tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45094015041237965082024-03-18T21:16:46.309-07:00Amita Murray@AmitaMurray
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-9202463450110138102017-10-12T09:51:00.001-07:002017-10-12T09:51:35.619-07:00Two book deal with Harper Collins!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Finding Rose blooms for HarperFiction editor, says The Bookseller</h1>
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HarperFiction editor Charlotte Brabbin has sealed world English-language rights to British-Indian author Amita Murray’s début <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Finding Rose</em>.</div>
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A two-book deal was struck with Samar Hammam at Rocking Chair Books Literary Agency, with rights also sold in Germany after a four-way auction.</div>
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Brabbin said: “The clever balance of humour and emotional suspense in Finding Rose makes it unique.”</div>
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The title is slated for early 2019.</div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-17435075868989949872016-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:002016-10-16T05:21:14.698-07:00Marmite and Mango Chutney wins SI Leeds Literary Award<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The SI Leeds Literary Award ceremony at Ilkley Literature Festival on Oct 12, 2016. Sponsored by the wonderful people at SI Leeds International, Peepal Tree and the Ilkley Literature Festival.<br />
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This short story collection was partly written when I was a Leverhulme Artist-in-Residence at University College London in 2015.<br />
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The entire experience of meeting the short list, reading with them, and sharing the award with the other short listed candidates and winners was thrilling and unforgettable!</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-84145584057190217822016-08-18T02:41:00.001-07:002016-08-18T02:41:14.360-07:00After the Delhi Rain, in SAND literary magazine, Berlin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My short story After the Delhi Rain, was published recently in SAND, Berlin. Thanks to the wonderful editor Florian Duijsens for all his hard work.<br />
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<b>After the Delhi Rain</b> (excerpt)</div>
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Michelle was leaving <st1:place w:st="on">Delhi</st1:place>
in three days, and there was nothing he could do about it. So he sat in the
Metro like this was an ordinary day, in a week of ordinary days. He stared
blankly at the slum he passed everyday, a slum in a city of ordinary slums,
people squatting outside it in the aftermath of the monsoon rain, boys playing
cricket in the drip-drip mud, mounds of earth and shit dotted with colourful
debris. It was a brown-grey shanty town, little dwellings with four walls and a
canopy roof, sometimes not even that, just thin fabric strung up for privacy
from people like him, carelessly riding past in the Metro, reading the news on
their iPhones, playing word games till their eyes hurt, holding thumb
conversations, multiple ones simultaneously.</div>
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Just by the side of the railway tracks, goats and skinny
dogs and happy chickens, boys and girls swatting flies. A boy was standing by a
hill of banana peel, trousers halfway down his buttocks, about to relieve
himself, but talking on his phone at the same time. A cart without a donkey. A
cow with empty teats. A silver Santro parked in the middle of it all. </div>
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Read the rest in SAND http://www.sandjournal.com/issue/13</div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-81302273496184836012016-01-07T10:58:00.003-08:002016-01-07T11:01:14.121-08:00The Root Ball, on the Hawaii Pacific Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(This story was written during a Leverhulme Artist-in-Residence grant at University College London, in 2015, in which I collaborated with UCL's human geographers on various writing and artistic projects.)<br />
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The hole is getting bigger. The root ball of the cabbage tree sits in a kink in the corner of the compound, waiting to be transplanted. But her husband is digging away, and her mother is watching, hands on hips, looking grim. Again and again the spade splices the loam. Again and again the soil spatters on the expanding mound of leftovers. Sweat streams down Ahiri’s face, and there are pools developing around her hip bones.</div>
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“I guess it’s my turn,” she says.</div>
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“I can finish it,” Jesse says.</div>
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“I’ll do it,” she says firmly. “Does it have to be bigger?”</div>
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“Twice the size of the root ball,” her mother says.<span id="more-68541" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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It takes another fifteen minutes of digging before her mother is satisfied.</div>
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“There,” says Ahiri, kneading her lower back. “Surely it’s done now.”</div>
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Her mother gently unfolds the wet tarp that is protecting the taproot. She brushes off the hummus that is clinging to the new roots. Then she glances over at Jesse. Jesse lifts the tree, newly dug out from outside the compound, pruned last year in preparation for this move. He lugs it over and places it at the edge of the hole, but whatever he is planning to do with it is cut short as the tree crashes in. Her mother cries out. “The new roots!”</div>
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It’s okay, Mum, it’s just a tree, Ahiri wants to say, but her mother is delicate around her plants, minding their feelings and tending their wounds, skills she has never developed for her daughter. Ahiri and Jesse squat, trying to make it right. The leaves are long and prickly, the bark tough and leathery like cork. It is impossible to reach down and right the tree, without getting stung in the face. They try to nudge the tree into the centre. When Ahiri’s mother is satisfied, she starts to throw the earth back into the hole. Ahiri and Jesse join in, cushioning, padding, kneading out the air pockets, till the hole is filled. Her mother places mulch all around the tree, and then irrigates it again.</div>
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<i>Read the rest on the <a href="http://hawaiipacificreview.org/2016/01/07/the-root-ball/#more-68541" target="_blank">Hawaii Pacific Review</a>.</i></div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-82192462653999783662015-12-23T00:20:00.000-08:002015-12-23T00:20:06.705-08:00Five Questions I Asked Santa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's that time of the year again...<br />
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First published in The London Word http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/12/five-questions-i-asked-santa/<br />
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Christmas is around the corner and my anxiety is at its peak. I’ve promised – yet again – to spend Christmas with the family. It’ll be super-duper to see them. Really, it will. For a few days, I won’t have to do any cooking or cleaning. I will shlep around in my PJs. I will eat as much as I want, and add a dollop or two of double cream to everything. (If everyone else is doing it, the calories cancel each other out.) </div>
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Is it heaven on earth? It might be – if it weren’t for all the talking. The one-on-one questions from relatives – How’s that book coming along? Have you got a proper job yet? Does it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pay</i>? – I can just about handle. From years of experience, I’ve realized that smiling, nodding and praising said relative’s Labradoodle, Christmas tofurky, exfoliated chin, and general outlook on life will win me points and get the attention away from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i>.</div>
