LEIGHTON HOUSE MUSEUM ..........

On Friday, we went to Leighton House Museum which is the former studio/house of the Victorian artist Lord Frederic Leighton ( 1830-1896 ). It is located on the edge of London's Holland Park with sumptuous interiors and paintings by Leighton and his contemporaries including John Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones and George Frederick Watts.

The museum provides an unforgettable insight into Leighton's private world and is a unique venue for the understanding and appreciation of Victorian art and architecture.

I started to take some photographs and all of a sudden this very angry woman came rushing up to me and told me off !! She told me that photography wasn't allowed and she followed me for the remainder of my time there !! At least she didn't take my camera and smash it ! The following are what I managed to take before I was found out. There aren't any of the upstairs, as she had got my number by then !

From the outside of the house, you would never guess how beautiful the interior is. Although the experience wasn't quite as good as my favourite house in Spitalfields ..... Dennis Sever's House ..... but, it is well worth a visit.
Also, it is situated in one of the most salubrious parts of London. Here are just a few of the wonderful houses that we passed .....

..... on our way to .....

but, that's another story .....

image 1: via gutenburg, image 3: via what to do, image 4: via The Gaurdian, all other images by me.

YOU DON'T STOP RIDING BECAUSE YOU'RE OLD, BUT YOU GET OLD WHEN YOU STOP RIDING .........

After reading a post on Tom Stephenson's  blog about his experiences on his motorbike, I thought that I would tell you about my Aunt and Uncle.

Here they are above, on my Uncle's treasured Vincent bike. They have been enthusiasts of motorcycling for many years and, my Aunt rode pillion, wearing full leathers made by my Uncle, pretty much up until she died, a few years ago, in her early 80's. My uncle still rides it and goes on rallies in this country and often in Holland and he is now 83 !!  Here's hoping that the inherited genes give me the opportunity to be doing similar things in my 80's !!
I'm not sure when this photograph was taken but I just wished that I had one of them both  in their 80's on the bike.

This is The Ace Cafe on the North Circular Road where the ton-up boys hung out in the 50's and later the Rockers. For my sins and, I can hear many old Rockers and bike enthusiasts taking a sharp intake of breath, I was a Mod !! so, The Ace Cafe wasn't really my stamping ground. I'm sure that my Aunt and Uncle might have hung out there a few times though ! The Ace Cafe closed  in the late '60's ....... rockers had simply fallen out of fashion. It did re-open though, in 1997.

All I can say is that my Aunt and Uncle were in very good company ..........

........... and, finally, a high five and many congratulations to our daughter, who did The Great North Run on Sunday for the first time in 2 hours 17 minutes ! I would have lasted 5 minutes !!

image 1: mine, image 2: via The Vintage Guide To London, image 3: Via Cinema Style, image 4: via Burritobros, image 5: via China Daily, image 6: via Ellev.tumblr, image 7: via my new plaid pants, image 8: via full bore motorcycles, image 9: via port-magazines, image 10: via the consumerism, image11: via watsons wildlife, image 12: via fashion gone rogue, image 13: via photography Abdu, image 14: via we heart it.

IF GOD ISN'T DONE WITH YOU, GOD ISN'T DONE WITH YOU !! ..........,

Make sure that you read the text below the first photograph before you look at the second photograph ..........

Look at the picture above ..... the white pick-up truck was driving from right to left at 75 mph when it crashed through the barrier, it flipped end over end, bounced off and across the barrier and landed, right side up on the left side of the barrier facing in the opposite direction from which the driver was travelling. The 22 year old driver and his 18 year old passenger were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.
Now look at the second picture below  !!!!!!!!! .................... 

          IF GOD ISN'T DONE WITH YOU,
           GOD ISN'T DONE WITH YOU !

BY INVITATION ONLY .......... MY SYMPHONY ..........

I was asked, among many others, to join ' By Invitation Only' ..... a group who will post monthly on given subjects.
The first given to us is My Symphony ..... a short quotation by William Henry Channing and here is my humble contribution ..........

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy not respectable,

and wealthy, not rich;

to listen to stars .....

and birds,

babes and sages, with open heart,

to study hard; to think quietly; act frankly, talk gently,

await occasions, hurry never;

in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common - this is my symphony.

                                              My Symphony

To  live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable,

and wealthy, not rich;

to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages,

with open heart;

to study hard;

to think quietly;

act frankly,

talk gently,

await occasions,

hurry never;

in a word, to let the spiritual,

unbidden and unconscious,

grow up through the common - this is my symphony.

William Henry Channing

1810 - 1884

 'By Invitation Only' was started by Marsha @ Splenderosa so, please follow the link to her and see all of the other contributors of 'My Symphony'.



images 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15  : via Brown Dress with White spots,  image 2 : via Flickr, image 3 : via Babes and Sages,  image 6 : via Dangerous Liaisons, images 7, 8, 10 and 14 : via We Heart It, image 9 : via Percolate Paradox, image 16 : via Israbox,  image 17: via me.