Exploring the city: Sheffield

Here are a few of the photos I took when I went exploring with one of my friends.

Urban Exploration Lite

Urban Exploration is about documenting abandonned buildings and other spaces you don't usually get to see, like drains and tunnels. It involves ropes and torches and dangerous places.

It's one of those activities (like Roller Derby) that I wish I was cut out to do.
Unfortunately I'm not good with climbing (or skating for that matter).

So this is my version - it's mainly about taking a closer look at what's around you.

Charles Baudelaire, who wrote in 1850's Paris, was fond of the term Flâneur. Technically it's a french word meaning stroller, saunterer or loafer but he uses it more as a concept to describe "a person who walks the city in order to experience it".

I think he was talking about 'gentlemen' who were out experiencing the city, perusing 'the poor' and them returning to their comfortable abodes. But modern people with busy lives can also find a few moments to look at what's around them. Even if it's just on your way to work you can start to see the different textures of the streets. Notice the dérive. Another French word, literally meaning drift.

The sudden change of ambiance in a street within the space of a few meters; the evident division of a city into zones of distinct psychic atmospheres; the path of least resistance that is automatically followed in aimless strolls (and which has no relation to the physical contour of the terrain); the appealing or repelling character of certain places...

—Guy Debord, Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography

So Urban Exploration Lite is about documenting the spaces that you may walk past everyday and not actually see. It could mean noticing the patterns in floor tiles or photographing the beauty of urban decay. It's something you can do anywhere, anytime and (as long as you use your common sense) it's a lot less dangerous than climbing inside burnt out buildings after dark.

Where have I been?

I've been working a lot! But I've managaed to fit in some fun stuff as well, for one I visited another country house. Actually Haddon Hall is "a fortified medieval manor house dating from the 12th Century".

It's a fabulous place. You can look round a lot of the house and gardens including the chapel; but the owners actually live there so obvioulsy you can't see their bit!

I think the chapel and the kitchens were the most interesting parts. In the chapel you can see where they had religious scenes painted on the walls. They are just outlines now, but everthing would have been in full colour back then. In the kitchens you can see huge dents in the wood where they cut the food. Apparently they used to have their meat chopped up really small as they didn't have enough teeth to chew it.

I took loads of photos. I seem to have taken one of every flower in the garden. There are some more on Flickr if you'd like to have a look.

Adventure planning: Other Amusements Tour of London

I'm quite excited about this new adventure.

In a few weeks time I'm taking a trip to London for a couple of days. I've been to London before, but there has always been a reason, like a gig or a show or for work. This time I'm going to all the places I never had time to go on other visits! This is the Other Amusements Tour of London.

I'm looking forward to going to the cupcake shops I had to walk past in order to catch trains, fabric shops which were already closed for the night and the Lomography shop - since it's my newest obsession.

And most of all I'm looking forward to trying some macarons from the top bakeries like Ladurée (the top picture) and Pierre Hermé (the second picture) maybe even PAUL,Yauatcha and La Maison du Chocolat if I don't feel sick by then...


Any other recommendations? What would you do with a day in London?

Lolita links

All my old Lolita Links are now collected on this page, I've not visited a lot of these links for some time, so I apologise if they are broken.


They can be downloaded as an html file which you can import into your favourites/bookmarks - clicking on the link below will take you to a mediafire page to download.
All the links: gls_and_other_amusements.html


Tutorials
Petticoat
Tie
Wrist cuffs/Sock tops
Rectangle skirt
Circle skirt (not technically lolita I suppose)


Shopping
Download just shopping links: Lolita_shopping.html
Alice Furunrun
Angelic Pretty
Anna House
Baby the Stars Shine Bright
Bodyline
Brollies Galore (parasols!)
Candy Violet
Closet Child
Clothing Drop
EGL sales
Excalibur Girls
Fairy Angel
Fan plus friend
Innocent World
Jane Marple
Maiden Clothing
Maruione
Mary Magdalene
Metamorphose
Moi Meme Moitie
Sassy Fun (socks)
Starry Candy Box
Sweet Rococo
Tokyo Alice
Tokyo Rebel (US)
Victorian Maiden


Sewing/Fabrics
Download just sewing links: Lolita_sewing.html
Allegro Fabrics
Cheep Trims
Denholme Velvets
eQuilter
Fabric Paradise
Fabric Tales
Gaga Fabrics
Harts Fabric
J Caroline
Kuboriki
MacCulloch & Wallis
nuno+
PhatFabric
Pink Chalk Fabrics
Purl
Repro Depot
Shabby Fabrics
Shugale
Super Buzzy
The Eternal Maker
The Fabric Fairy
The Fabric Queen
Vintage Trims


General Sewing
Weekend Designer
Design Loft
Sewing Republic
Adding a zip
Invisble zip
Invisible zip (video)
Using presser feet
Vintage Sewing
Threadbanger
Burdastyle
Simplicity / New Look
Butterick / McCall's / Vogue


Lolita blogs
Download just Lolita blog links: Lolita_blogs.html
*みるキュン☆ぷりん* (Sae - japanese)
Aesthetic Lolita
Angelic Pretty Paris
Carousel of Crowns
F* Yeah Lolita
key to aune (hungarian)
Lolita Charm
Macaron Hearts
Makelovely's Blog
Naka's Net 
Olivia's Loli Blog
Painting The Roses Pink
Part Time Lolita
Petticoat Dreams
Pricked fingers and frills.
PRINCE DES ENFERS // nmrfxxr.net/blog/
Princessly Living
Ribbonlicious
Saturday's Specimen
Sweet Insanity (finnish)
The Itty Bitty
The Ugly Duckling
Uniquely Loli
visual heroine
Waiting for October
 ... your other left.
♪*Un monde Lolita*♪
彡☆Whip Magic☆彡
EGL post with lots of Japanese Lolita blogs