The feathered scrapbook.

I never grow tired of gathering scraps of birds in their movements. It is not birdwatching that I do but something altogether more otherworldly, a glimpse into another way of being on another plane and in a different atmosphere to ours. An utter fascination with the make-up of birds stills my heart and tells me secrets I cannot quite grasp, makes me know that our world is not real, takes me elsewhere.

As I travel, on foot, by bike, gazing out through a car window, the tiny flickers of movements in hedgerows and the huge sweeps and rises of red kites with their artful fan-shaped tails take all my attention. It is not the exotic or the unusual I seek, although the all-seeing impossible orange eyes of owls and the bright yellow orbs of eagles make my breath catch and my heart yearn for a freedom I will never know. It is the tiny intricate lacework of the underside of sparrows’ wings as they veer off into bushes and disappear, the bright eye and ice-lolly beak of the sparrow, its cheerful bounce and rustling through leaves. The birdsong that makes my heart lift and wonder, my lips smile, my feet stop. This incredible gift. I gather the tiny scraps I have been given and store them in my heart.

It is not uncommon for the plump dove-grey vicar of the bird world, the collared dove, to thump into my bedroom window and make me jump in fright. The collision between worlds then is terrifying and heart-rending. When I found one such bird sitting in our garden, unable to fly, I held its warm egg-shaped body in my hands and put it somewhere safe. I took it to the vet. When I called later, they told me it had died. I suspect this was a lie, and though I know a quick death to be preferable to death by fox, still I hated the way man takes precedence over the avian, building through their skylines, cutting down their dwellings, ignoring this other species alongside us that somehow, incredibly, lives entirely in the air, and knows what it is to travel by blue sky and the muscles of breezes. Scraps of wonder.

There is, in the Natural History Museum, the skeleton of a dinosaur from which the bird developed. I long to see it, but fear I would stare and stare and never leave. This strange creature and the life it lives, the worldly travels it carries out every year and yet always knows home, this grower of feathers, this bright-eyed alien. If I were less humanly practical, I would gather birds around me until birdcages hung in every space, and I would let them free to fly around my rooms all day in a whirl of colour, whistles, rustles. To nest in my hair. To be the mad old lady in fairy tales. To watch and watch, and one day, maybe, learn to fly. I will never grow out of this enthusiasm. My scrapbook heart grows and grows, and lines itself in feathers.

Clothes, fairies, felines and teacups.

When I should be working, this is how I often end up spending too much of my time - if you haven't already explored Pinterest, it's really worth a look! Finding groups of images put together by people whose interests and taste you share is great, as is being able to store images together without stocking massive files on your computer. This virtual site has now become one of my happy places - so mauch inspiration at my fingertips.

Come and have a look!

http://pinterest.com/lostthings/

We subscribe to all the best journals

'If you don't mind my asking, Sir Wind,' said September after a respectable time had passed, 'how does one get to Fairyland? After a while, we shall certainly pass India and Japan and California and simply come round to my house again'.
The Green Wind chuckled. 'I suppose that would be true if the earth were round'.
'I'm reasonably sure it is...'
'You're going to have to stop that sort of backward, old-fashioned thinking, you know. Conservatism is not an attractive trait. Fairyland is a very Scientifick place. We subscribe to sll the best journals'.

Sometimes, books are so good and so beautiful that they find a way into my world and, most likely, into my wardrobe. 'The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland' is one of those, and on a library day I took a little bit of mustard and amber eyes with me, and added a good dose of studenty reading outfit. Increasingly, my wardrobe is filling with tan, mustard, and good old loafers. I always did want to dress like a librarian...

Now I'm off to dream of dragons and flying into fairyland on the back of red dragons...

Shoes and lovely 40s style trousers - River Island
Shirt - thrifted
Cardigan - Vero Moda via ASOS
Brooch - New Look

Welcome the book nerd...

Or at least that's what I call the me that comes out when I get the chance to spend a day doing all my favourite things, which is just what I got to do when we went to see this at the Bodleian Library in Oxford:
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/medieval-romance28-01-2012

This amazing exhibition wis entirely worth the visit - full of gorgeous medieval manuscripts, of the kind that make you stop and stare when you realise the incredibly precise handwriting and brand-new-looking gold foil was put there over 600 years ago. And, on top of that, there was the first page of Wind in the Willows and artefacts from Tolkien, as well as pictures of Harry Potter! I was immersed in my favourite world of books, and stayed in there all day.

