Leap Day

After having a Leap Day celebration four years ago, I decided to do it again this year, recording it all in my diary and Moleskine sketchbook!

I started the day with a croissant and marmalade and a cup of coffee, and put on the Skandinavisk candle I got for Christmas, to create a nice atmosphere. Then I got down to the main business of the day - opening the time capsule envelope I'd put together four years ago, and having a Quantum Leap marathon watch.

It was so lovely opening the time capsule and seeing what was in there. I'd managed to forget most of it over the four years, so things were a lovely surprise to me! There was the little origami frog I'd made last Leap Day, cards and letters, car tax discs (they stopped in 2014 but I'd only got round to removing them from the car in 2016) and much more. I especially loved finding the postcard and my last receipt from the Artstore in Glasgow, where I'd just chanced across the final day of the closing down sale - two days before I'd created my time capsule! I've now re-sealed the time capsule with new things inside, and it'll be fun to open it in four years' time.

I'd made a list of 10 Quantum Leap episodes I wanted to watch, including my all-time favourites as well as the Evil Leaper episodes which I had not watched in a very long time. I started off in order with:

2.22 MIA

3.22 Shock Theater

4.01 The Leap Back

4.13 Temptation Eyes

4.22 A Leap for Lisa

I then went a bit out of order for the Season 5 episodes that I watched. The final episode, Mirror Image, is always a bit bittersweet (and it's kinda weird) so I watched that first. Then I watched the three Evil Leaper episodes in order, and finally Killin' Time because it's one of my all-time favourites - especially the bit when Al goes after the escaped convict in the future!

5.22 Mirror Image

5.07 Deliver Us From Evil

5.16 Return of the Evil Leaper

5.17 Revenge of the Evil Leaper

5.05 Killin' Time

For lunch I had bahn mi, my first time eating a baguette after hurting my tooth! And for tea I made something approximating saltimbocca, which means "jump in the mouth" - I thought that would be appropriate for Leap Day! I couldn't get veal, fresh sage or marsala, so I used pork, dried sage and fresh basil, and white wine.

Sustainable clothing workshop

At the start of this month I attended a sustainable styling workshop at Edinburgh University's Appleton Tower, presented by Kaiza Barbour of Simplify Your Closet with R Sustainable. Kaiza works with clients to help them style the items in their wardrobes, and R Sustainable is a social enterprise looking at how the fashion industry can work in a more sustainable way. 

Kaiza explained that the most sustainable clothing items are those we already have in our wardrobes – even the most sustainable brands still have to use some resources to make their clothing! So we need to find ways that we can have fun with the clothes already in our wardrobes, styling them together in different ways, so that boredom never sets in. 

She showed how you can create a capsule wardrobe starting from one guide piece (e.g. a patterned top) and building various blocks of other items that will co-ordinate with it. With just three of these blocks you have enough unique outfits that you don’t have to repeat one for two-thirds of the year! 

There are also other ways of staving off boredom with your wardrobe, by upcycling, dyeing, and creating new items from old ones. For example, you could make leg warmers and a hat from an old jumper.

At the end of the workshop we were encouraged to bring out the items of clothing we were having problems styling. I had brought along a thin gauzy top with flowers on it that I'd got for £1 at a car boot sale and hadn't worn, and it turned out that the best advice was the simplest - wear it over a white t-shirt! Now I'm looking forward to warmer weather so I can try it out.

I made some notes at the workshop, then used them to create some pages in both my Moleskine sketchbook and my bullet journal, so that I would remember the workshop and all the good tips I'd picked up there!

Amélie the musical

A few months ago I drew a couple of pictures of Amélie as part of my 100 day project, and one of the comments I got on Instagram clued me in to the fact there was a musical! Since Amélie is one of my favourite films, I immediately started following the musical on Instagram, and a few days later found out they were coming to Glasgow in a couple of weeks – I booked straight away!

I’d only actually been to two other musicals in my life that I can think of, even though I love watching film musicals. I went to see Annie when I was in the Guides, and Les Miserables about 10 years ago when my cousin couldn’t go and I bought her ticket from her. Both of those were at the Playhouse in Edinburgh. So it was an exciting experience to go somewhere different, the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, to see my third musical.