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No, it’s the general barrage of noise that I’m scared of. The onslaught, an incessant nattering, that starts at 5.30am on Christmas Eve and then continues all day and well into and beyond Boxing Day. I just know that Auntie B will tell that ginseng story again that will include a series of racial slurs cunningly disguised as worldly wisdom. Cousin J will show me his boils. And Uncle T will make me a spread-sheet on all the ways I’m going wrong in my life. And they will do it all at the same time. All in the same ear.</div>
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So, when I bumped into Santa the other day in TGI Friday, a little red faced and frost-bitten from all his toy-shop appearances and global warming respectively, I asked him – Why do I put myself through this every year?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa, why must I shop till I drop at Christmas?</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (with a saucy smile):</b> Because it is the sexy thing to do! Do you know my favourite author, my dear? It is Sophia Kinsella! The woman has made living on a permanent over-draft – and unpaid bills and mounting credit card debt – sexy! If before the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shopaholic</i> series you felt guilty and a little dirty to do all that shopping, now you feel helplessly feminine, charmingly kooky and flighty – but in an endearing way. [he leans closer and whispers...] Let me tell you a little secret. You’ve asked your mum to tell all the relatives not to buy you presents, because you’re broke (yes, again) and you can’t afford to reciprocate, haven't you? But, you know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone</i> will get you a present. They will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">say</i> that it doesn’t matter that you didn’t get them anything, but it will! If I were you, cupcake, I’d pop in at Lush on the way out and get everyone some soap. It’s good for the economy.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is</i> it good for the economy?</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (taking a few sips of his appletini):</b> Of course! We have to maintain the status quo! Imagine for a minute that Mr. Bank Manager didn’t earn five hundred thousand pounds this year, and you, doll – a writer, did you say? (Spiffing! Really, top notch! Here, have a free mince pie, you look a little hungry.) Where was I? If Mr. Bank Manager didn’t live in a penthouse overlooking Hyde Park, where would we all be? He has to keep on earning, he has to have a penthouse in New York and a holiday house in the Algave. The economy has taken a beating lately, and the government wants us to spend so we can get back on track! So we can get back to being in denial. It is natural to be in denial. Clarity would only bring us down! So, spend, spend, spend! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Err, right. Okay, so why must I eat till I pop?</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa:</b> It beats me how you’re supposed to know when to stop! Once you start with the turkey and the roast potatoes, move on through the extra stuffing to the pudding and the cream, why, you have to come back to the potatoes!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why must I put cucumber in my wine and egg in my nog?</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (now a little woozy): </b>Perfection is boring, my little lollipop. Excess, excess! Celebrate excess! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gotcha. Then, why must I drink till I – Oh, never mind, I already know the answer to that one…</b></div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-35408705527085908912015-12-23T00:10:00.003-08:002015-12-23T00:10:33.340-08:00More William Morris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I want all my clothes to be William Morris prints.<br />
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Explore the collections at William Morris Gallery, and events like Social Fabric: African Textiles Today.<br />
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Visit them at http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/<br />
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-89939757750173550862015-03-05T06:16:00.002-08:002015-03-05T06:16:35.797-08:00Staying Power Black British Experience at the V and A<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Charlie Phillips</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;">The Black British Experience exhibition at the Victoria and Albert brings home the exceptional, yet completely everyday, place of black beauty and experience in Britain. A history that is often misplaced in British life. The exhibition is a much-too-fleeting glimpse of photographs from the 1950s to the 1990s, all to do with aspects of black British experience. Hairstyles are just part of the equation. The exhibition shines a light on British Caribbean homes, black jewellery, street life, and celebrations. It takes its name and inspiration from Peter Fryer's 1984 book </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;">.</span></div>
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Read full article at http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amita-murray/african-beauty_b_6774526.html<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience 1950s-1990s</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Feb 16-May 24 2015</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Victoria and Albert</span></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-28516880395662308592015-02-25T13:56:00.001-08:002015-02-25T13:56:41.893-08:00The Black British Experience, at the V and A<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Series Black Beauty Pageants, by Raphael Albert, 1960-79</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hairstyles of Nigerian women, by JD Okhai Ojeikere</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diary of a Victorian Dandy, by Yinka Shonibare, 1998</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Westbourne Park Tube Station, Charlie Philips, 1967</td></tr>
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Call me stupid, but it took a passionate discussion of the relevance and place of hair and hairstyles as cultural markers from my black students, to bring it home to me just how complicated African hairstyles are. Actually, I still don't completely get it. But my lovely students explained to me and an open-mouthed, very diverse classroom, that if they let their hair grow out, it would simply grow out and up. That it takes taming, straightening, weaves, braiding, hair extensions, and many, many hours to create the beautiful, complex confections that they wear to class. It reminded me, too, of how normative ideals of white beauty continue to impact people of non-white heritage - the hair straightening, the face bleaching, the tucking in, epilating, waxing, narrowing, tweezing, anorexia, liposuctioning, lip-pulling in, that happen behind the scenes to conform to mainstream, capitalism-prescribed aesthetic and performative norms.<br />
<br />
The Black British Experience exhibition at the V and A brings home the exceptional, yet completely everyday, place of black beauty and experience in Britain. A history that is often missed, misplaced, displaced, ignored, misunderstood, or simply turned a blind eye to in British life. </div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-15539433067195895422015-02-12T07:49:00.002-08:002015-02-12T11:51:30.921-08:00The Road to Shimla<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US">“The first time you saw me, you handed me a glass of bubbly and
punched me in the face,” Alice
says. She turns to study her husband – if he is still her husband. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jacob pauses in the act of doing nothing at all. “Nostalgia? You?
