The Queens Coronation gown drawn by my Mum Evelyn Wood
London together with the rest of the UK has been busy celebrating the Queen’s 90 th birthday. I am happy to have been here to join in. The lady is remarkable and has given the country a sense of continuity and stability during some interesting, often difficult times. Whether you are Monarchist or Republican, no-one can doubt that. My fashion artist mother, working for various newspapers and women’s magazines, used to go many of the events attended by the Queen….fashion was much drawn then, not so much photographed. I was a child then, eagerly waiting for her return from these events and her stories of seeing “them” (the Royals).
Anyway I am happy we have the Queen in our lives, think she has been a good example to us all, compassionate, charming ….sustaining grace under fire and just being there.
Fancy dress seems to be the order of the day in London’s modern fashion. Sequins sparkle and strange dress is everywhere……not the least among the older generation. Our ubiquitous jeans are the uniform cornerstone and then you can add anything….gold and silver shoes, bejewelled t shirts, strange headgear. I saw a rathe portly, older man in shorts with a Chinese straw coolie hat yesterday…eccentric to say the least. Still it’s fun, a bit of levity in our challenging lives.
Went to the National Theatre (London) last night and saw a favourite of mine THE THREEPENNY OPERA...with the hugely talented Rory Kinnear. All I can say is that Brecht and Weill and the terrific cast survived Rufus Norris, new Director at the National. The production was so busy, messy with a set that moved around so much, it almost became one of the actors. Sorry, because it is a remarkable piece, savage, cruel, funny …a real indictment of the worst of our human nature…with the “hero” failing upwardly and being hugely rewarded at the end of his nefarious career. Remind you of a few of our public figures nowadays?! ” Emperor’s new clothes.