This was followed by lunch in a tiny, lovely pub which has pictures of the famous Oxonians C. S. Lewis and Tolkien on the walls, ages spent delving in the children's section of my favourite bookshop, and watching Narnia when we got home. Heaven.

And, it turns out, my favourite feels-like-being-a-girl-again, Addams family, Wicked Witch and Narnia inspired outfit was perfect for the day. I now have a Tolkien and C. S. Lewis obsession which has left me dreaming all week...

“That's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library.”

Sometimes, I have days and weeks when I want to spend all my time in books, and I feel like the boy in the Neverending Story. Sadly, adult life often gets in the way off this plan – but increasingly I find ways to fit in as much time for my mind as for running around being practical. And for real immersion in wonderful, intriguing worlds there is nothing like children’s books – my personal favourites are the classics, Watership Down, The Secret Garden, The Hobbit, as well as brilliant new takes on fairy tales like RJ Anderson’s Knife – and, of course, anything with witches and magic which means I am completely and utterly a fan of, of course, Harry Potter.

As my choice of clothes usually echoes my current obsessions, and this week I have been wearing anything that makes me feel like that girl with a head full of books that I still am in my heart. Stripey tops, coloured tights, and my favourite badge to make me happy, plus a vintage handmade woolly waistcoat to keep out the cold. These things make me smile 

I’m off to immerse myself in a new book, A Most Improper Magick – I’ve already matched the colour with my outfit!

Top and skirt - H&M
Waistcoat - vintage
Shoes - New Look
Tights - Ebay
Coat - ASOS

The Past is a Different Country

Or not so distant, thanks to the joy of books. I braved the minus temperatures to venture into university and teach a seminar on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight this week, suitably attired in thick tights/boots/cardigan and, of course, the obligatory knight on a necklace (and no time for proper photos, sorry about that). Due to my love of this book, I dragged in with me several versions of Sir Gawain, including the fabulously colourful Michael Morpurgo children’s book (recommended reading!) and enthused at my students about the joy of medieval manuscripts and the colour green as linked to the devil in folklore. A story about a green giant who rides off headless at new year, and a shadowy Morgan-witch in the background? What’s not to love.

And to cheer up the grey day and match the colours of the occasion (and the children’s book) I went with lovely rich burgundy, which always makes me smile somehow, and a bit of medieval animal print.

I’m always torn between my love of the complexity of texts like this one and a more childish love, simply, of fairy tales and children’s books, which seem to allow an escape into the imagination that is harder to find in adult fiction. But it often feels like as a ‘serious’ reader, and a postgraduate student at that, I am not supposed to admit that. Although having said that, I get bored very quickly of the kind of conversations where people try to impress with their highbrow knowledge and scorn of anything not postmodern and deliberately multifaceted.

So. For the record, my favourite books are invariably children’s books, I love Larkrise to Candleford, animals dressed in clothes are one of my favourite things ever, and actually, I’m grateful that I know how to appreciate the little things and the green knights in life.

New things in my life

After working far too hard for months, I have recently taken the decision to reclaim some time for the things that I love in my life: and it's a pleasant journey to be making. This weekend, we had intended to go to Brighton, but due to lots of snow in southeast England we've had to postpone it; this turned out to be a sort of blessing in disguise, as we replaced it with a lazy, luxuriating weekend hiding from the cold, visiting a local (and amazing) secondhand bookshop, buying amazing food from local farmshops and spending hours looking at new fashions for the year (and buying a few).

We also spent the evening watching Skellig - I am a huge fan of David Almond's books, all of them, and while I don't think the film is as good it is magical and manages to catch some of the darkness and mystery of being young that Almond does so well.

Plus, I really, really wish I'd known Mina, a real independent spirit, when I was young. Love her.

Other new things in my life are:

A lovely copy of The Hobbit, present from my boyfriend. CAN'T WAIT for the film - so excited!

I found this brand new book that has been on my wishlist, for two pounds!

I got this amazingly beautiful book from my brother, full of to-die-for 1920s and 30s fashion - expect more from this soon!

And this found its way home with me - because secretly I've always wanted to be a Victorian housekeeper...

And I couldn't believe this beautiful dress I've been lusting after was 50% off in the Topshop sale. I wasn't sure what it would look like in the flesh, but it is gorgeous, hangs beautifully, and feels so expensive... I love a real one-off design :)