Shocking,” he says. “And anyway, I did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not
</i>punch you in the face. You took one sip and only bloody choked on it. I was
trying to give you a neighbourly thump.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“More like a neighbourly hump, if I’d only known,” Alice says virtuously. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jacob reaches out a hand to her, then stops, takes out his phone and
starts doing heaven knows what on it. She clenches the steering wheel, and
stares out at Kalka, the last town in the plains before the road climbs up to
the Himalayas. Life presses in hungrily on both
sides of the car. The rain has formed gullies, and there is garbage swimming
its way down – onion peel, soggy cabbage, Band-aid, a plastic bag of Amul Milk,
a half-dead lizard, hair scrunchies, a child’s pacifier, known locally and
succinctly as a “nipple,” a dirty sock, assorted life debris. <i>continued...</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>The Road to Shimla was published by Inkspill magazine in 2011. Read it here http://issuu.com/sophieplayle/docs/inkspill_magazine_issue_5</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Guest Editor Eleanor Perry says, "The Road to Shimla is a delicately-crafted snapshot of cultural displacement, capturing by turns both the caustic and the tender moments in the disintegration of a marriage."</span></div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-63930723342843812382015-02-12T04:11:00.002-08:002015-02-12T12:01:50.213-08:00Marmite and Mango Chutney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Auntie’s stroke didn’t seem to have any lasting effect, except for a
slight droop in her left cheek and the tendency to talk in aphorisms.<br />
<br />
“Such is life,” she would say. She would puff out her cheeks like a
hoary toad fighting against the march of cynicism. “People only look out
for themselves. It has to be said.” In her more positive moments, her
favourite was, “You can only grow old if your heart ages.” And then
there was the cryptic and all-encompassing, “Young people.”<br />
<br />
The last was a flexible one, and could be adapted to many situations.
“Black people,” or, “Chinese men,” or “Accountants,” or “Those
homeless,” were all versions she used regularly. It was difficult to
know where her sayings came from. If they were a product of experience,
or if they defied encounters and conversations, and emerged triumphant,
despite all evidence to the contrary.<br />
<br />
When Auntie’s daughter, my cousin Veronica, announced that she was
going to marry Gary, a mixed-race, half-black, half-white “mongrel” – as
Auntie labelled him – the after-effects of the stroke became more
pronounced than ever.<br />
<br />
“The West is full of divorce,” Auntie said, her face drooping to one
side, elongating the speck of Marmite that lingered on her cheek after
lunch. Marmite and Amed’s Mango Chutney were Auntie’s two favourite
foods in the world, and everyday at lunch, she ate two slices of bread,
each with a layer first of Marmite, then mango chutney, the kind with
bits of sweetened, gloopy mango in it. “He will leave you within two
years,” she continued, as if she had performed a risk analysis of the
time it would take for a mixed-race accountant to leave a
second-generation part-time blogger. “And then where will you be?” As
she asked the question, she combed her hair with a thin comb, over and
over, slowly, rhythmically, like she was stroking a cat, stopping only
to pull out coils of oily hair from the comb and rolling them into a
tight and ever-expanding ball that she would hand over to whoever had
the bad luck to be sitting next to her when she was done combing.<br />
<br />
Read the short story here http://writingdisorder.com/amita-murray/ </div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-62206105758917082602014-05-30T06:20:00.001-07:002014-05-30T06:21:46.158-07:00The MF Husain exhibition at the Victoria and Albert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAA6HPsGeIqTr-W4q5SRMIVWJrNx-tdySyK-3UaHyBzp81X9yo0VxoB27ya-N1oLPuzb7U4us3zx8bNro_HlpW1InR9B5gmsap3LjE7r5P0m9F3W6Z611jmO1B2p1reLIhLZOpxP4OKK8/s1600/Hindu+Triad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAA6HPsGeIqTr-W4q5SRMIVWJrNx-tdySyK-3UaHyBzp81X9yo0VxoB27ya-N1oLPuzb7U4us3zx8bNro_HlpW1InR9B5gmsap3LjE7r5P0m9F3W6Z611jmO1B2p1reLIhLZOpxP4OKK8/s1600/Hindu+Triad.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Maqbool Fida Husain, mourned in India as a “national loss” after his death in 2011, is supposed to have died in “self-imposed exile” in London – as the media like to put it. Yet, it is ridiculous to call it “self-imposed” exile. He lived outside of India because back in the country where he was born and where he grew up, he lived in fear of his life. He received regular death threats for offending religious feelings, for making paintings with themes from Hindu religion that were apparently profane because they depicted nudity and eroticism.<br />
<br />
Read full article <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amita-murray/why-i-am-afraid-of-religi_b_5409649.html" target="_blank">here </a><br />
See more blog posts to do with art and books <a href="http://amitamurray.com/">here </a></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-88661927493444318642014-05-29T10:29:00.001-07:002014-05-29T10:29:03.644-07:00MF Husain at the V and A, a preview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Exhibition at the V and A, of 8 triptychs by MF Husain. For more pictures, go here <a href="http://amitamurray.com/">http://amitamurray.com/</a> The exhibition goes on till July 27, 2014. Free entry. <br />
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Article coming soon!<br />
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-85954393736460081682014-05-22T15:17:00.000-07:002014-05-22T05:02:46.412-07:00Buy my novels here!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 <br />
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ROMANTIC COMEDY<br />
<br />
<b>Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer</b><br />
Anna Patel styles dead people. (And they probably know that they're dead.)
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Trapped between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome
desires, she tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis.
Now all she needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent
boyfriend - and keep it all together till the wedding. It should be dead
easy.
<br />
<br />
But then, during a memorial service held at her parents' (Ruth
Worthing and Govind Patel) funeral home, a dead cat appears in a casket.
There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s livelihood is
hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief embalmer keeps
telling her she's his soul-mate.
<br />
<br />
Her heart and happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and
ask herself if trying to be normal and dependable is all it is cracked
up to be.
