Saturday 30 April 2016

"Andy Warhol looks a scream"

Well, hello there! Happy May Day and all that. Can you believe we're in May already? It seems as though we were only celebrating the new year last month and when I uploaded some photos a few days ago I found myself tagging them as April 2015. We've had some really weird weather round these parts too: glorious sunshine interspersed with snow, hail and spectacular thunderstorms - all very exciting. 
E has been off school for a bit with a real stinker of a cold. I do love having her around but I was just a bit worried as she seemed rather breathless at one point. She also had a couple of presentations to do with hardly any voice but she struggled on. Happily, she's well on the mend now. 

Anyhoo, here are some of the happier moments from our week - I haven't posted the photo of me with a rice noodle stuck to my chin - I hadn't eaten any at that point, there had just been some very vigorous woking going on and I didn't even notice it until E pointed it out - teenagers can still do that incredulity thing, even with laryngitis!

My supermarket tulips - they have lasted far better since I started cutting the stems with a sharp knife, as opposed to crushing it with scissors as my mother taught me. It's only taken me the 30 years to work that one out.

 Renewing my subscription to Country Living with some about to expire Tesco vouchers:
 Noticing the green woodpecker in the garden again and actually having my camera to hand:
Yesterday, I popped into Oxford to collect L after her week there. When I dropped her off last weekend, I noticed a poster advertising an Andy Warhol exhibition at the Ashmolean, so we made a plan to visit. I hopped off the P&R bus near Christchurch meadow:
 Walked past what must be one of the cutest Pret a Mangers in the country:
 ....... and arrived here just in time to meet L:
The exhibition was of the private Hall Collection and included over 100 paintings, screen prints, sculptures, drawings and films. We enjoyed it, but found that we wanted more information about the man himself - I didn't know, for example, that he had been shot at one point. I think I may need to hunt for a book next time I'm at the library.
We decided to buy a couple of postcards each of our favourite works (we ended up with 10 as they were the same price as our 4 would have been!). I liked his screen printed flowers on a hand painted background and L liked 'Twenty Fuchsia Maos', taken from a screen print of the iconic Communist poster. I don't think he was a fan (neither are we!), I think it was possibly making some point about brand advertising, alongside Brillo and Campbell's soup (there was a quotation there stating that he had never received so much as a can of soup from Campbells - you'd think they could have stumped up for a crate of cream of tomato wouldn't you?). Our favourite 4 are currently stuck to the fridge, much to R's disgust. I'm not sure how long they'll survive.
We had time for a drink and a shared slice of mango and passion fruit cake before seeing the rest of the Ashmolean's artwork. Sadly, there isn't a huge amount to see at the moment owing to renovation work.
 Then it was off to a Malaysian noodle bar for lunch.
 Tofu curry, veggie spring rolls and egg fried noodles - it was yummy but really filling and we ended up boxing up the rest to take home for E who's rather fond of a good noodle when it's not stuck to her mother's chin.
 The shots below were taken by L as we drove home along the A34. I'd noticed the lovely Rape as I was driving to Oxford and asked her to get the camera out ready for the return journey. It was easier said than done - the best field sailed by before she managed to switch the camera on and there followed a series of shots of lorries, Dynarod vans and road signs before she finally managed the 2 below!


Anyway, that's all for this week. The photo above was taken out of the bedroom window first thing this morning, so it looks as though May Day might actually turn out to be nice weather wise. I'm planning a little potter in the garden and I might have a bit of a Mary Berry moment and make a quick carrot cake too. How about you, any good plans for the Bank Holiday weekend? I look forward to catching up with your posts later and seeing what you've all been up to.

Toodle Pip for now. x



15 comments:

  1. Like you I plan to enjoy the lovey May weather. Loved the noodle story. Glad you got your lovely photo of the rape field. We saw so many beautiful fields when we were driving in the uk a few weeks ago but nowhere safe to stop. You were lucky to get such a good shot out of the window :) B

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  2. We saw the Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Liverpool last year, like you it made me want to know more. The curator had done a fantastic job as I came away with a new enthusiasm for an artist I had no real interest in before. I can imagine he would be the King of Instagram these days. Plus it kick started my love of Cindy Sherman which was another bonus.

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  3. Just the sort of trip I would love, Andy Warhol followed by Tofu curry! I am very jealous.

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  4. Oops! So that is why my tulips don't last very long. I will try your method in future as I love buying tulips. I am hoping for better weather during May as well, we certainly have had some freaky changeable weather during April. xx

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  5. So many lovely moments! I love the Ashmolean. Especially the Cabinet of Curiosities. Yes, probably because of its name.
    Amalia
    xo

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  6. Mmm, that noodle lunch looks delicious, one of my favourite things too. Country Living is a lovely magazine isn't it, a nice treat every month. I've been noticing rape fields in bloom around here as well, such an incredibly vivid yellow. I discovered a little Ashmolean at Broadway yesterday. It was closed by the time I was there, maybe next time. Wishing you a lovely bank holiday and a good week. CJ xx

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  7. hope you enjoyed your carrot cake out in the garden with some sun. it was Grey and Wet here yesterday and so far today isn't looking much better......

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  8. Hasn't the weather been weird this past week? We've had rain, sleet, hail, snow flurries and sunshine! Hope you've had a lovely weekend. I must try out cutting the stems of tulips. I usually just stick them straight in the vase! xx

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  9. I spent May Day relaxing at a spa with a friend. A real treat. Your tulips look lovely, and I like the sound of that carrot cake.
    Have a good week. :-)

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  10. You shared a slice of cake? Were you ill? Still snorting at the Woking and the noodle. I think it's perhaps a good thing we aren't neighbours - the day would be spent giggling and having Mary berry-offs and competing for the best woodpecker shot (yours is very good, they are hard to get I find) and nothing else would get done. Come to think of it that doesn't sound so bad :-) xx

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  12. I hope you enjoyed your gallery visit. Would have happily joined you! The noodles (not on your chin) look delicious. Hope your daughter is feeling much better.

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  13. Glad you have had a good week and that your daughter is getting better. Happy May!

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  14. Glad to hear E is on the mend, would have loved to have seen the pic of you with a noodle attached to your chin! Lucky you re the woodpecker, a gorgeous lunch and a fab exhibition! xxx

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  15. Lovely photos, your lunch looks delicious and I am not suprised you boxed some up to bring home that is a huge plate full! Hope your weather was better over the rest of the weekend it seems to be warming slightly here too, perhaps Spring is finally on its way now!

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