I arrived early, so it was a good chance to have a good look down towards the set, which was amazing, especially Amélie’s flat that is accessed by an ascending lampshade! There were also two pianos that could be moved about the stage and used in various ways as platforms. It was a nice touch that they had the music from the film playing before the performance (which I'd been listening to in the car on the way to catch my bus to Glasgow!).

Audrey Brisson was just amazing as Amélie. She seemed so petite and cute but a little fierce too! And I thought Danny Mac was even better looking as Nino than Mathieu Kassovitz who was in the film, so that was great! The music was beautiful, and I was actually in tears by the end of the first song because the sentiment of it was so right! I really hope that they release a UK cast recording.

The most hilarious part of the experience of going to Amélie was the two old dears sitting behind me. During the interval they were discussing how they didn’t have a clue what was going on! I explained to them that the last song had been a dream sequence, told them the whole plot, and lent them my programme. After all that (and considering they could have asked me, an Amélie expert, any more questions they liked about the plot!) they decided they still hadn’t a clue and they’d rather go for coffee at the Singl-end Café!

Pretty much all the elements from the film that I hoped they’d include in the musical were there, although there were one or two that came right at the end to keep me guessing! I also liked the changes they made, in terms of combining characters or changing characters’ story arcs, and I think one of my favourite additions was the fig nightmare! And there were enough sprinklings of French to satisfy this francophile, even though it was in English!

All in all, I loved Amélie the Musical, and I can’t wait to go again! Seeing it for the first time, I spent a lot of time wondering what elements of the story would be included or changed, but now that I know all that, and am familiar with the songs, I will be able to just relax and enjoy it even more the next time! And I'll know that it's worth spending that bit more on, to get a seat closer to the front.

100 Days Project Scotland Show

Earlier this year I took part in the 100 Days Project Scotland, and I created my Hidden Faces project. At the end of last month the artists involved got together to exhibit our work at The Fire Station at Edinburgh College of Art. 

The Fire Station is an amazing space, but as a listed building it has certain challenges (no nails or other fixings in the tiled walls, no red wine on the tiled floor), so we had to be creative in how we displayed our work. 

On the Sunday before the show opened some of us got together to construct some of the displays. On Wednesday, when the show was opening, I took the day off work and headed across to hang my work. It was harder work than I expected, with lots of stretching and bending, but eventually, after an hour, my art was on the wall! 

The opening night was a huge success, with the room buzzing with people. I loved seeing people looking with interest at my art. My absolute favourite was the young girl seen here in the photo with her mum, who immediately spotted and identified Lucy Worsley’s suffragette sash, and Marie Curie, both in the second row of my display. I was so impressed with her knowledge and her ability to notice details (especially when they were so far above her eye level!)

It was so amazing to meet the artists whose work I’d been following for so long, including Fenella, Fiona, Val, Jill, Penny, Ruth, Ellie, and many more. It was lovely to meet the “Messy” family,, whose display of pompoms was just opposite me, especially my almost-namesake Emily!

The show closed on Sunday, and we then took our work down and dismantled things. Huge thanks to Isla who has organised everything so well! It's a fantastic project to take part in, and I'd encourage you to try it next year!

10 tips for attending your first colour walk

I've been on the In Colourful Company walks in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and here are some of my tips for attending your first colour walk, especially if you are feeling nervous about it!

1. You won’t be the only one on your own

2. Lots of people are just as nervous as you are

3. You can hide behind your camera or phone when feeling anxious

4. You don’t have to wear rainbow stripes all over

5. Everyone’s friendly, so don't be afraid of going

6. It’s not a loud, wild, uproarious group - some people are extroverts, but there are a lot of introverts too!

7. Take a small snack and a bottle of water

8. Take an umbrella (these are great for photos even if it doesn’t rain!)

9. Don't be afraid to ask people's names - they won't mind at all and you'll maybe discover it's someone you already follow on social media!

10. Put some photos on your Instagram stories as you head to the event - it will help other people to find you online and recognise you when they see you!

I hope these tips will help you feel a bit more confident about going on a colour walk for the first time!

I'll leave you with my classic hiding behind the camera pose, photo by @lizharrydesign

Sunday self-portraits: Luminarium

Some photos of me from my recent visit to the Luminarium in Dundee. It was fun to see how the colours of my clothes and hair changed in the different lighting!