<br />
<br />
"Randy, Funny, Fascinating" - Publishers Weekly
<br />
<br />
"This book is fantastic. The family are feisty, flirty and fun." - A Book and Tea
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<br />
If you like Six Feet Under, The Royal Tennenbaums, and all kinds of rom-com, then check out this book!<br />
<br />
VICTORIAN MYSTERY <br />
<br />
<b>The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress </b><br />
It is the 1860s, and Rachel Faraday is trying to follow in the footsteps
of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Struggling to make a living, in a world
that looks down on female traders, she paints her fabrics in the colours
and styles of the artists and sells them to wealthy women who daydream
about clasping the men of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood between their
thighs. One night, she meets a man, who, after the coldness of her
cottage and the loneliness of her existence, shows her the possibility
of a different life. The next day, he is arrested on suspicion of
cold-blooded murder. As Rachel sets out to prove his innocence, she
realizes that she must come to terms not only with the evidence in front
of her, the vagaries of her trade, the hot-blooded attentions of Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, but her own erotic longings and the secrets of her
past.
<br />
<br />
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-79895036173816637602014-05-22T05:02:00.003-07:002014-05-22T05:02:15.340-07:00Are you a good writer or a good storyteller?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Read my latest blog post on amitamurray.com<br />
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<br /></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-1567469034661883912014-05-07T08:59:00.001-07:002014-05-07T09:02:16.725-07:00How to act like a Londoner!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxp78Fxy9qwnKd4FT-kV_5jXHOIeGb3nWYS1KOCtVvV_4ngxoajhIW3wj__VKl1OQlDd0GrYmZ0O1Kg-bAmODOiQTd0zvxRlosllki27CLhATLaiEj_7cCmdaixSCZScABR5gtQjMUgRI/s1600/banksy+maid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxp78Fxy9qwnKd4FT-kV_5jXHOIeGb3nWYS1KOCtVvV_4ngxoajhIW3wj__VKl1OQlDd0GrYmZ0O1Kg-bAmODOiQTd0zvxRlosllki27CLhATLaiEj_7cCmdaixSCZScABR5gtQjMUgRI/s1600/banksy+maid.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banksy, of course</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
Get pissed at the funeral of a close relative, tie your pants around
your head and dance in Trafalgar Square in the middle of the night,
holding a can of Australian beer in your hand. Sing God Save the Queen.<br />
<br />
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amita-murray/the-definitive-guide-to-acting-like-a-londoner_b_4705714.html<br />
<br />
</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-76134630395159784252014-05-07T08:53:00.001-07:002014-05-07T08:53:02.289-07:00Lovely reviews!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">About The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>A Woman's Wisdom</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://awomanswisdom.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/the-pre-raphaelite-seamstress-by-amita-murray/</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There are some particularly descriptive passages in the book which are
superbly written and give a real pull to the senses as they transported
me straight back to the streets of Victorian England."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Fresh Pot of Tea</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>http://alisondeluca.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/review-of-pre-raphaelite-seamstress.html</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>"</b>Part romance, part cozy mystery, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I4817O8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00I4817O8&linkCode=as2&tag=frpoofte-20" target="_blank">The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress</a> by Amita Murray
was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author has done a great deal of research
for the book, and this showed in a number of colorful details as well as rich
settings and backgrounds, glowing with life."</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rani Shergill</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R115A28EIWL6AY</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"This is a wonderful, rich and colourful book with vivid scenes describing life in Victorian London!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-66580804523032045302014-01-31T06:25:00.001-08:002014-01-31T06:26:42.188-08:00The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvyqFBC-USEbxTIgdHYugDyGYZxvdsO5sDPw90G6A4pTEsVnHmDHx8VhTHHunWtbWW4pj4bZqFUwLgEDeGrXYkpG5E9cXLOAjoNm2f03mlgVd6jnPdpLYEk4ONvAe8MYgYNqCxp2ctS1C/s1600/victorian+03+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvyqFBC-USEbxTIgdHYugDyGYZxvdsO5sDPw90G6A4pTEsVnHmDHx8VhTHHunWtbWW4pj4bZqFUwLgEDeGrXYkpG5E9cXLOAjoNm2f03mlgVd6jnPdpLYEk4ONvAe8MYgYNqCxp2ctS1C/s1600/victorian+03+(3).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress is available on Amazon<br />
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391175745&sr=8-1<br />
Buy here and read an excerpt<span style="font-family: Garamond;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The day I met Harry Twyfold, I was mistaken for a
whore. And a team of horses on the stage coach to Bath nearly killed me. It was not the first
time a man looked me up and down and offered me a few pennies to bend over and
lift my skirts, and it wouldn’t be the last. A seamstress has no virtue to
lose. And I have long ago given up the fight to explain myself." </span></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-12884968271101872202014-01-31T06:22:00.002-08:002014-01-31T06:22:37.002-08:00Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer on Amazon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdqKDXGRWdf79cZLPP0U5HA1Q3tiAiEhDBJqfgpFB5mGhWGMlwyFWoZEChwXisA4ufcSLCrRGZGKeNK4eTJdGIBb3hMTrmAq58VEGnVdgg-XKI0qvWW3oZkIbq2UXr0qZAm-4f4B91VBq/s1600/title03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdqKDXGRWdf79cZLPP0U5HA1Q3tiAiEhDBJqfgpFB5mGhWGMlwyFWoZEChwXisA4ufcSLCrRGZGKeNK4eTJdGIBb3hMTrmAq58VEGnVdgg-XKI0qvWW3oZkIbq2UXr0qZAm-4f4B91VBq/s1600/title03.png" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391175745&sr=8-1 - Buy it here, and read an excerpt<br />
