Sapphire Dreaming

March Favourites

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Some favourite things from March!

Production: Although the production of William’s ‘The Glass Menagerie’ that I saw in February at the Duke of York’s Theatre set a really high standard, and was both stunning and heartbreaking, the production of Edward Albee’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ at the Harold Pinter Theatre that I saw this month was no let down. All of the cast were fantastic, particularly Imelda Staunton, and I left almost in shock from how tense things got. Definitely a production I’d wholeheartedly recommend.

Film: definitely Moonlight. I loved it. It was beautiful. Go and see it. The cinematography and colours alone were breathtaking.
Also the documentary 13th (on Netflix UK at the moment) was eye opening, and made me even more concerned about the state of our societies (woop!). In all seriousness however, it looks at the idea that slavery has been perpetuated through incarceration and the prison system in America, with a particular focus on the war on drugs fronted by Reagan and Conservatives in the 1980s. The documentary is named after the 13th Amendment, the Amendment freeing slaves in America yet not if slavery was as punishment for a crime – therefore a loophole in the slave emancipation and thus one of the reasons a legacy of slavery has essentially been able to continue in the modern day.

Book: My favourite non-fiction book this month was Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, which loked at different ways choices can be suggested and the impact these suggestions can have in the wider world. I found this really interesting as I hadn’t previously given much thought to this and it highlighted just how much we do that can be affected by choices from other people. One example was the the impact of health plan options suggested by a government in various ways, each way giving better or worse choice outcomes. I also found this book really accessible to read, as although I don’t study economics at all I could understand all of it.
My favourite fiction book this month was Naive.Super by Erlend Loe, as I loved the simplicity of it and really enjoyed the narrative. Overall it was such a lovely small read with so many big, often philosophical, questions.

Something I bought: I bought a waterbottle which I’ve been meaning to do for ages as I never drink enough water and I’ve become really conscious of wasting so many plastic cups when I’m out. I bought a stainless steel marble-effect bottle from Typo, and although more expensive than I had originally planned, it seems particularly durable and I absolutely love the pattern!

A bath product!: I’ve really enjoyed Molton Brown’s Ylang Ylang body wash this month, which I was bought as a gift. It smells absolutely wonderful, creates loads of bubbles in the bath and is a really pretty shade of purple :)
(Molton Brown is also certified cruelty free and this body wash is vegan as far as I can tell…)

Music: I’ve been ridiculously excited by Alt J’s release of new music this month, and need to get round to really experiencing it as I find Alt J is always super layered and interesting to listen to. However something I can’t stop playing is the band Decade’s new album Pleasantries, and honestly they’re still so underrated. My girlfriend and I also went to their show in London at the beginning of the month, which I loved and it was really cool to hear the album live

Charlotte x

Culture, Reflections

Wellcome Collection: Bedlam

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The Wellcome Collection’s new exhibition, Bedlam, follows the history of mental institutions and different attitudes towards mental illness up to today, using a variety of artwork, artefacts and writings informed by patients of such institutions, doctors, artists and those today with mental illness to name a few.

The institution of Bethlem Royal Hospital in London provides the basis for the exhibition, which widely became known as Bedlam in the 15th century, even it’s nickname giving an idea of the social attitude towards those mentally ill at the time. Bedlam explores what the institution, and others in Europe represented, and the ideals they held which changed throughout history as scientific and therapeutic practices and ideas evolved. The exhibition also explores widely the experiences of those who lived within these institutions and those either caring for them or setting up alternatives.

It could be said the exhibition lacked a little in detail on some topics and jumped around a bit, or put things together that were not fully explained, such as pharmaceutical medicines and the idea that they should not be the only way of helping mental illnesses. However I felt that given any more to look at and I would have been swamped in things to read and think about. I greatly enjoyed the layout and it’s chronology, as well as the variety of sources and types of contributions that each part was made up of. The pharmaceutical drugs and ideas against them was the only place I felt a little more explanation would have been helpful, however perhaps this would take away from people questioning the debate for themselves.

I personally hugely enjoyed Bedlam, particularly after the Wellcome Collection’s States of Mind series of exhibitions which I feel were a great precursor. Having mental health and it’s history, largely a history of misunderstandings, as the focus of an entire exhibition was fascinating but also felt liberating, possibly due to mental health being something often only briefly mentioned throughout today’s general history and learning, perhaps due to the still lingering stigma of mental illness.

I also liked how the exhibition didn’t just leave me wondering over past happenings but at the end of it, with the help of Madlove: A Designer Asylum (http://madlove.org.uk/), it tried to ask what we should do going forwards, with contributions from a number of people with or affected by mental illness. This made Bedlam feel even more relevant to modern day issues and not just a particularly interesting history exhibition, but relevant to further understanding people and society today.

Overall, Bedlam was extremely thought -provoking and something I’d really recommend to anyone, especially as it does not take hours to go round, is completely free and there’s late closing on a Thursday :)

The Bethlem Gallery also has events throughout the year (http://bethlemgallery.com/whats-on/), collaborating with organisations and artists-in-residence, as well as the Bethlem Museum of the Mind (http://museumofthemind.org.uk/)

Where: Wellcome Collection, Euston
When: Nov – Jan 15th 2017
Cost: Free :)
Long to go round?: Took me about an hour, reading and looking at everything

Crafting

DIY Dino Planters

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Seeing some of these on Etsy and loving both dinos and plants, I decided to try and make some of my own :)

Materials:

A hollow plastic dinosaur (I found mine at Hawkins Bazaar)
Spray paint
A craft or similar knife suitable for cutting the dinosaur
A plant (I used succulents and cacti)
Soil

I cut a small rectangle into the back of the dinos carefully with a craft knife, making sure that it was big enough for the plants to fit into

Using newspaper or something to cover your surfaces, and preferably outside, spray paint the dino. A few coats from different angles worked best for me, but for one I was a bit too enthusiastic and trigger-happy with and so layered it too thickly and it took around 5 days to dry (!) – so that’s something to be mindful of!

Make sure to check your spray paint directions but mine were mostly dry after a couple of hours and definitely completely dry within a day

I then potted the plants into the dino once the paint had dried and… a dino planter!

You may want to poke with a needle or drill some small holes into the bottom of the dinosaur for drainage, however I haven’t and so far they seem okay (just don’t over-water!)

Happy crafting!

Charlotte x