge of most things), and of course a bit of shopping.  Not to mention a day in the garden wrestling with coffee grounds and compost, very satisfying!  In Thames these wonderful art deco style earrings were on the market stand and begging for a new home with somebody who would appreciate them.

After a lunch with the sisters, the dear mama and the nieces (poor Mr Shoestring being the only male present but putting on a brave face), the dear mama gave me this beautiful silver piece which I think is half of a traditional nurse's belt buckle presented upon graduating from training and becoming a registered nurse in England or possibly Scotland.  Somewhere or other the other half is to be found (I had to insist to the dear mama that I do not posses it, and she has not given it to me in the past), but I am sure if I do some research I will be able to discover what part of England or Scotland it comes from and what year it was issued, using the hallmarks for silver.  I love the look of the little cherubs though the one on the left looks decidedly more sombre than the one on the right, who has a cheeky grin.  It could quite easily be worn on a chain as a necklace.

One of the sisters has recently moved to a new home so we all got to play that wonderful game where you descend on the garden of the poor defenceless new home owner and trail through it, looking for interesting and unusual plants which you can uproot and transport to your own garden.  We came away with a couple of new irises (one a very nice yellow and one mystery specimen), plus the obligatory "pity" plant.  I don't know whether other people have "pity" plants but I suspect I could easily end up with a "pity" garden.  This week's candidate was a monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant or "delicate monster", which were wildly fashionable in the 1960s but like so many other unfortunates have fallen from grace).  My sister only wanted to be rid of the wretched thing, so we have carted it back to our garden and given it a spot in the hope that it will survive.  These are the plants you put in your garden not because you love them or have a suitable spot for them, but because they deserve a place to put down their poor tired old roots.  If there is any sign of gratefulness from the delicate monster it will make itself at home and put on a good show, but if not nobody needs to feel that they haven't done their best for the orphan.  

I managed to wheedle this interesting bromeliad from the dear mama.  It actually will climb up the trunk of a tree and I am fully prepared to cosset it and give it anything its heart desires

.  

Everything in the garden is thriving and I was very pleased to see this rose flowering.  I bought it last year from the bargain bin at Le Maison Rouge and I didn't remember what colour it was supposed to be, or its name.  (I can't bear to put the name tags of plants in the garden, because if they die as they sometimes do, you can be left with a dreary collection of little markers which give the garden the appearance of a graveyard with tombstones spotted all around the place, very dreary and disheartening.)

The hydrangeas which were tiny cuttings last year are starting to flex their muscles and I am thinking that some culling might be in order - what with the magnolias, the Australian frangipani, all the hydrangeas plus the philadelphus and other shrubs.  

These lavatera trimestris I grew from seed last year and they have proved to be a great success.  The interesting thing about them (apart from their resolution to thrive and put on a good show) is that some of them have a slight green tinge around the edge of the petals, as the one above, some are pure white, and some have a slightly pink blush.  Perhaps it depends upon how much sun they receive?

I badly wanted a philadelphus (mock orange blossom) for the perfume but this one didn't offer up a single blossom last year - after a severe pruning to show it who was boss if has fallen into line and given us some beautiful scented flowers this year.  

The most exciting find this week was the Christmas present Mr Shoestring gave me.  (Very early for a Christmas present and we will wrap it up and put it away until Christmas.)  It has everything to recommend itself to me.  Black checks, golden touches, roses and a hint of green, could anything be more perfect?  A French antique canister set, I am in paradise.  The one sad thing is that I might have to retire the more pedestrian cream and green enamelled ones (in the top picture), but perhaps we could have a rotation system going on.  That would seem fair.