<br />
Anna is engaged to one man, another keeps telling her she's his soul-mate, and all these dead bodies keep popping up....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-37915536086713041832014-01-13T11:26:00.002-08:002014-01-28T11:45:34.089-08:00Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer book cover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAx0wv9eUBM5FYblxM8xTFSQQDksQpNb9n70Yzan3XqrFBkQgR1WvaybyBqXwHGQRLAyZO4pQifvfNGiL-8Xl6RGVYqBO_jiPK35hUjzXro4133ap1Aw8N6ujN88v1gf93OftG_YBedEM/s1600/title03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAx0wv9eUBM5FYblxM8xTFSQQDksQpNb9n70Yzan3XqrFBkQgR1WvaybyBqXwHGQRLAyZO4pQifvfNGiL-8Xl6RGVYqBO_jiPK35hUjzXro4133ap1Aw8N6ujN88v1gf93OftG_YBedEM/s320/title03.png" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Stephanie Tkach has done a brilliant job with this cover. Tell me what you think! Either as a comment here, or on @AmitaMurray. I'd love to know.<br />
<br />
<br />
You would like this novel if you like comedy, rom-com, dysfunctional family humour, multi-cultural families. <br />
<br />
<br />
Read the blurb...<br />
<br />
Anna Patel styles dead people.<br />
(But they don't know that they're dead....Just kidding. They probably know...)<br />
<br />
Trapped
between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome desires, she
tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis. Now all she
needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent boyfriend -
and keep it all together till the wedding. Easy, right?<br />
<br />
During
a memorial service in her parents' (Ruth Worthing and Govind Patel) funeral home, a dead cat appears in a
casket. There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s
livelihood is hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief
embalmer keeps telling her that she's his soul-mate. With her heart and
happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and ask herself if
trying to be normal and dependable is all it's cracked up to be.<br />
<br />
<b>Publishers Weekly says</b>, "<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A
randy and light tone infuses this funny novel about a family who run a
funeral home in present day London. The author intersperses fascinating
tales about the
family’s clients, rendered with matter of fact good humour, as the
family
dramas spiral out of control. The book is a perfectly charming blend of
macabre
detail and the social dynamics of a multi-cultural family in the U.K.,
without
ever resorting to cliché, except to comic effect</span>."</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-9018786086640600082014-01-10T06:17:00.002-08:002014-01-10T08:40:46.028-08:00Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b>My first novel Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer is coming out on Kindle Publishing/Amazon very, very soon. The book is a rom-com set in a funeral home, so think Six Feet Under meets Simon Doonan and they go out to lunch with As Good As it Gets or Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I can't decide, something romantic and funny. </b><br />
<br />
Read the blurb...<br />
<br />
Anna Patel styles dead people.<br />
(But they don't know that they're dead....Just kidding. They probably know...)<br />
<br />
Trapped between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome desires, she tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis. Now all she needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent boyfriend - and keep it all together till the wedding. Easy, right?<br />
<br />
During a memorial service in her family's funeral home, a dead cat appears in a casket. There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s livelihood is hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief embalmer keeps telling her that she's his soul-mate. With her heart and happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and ask herself if trying to be normal and dependable is all it's cracked up to be.<br />
<br />
<b>Publishers Weekly says</b>, "<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A randy and light tone infuses this funny novel about a family who run a funeral home in present day London. The author intersperses fascinating tales about the
family’s clients, rendered with matter of fact good humour, as the family
dramas spiral out of control. The book is a perfectly charming blend of macabre
detail and the social dynamics of a multi-cultural family in the U.K., without
ever resorting to cliché, except to comic effect</span>."<br />
<br />
<b>Stephanie Tkach is working on a book cover, and I can't wait to share it with you. </b><br />
The book will be available<b> </b>as an e-edition and paperback. <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-59734271763952391462013-03-20T14:44:00.000-07:002013-03-20T14:44:33.196-07:00Brown's English Tea Room<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxTYm6Ks01VZaRV0Zkoas_PJOFO86ZUD9CzEBHavgwqs8ykclPTXu6jRX62Ahfvcp8o2QLFS8GrhT9C4oyH2eKtx3qLFuhGqDp3Hjpp_OpTikgXAtcYGr-DWn9bDK_HrxrKjtM6pJnRxz/s1600/Brown's+Hotel+-+historic+afternoon+tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxTYm6Ks01VZaRV0Zkoas_PJOFO86ZUD9CzEBHavgwqs8ykclPTXu6jRX62Ahfvcp8o2QLFS8GrhT9C4oyH2eKtx3qLFuhGqDp3Hjpp_OpTikgXAtcYGr-DWn9bDK_HrxrKjtM6pJnRxz/s320/Brown's+Hotel+-+historic+afternoon+tea.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MrrW8eGvP2SLJQ7IaCA6Wwtzn8jjKySECOUHancglNfBCh1ThdE7OvyEGalZ5aNKdYzyWE_3Pg4f7bRjkDMG3unKXQDhRnef8a2UWH4lBNFq06ApqObECJl4p0yvlz8yTKMq7pDgt_7X/s1600/LR+The+English+Tea+Room+at+Brown%27s+Hotel+-+Champagne+Afternoon+Tea++-+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MrrW8eGvP2SLJQ7IaCA6Wwtzn8jjKySECOUHancglNfBCh1ThdE7OvyEGalZ5aNKdYzyWE_3Pg4f7bRjkDMG3unKXQDhRnef8a2UWH4lBNFq06ApqObECJl4p0yvlz8yTKMq7pDgt_7X/s320/LR+The+English+Tea+Room+at+Brown%27s+Hotel+-+Champagne+Afternoon+Tea++-+close+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is Queen Victoria’s
lady-in-waiting, Anna Maria Stanhope, or the Duchess of Bedford, who is said to
have started the tradition of afternoon tea in England. She found that a light
lunch wasn’t quite enough to get her through to dinner, and by four in the
afternoon, she was dying of hunger pangs. There she was, in a situation we all
find ourselves in from time to time – ordering her servants to secretly bring
her pots of tea and bread to her bed chamber. But then she had a better idea.
She invited her friends to join her for five o’clock tea in her rooms at Belvoir Castle. As I always say, if everyone
else is doing it, the calories cancel each other out. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Unlike Gwendolen Fairfax, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Importance of Being Earnest</i>, who complains to Cecily Cardew
that there is sugar in her tea and cake on her plate instead of
bread-and-butter, the Duchess of Bedford went the whole hog. Her menu was made
up of delicate little cakes, a variety of sweets, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>bread-and-butter. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Starting from December 2012, Rocco Forte Brown’s Hotel is
celebrating a hundred-and-seventy-five years in business. If you are a tourist
in London, or
if you would just like to get a taste of Victorian England, try The English Tea
Room, at Rocco Forte’s Brown’s Hotel on Albemarle Street. You will be in auspicious
company. Rudyard Kipling wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Jungle
Book</i> at Brown’s, and Agatha Christie based her novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At Bertram’s Hotel </i>on Brown’s. But unlike Bertram’s, Brown’s is not
too good to be true. </div>
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Walk into the wood-panelled rooms of the tea room, that looks
like a study on a country estate, with its ceiling relief, decorated
architraves and other period features, and enjoy your afternoon tea to the very
chilled-out jazz rhythms of their resident musician, who plays at the piano
every afternoon and evening. Though the extensive tea menu boasts a de-tox and
a champagne option, I would choose the authentic experience and go for the
traditional afternoon tea. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Start with choosing from the seventeen teas available on the
menu. There is a range of black and green teas, and herbal infusions for the
caffeine-free. The personable servers (who look like they are part of a wedding
party in their tail-coats) will bring out your tea in silver tea-pots, and then
out will come the tiered cake-stand. Now, you might think, how good can
sandwiches get? Try the sandwiches at this tea room. That’s how good sandwiches
can get. They are miniature finger sandwiches, but you can eat as many
platefuls as you like. From chicken, ham, smoked salmon, to avocado, cucumber,
and cheese-and-pickle, there’s a variety to suit even the most exacting
sandwich connoisseurs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as you are thinking this tea cannot get any better, out
will come the freshly-baked scones with a pot-ful of Devonshire
clotted cream and strawberry jam. The scones melt in your mouth, and I would
diet for a few days before going there, to make up for the large amounts of
cream you are inevitably going to consume. If you’re getting full by now, then
I would say leave the miniature cakes, and save room instead for the cake
trolley. At the end of your meal, your server will bring out a cognac-laced
chocolate cake and a Victoria
sponge. Try a little of each if you dare. Phew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-48455126145822964242013-03-20T14:40:00.000-07:002013-03-23T07:15:03.879-07:00Sustainable City Awards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Livia Firth, the creative director of Eco Age, a consultancy that
offers solutions for people who want to think greener and live longer,
has gone from a doctorate in film, through making thought-provoking
documentaries, all the way to acting as judge at the Sustainable City
Awards held at Mansion House on 19 March. Firth - wife of Colin
Firth, wearer of sustainable and ethically-sourced red carpet creations,
recently nominated a United Nations Leader of change - was a fitting
judge for the sustainable business awards that have teamed up with the
British Fashion Council in their twelfth year. She handed the best
fashion designer award to Fair Trade hat company - yes, a milliners! -
Pachacuti.<br />
<br />
Pachacuti designer Carry Somers makes hand-blocked
hats, and gives colourful twists to classic fedoras and panamas that are
specially made for her in Ecuador. Somers's hunt for ethical Fair Trade
fashion once found her seven months pregnant and shipwrecked off the
coast of Belize, fighting poisonous spiders. As Hagrid would say, "If
anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do would be
ter follow the spiders. That'd lead 'em right! That's all I'm sayin'."<br />
<br />
Marks
and Spencer walked away with the award for the most ethical high street
chain, because of their invention of clothing like the world's most
sustainable jacket. The jacket, priced at £349, is made from Australian
organic wool, that is dyed and spun in Italy, and then shipped to China
for the final stage of production. All the material is ethically
sourced, even if their air-miles-per-jacket ratio isn't looking too
good. M&S were further commended for their Oxfam shwopping venture,
and for keeping Lisa Snowdon in employment. Just kidding. <br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
Thrifty
Couture took the award for Overall Winner. The company takes reclaimed
clothing to make affordable fashion items. If that's not enough, they
give unemployed youngsters from inner-city London apprenticeship
training. <br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
Firth could have been an awards
contender herself for her Green Carpet Challenge, where she encourages
A-list celebs to spend their millions on sustainable fashion choices
that are at the same time ethical and glamorous. As she says, "There are
no excuses now not to lead a more sustainable life style."<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
http://www.thelondonword.com/2013/03/the-sustainable-city-awards/ <br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" /></div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-86205378317130292942013-01-02T13:03:00.001-08:002013-01-02T13:03:32.672-08:00Top Fashion Trends for 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3hJ9zcukTNc3NPiPkyjJloERen2vBCRlIEiLdzS3sVr1lB2bIALOLnxO5HYEqKaN9FkDZaqz0rBs03hxvzLDe1Rn5waAe6wjEhtW4YfMMvANkVKm1DCfR3krmy_d23FRqAZjraZkwJ4a/s1600/Henry+Holland1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3hJ9zcukTNc3NPiPkyjJloERen2vBCRlIEiLdzS3sVr1lB2bIALOLnxO5HYEqKaN9FkDZaqz0rBs03hxvzLDe1Rn5waAe6wjEhtW4YfMMvANkVKm1DCfR3krmy_d23FRqAZjraZkwJ4a/s320/Henry+Holland1.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of Holland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz2e36NWlhV_eXRqXQJNbuWlGXnk1FHsBZAhdYg-RKw8v6ZoWw0dvBC0IrsGoj_7WcvYu6u28WWICzuZTyUEY7sLdHiUcAOUEu6Ontx-NlXZ6fTr073k9S0pYAXrCaNeLGiny9KkE7ULu/s1600/Mary+K1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz2e36NWlhV_eXRqXQJNbuWlGXnk1FHsBZAhdYg-RKw8v6ZoWw0dvBC0IrsGoj_7WcvYu6u28WWICzuZTyUEY7sLdHiUcAOUEu6Ontx-NlXZ6fTr073k9S0pYAXrCaNeLGiny9KkE7ULu/s320/Mary+K1.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary K</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNk973UzXsmAf4Z_QzjFR4W0B76q-vmpQ8dz5kDezdnKjH1cn12pyfeSyolQZlim5TRGJy2SK4x-Lu2NYuc3JSQxhVE4xWBtwL_gMuUJdMsiViCcYABKkEI5p2xyvUmoaPPR25qf7hk0e/s1600/Meadham+Kirchhoff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNk973UzXsmAf4Z_QzjFR4W0B76q-vmpQ8dz5kDezdnKjH1cn12pyfeSyolQZlim5TRGJy2SK4x-Lu2NYuc3JSQxhVE4xWBtwL_gMuUJdMsiViCcYABKkEI5p2xyvUmoaPPR25qf7hk0e/s320/Meadham+Kirchhoff2.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meadham Kirchhoff</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Published on The London Word http://www.thelondonword.com/2013/01/top-trends-for-2013/<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Top Trends for 2013</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw someone walking down the street in a Onesie the other
day. And by someone, I don’t mean a toddler. I mean a full-fledged,
I-should-be-paying-taxes-but-I’m-probably-not kind of adult. And she – for it
was a she – was wearing a pink velour Onesie. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I’m broad-minded. I can understand how some people
might want to wear, say, trendy tights with sandals. Also, I don’t wear
stilettos, but I get that skittering around on eight-inch, pencil-thin heels
might be considered sexy by some. I don’t totally get denim with denim, but,
okay, I’ll admit that it may have a Village People type of appeal to it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But a Onesie? For an adult? And not in the comfort of your
bedroom, with the lights out, curtains drawn, and while every inch of you is covered
with a duvet, but in broad daylight? Out on a street? And not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> the Mayan calendar has brought the
world to an end? (About that – has anyone considered that they might have run
out of paper?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, so besides the hopefully-short-lived adult Onesie,
what else does 2013 have in store? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stripes</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t think boring horizontal stripes on a shapeless
sweatshirt, the kind your mum wears when she goes to Tesco. Think Henry
Holland. His panelled outfits for AW2012 have a strangely organic, yet deeply-digital
look about them. They are now available in all their colourful symmetry at
Urban Outfitters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tapestry</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Victorian fashion is always in vogue. All those lovely
corsets and hoops, with hip-enhancing bustles and bunches of roses beribboned
on to your cleavage. But this year, there are two other historical trends that
are centre-stage. The Tudors with their tapestry and frilly collars, and the
flappers with their dropped waists and too-cool-for-school head bands. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shorts-suit</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I’ve been harping on about the shorts-suit, but it’s
such a cool look. You can try it in hip tweed to wear to the office, or in
bubblegum pink with an orange waistcoat <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
la</i> Gangnam Style. Or, if you’re feeling especially daring, give sequinned
hotpants <a href="http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/12/trend-spot-strictly-style/">http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/12/trend-spot-strictly-style/</a>
or leather shorts a try. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Water</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If 2012 was all about tropical and digi-prints, 2013 may be
turning towards a water motif for its prints. So, bring out those aqua colours,
seaside prints, and, of course, if you can choose designer wear, try on Ada
Zanditon’s obsession with sea horses for size. <a href="http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/02/ethical-designer-ada-zanditon/">http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/02/ethical-designer-ada-zanditon/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monochrome</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By monochrome, I don’t just mean white and black prints. I
mean, go the whole hog with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fifty Shades
of Grey</i> S&M style, and try white lace and black leather, or white lace
and black velvet. Accessorize with leather whips and flatback hair brushes.
(Okay, don’t do that.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sheer</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may be getting a little tired of lace dresses – we kind
of wore them to death in 2012. But sheer is still in. Sheer arms and shoulders,
transparent panels, lacey tights, it all works. If you go the way of Temperley
London, in their SS2013 collection, you can get sheer panels with stripes all
in the same outfit. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bare midriffs</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m not too keen on the waist cut-out look. I prefer the
crop top with a long billowing skirt outfit. Or a straight skirt, for that
matter, like Rihanna wearing a Miu Miu to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012. Bare
midriffs were all over the SS2013 runways, with Balenciaga taking the lead with
crop tops and trousers, ruffle skirts, minis and asymmetric skirts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, expect all things baby to be on top of the list
of trends. Still, no adult Onesies, please!</div>
</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-72561305655638975802012-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:002012-12-23T13:42:13.411-08:00Five Questions I Asked Santa… <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published in The London Word http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/12/five-questions-i-asked-santa/<br />
<br />
Christmas is around the corner and my anxiety levels are rising.
I’ve promised – yet again – to spend it with the family. It’ll be super-duper
to see them. Really, it will. For a few days, I won’t have to do any cooking or
cleaning. I will shlep around in my PJs. I will eat as much as I want, and add
a dollop or two of double cream to everything. (If everyone else is doing it,
the calories cancel each other out.) And I might actually get the chance this
time round to rummage in the attic for that missing box of LPs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it heaven on earth? It might be – if it weren’t for all
the talking. The one-on-one questions from relatives – How’s that book coming
along? Oh, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still </i>no publisher? Have
you got a proper job yet? Does it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pay</i>?
– I can just about handle. From years of experience, I’ve realized that
smiling, nodding and praising said relative’s Labradoodle, Christmas tofurky, exfoliated
chin, and general outlook on life will win me points and get the attention away
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, it’s the general barrage of noise that I’m scared of.
The onslaught, an incessant nattering, that starts at 5.30am on Christmas Eve
and then continues all day and well into and beyond Boxing Day. I just know
that Auntie B will tell that ginseng story again that will include a series of racial
slurs cunningly disguised as worldly wisdom. Cousin J will show me his boils. And
Uncle T will make me a spread-sheet on all the ways I’m going wrong in my life.
And they will do so all at the same time. All in the same ear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, when I bumped into Santa the other day in TGI Friday, a
little red faced and frost-bitten from all his toy-shop appearances and global
warming respectively, I asked him – Why do I put myself through this every
year?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa, why must I shop till I drop at
Christmas?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (with a saucy
smile):</b> Because it is the sexy thing to do! Do you know my favourite author,
my dear? It is Sophia Kinsella! The woman has made living on a permanent
over-draft – with masses of unpaid bills and mounting credit card debt – sexy!
If before the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shopaholic</i> series you
felt guilty and a little dirty to do all that shopping, now you feel helplessly
feminine, charmingly kooky, and flighty – but in an endearing way. And you know
how it goes. You’ve asked your mum to tell all the relatives not to buy you
presents, because you’re broke (yes, again) and you can’t afford to
reciprocate. But, you know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone</i>
will get you a present. They will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">say</i>
that it doesn’t matter in the least that you didn’t get them anything, but it will!
If I were you, cupcake, I’d pop in at Lush on the way out and get everyone some
soap. It’s good for the economy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is</i>
it good for the economy?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (taking a few
sips of his appletini):</b> Of course! We must maintain the status quo! Imagine
for a minute that Mr. Bank Manager didn’t earn five hundred thousand pounds
this year, and you, doll – a writer, did you say? Spiffing! Really, top notch!
Here, have a free mince pie, you look a little hungry. Where was I? Yes, if you
earned more than, say, seven thousand a year, or if you didn’t have to pay the
editor just to publish your articles, and if Mr. Bank Manager didn’t live in a
penthouse overlooking Hyde Park, where would
we all be? The economy has taken a beating lately, and the government wants us
to spend so we can go back to being in denial. It is natural to be in denial.
Clarity would only bring us down!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Err, right. Okay, so why must I eat till I
pop?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa:</b> It beats
me how you’re supposed to know when to stop! Once you start with the turkey and
the roast potatoes, move on through the extra stuffing to the pudding and the
cream, why, you have to come back to the potatoes! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why must I put cucumber in my wine and egg
in my nog?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Santa (now a little
woozy): </b>Perfection is boring, my little lollipop. Excess, excess! Celebrate
excess! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gotcha. Then, why must I drink till I – Oh,
never mind, I already know the answer to that one…</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509401504123796508.post-29456678848937993972012-11-13T09:30:00.001-08:002012-11-13T09:30:16.286-08:00Hollywood Costume at the V&A<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgb59tFpPa-aZcQ5eI51-51IKAxKGrIzqg2OhPa1hwVudE0NpfyTj-cMqLPjUDVPmuSwGvXGukDK12s7ITU-Kxa-tYmRkOSZm_LtixJ1Y1VehVRltti43NTWt9Yv9r_matcqMv7OOStkwD/s1600/Hollywood_Costume_exhibition_sponsored_by_Harry_Winston_at_the_VA_2012._Copyright_VA_Images_JPG_610x610_q85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgb59tFpPa-aZcQ5eI51-51IKAxKGrIzqg2OhPa1hwVudE0NpfyTj-cMqLPjUDVPmuSwGvXGukDK12s7ITU-Kxa-tYmRkOSZm_LtixJ1Y1VehVRltti43NTWt9Yv9r_matcqMv7OOStkwD/s320/Hollywood_Costume_exhibition_sponsored_by_Harry_Winston_at_the_VA_2012._Copyright_VA_Images_JPG_610x610_q85.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you’ve never watched even one Marilyn Monroe film, you’re
still likely to have a mental image of her in a flyaway white dress, standing
above a vent, trying to keep the hem of her dress from travelling up to her
neck. This was in the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Seven-Year
Itch. </i>In another Billy Wilder film – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Some
Like it Hot</i> – rumour has it that Monroe
had to film one simple scene more than fifty times. All she had to do was knock
on a door, enter a room and ask for a glass of bourbon with those seductive red
lips of hers, but she kept getting it wrong. So, maybe she wasn’t the best
actress in the world, but Monroe
had such strong personal style that it takes only a few iconic accessories – a
mole on the cheek, a blonde bob, and a white dress – to perfectly capture her
look. </div>
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This is the alchemy of a good Hollywood
costume designer. In a few simple strokes, they tell a character and a story.
Think Ruby Slippers and you are instantly transported to the world of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wizard of Oz</i>. There were around fifteen
ruby slippers created for the film, of which Judy Garland wore several, and the
dead witch and the witch of the East wore others. A pair of these notorious slippers
are now on view at the V&A, along with iconic costumes such as those worn
by Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pirates
of the Caribbean</i>), Rose DeWitt (Kate Winslet in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Titanic</i>), and of course Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Raiders of the Lost Ark</i>.) You can also
buy a pair of ruby slipper earrings at the V&A store. </div>
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On display are interviews with actors like Robert De Niro
and Meryl Streep, talking about the role that costume has played in bringing
their characters to life. Streep, who remarks on how her strong opinions about
her costumes can often make the life of a costume designer difficult, says, “On
every film, the clothes are half the battle in creating the character. I have a
great deal of opinion about how my people are presented. We show a great deal
by what we put on our bodies.”</div>
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The exhibition is divided into three sections. The first
deconstructs screenplays. It shows us how the simple directions – “he wears a
leather jacket, a flapped holster and a brimmed felt hat” – are transformed
into Indiana Jones. The second sections deals with the dialogue between actor
and designer, and how putting on a costume makes the actor <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel</i> like their character. The third – the finale – is a smorgasbord
of famous costumes. So, what costume gives you your very own Becky Bloomwood
moment? The Bride (Uma Thurman in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kill
Bill</i>),<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Dorothy’s pinafore in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wizard of Oz</i>, or Tony Manero’s white
suit (John Travolta in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saturday night
Fever</i>)?</div>
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Published at http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/11/hollywood-costume-at-the-va/ </div>
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Amita Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003141911678889126noreply@blogger.com0