I know for most people history was probably one of their worst subjects at school but it can actually be quite interesting; you just need to find an area that fascinates you.

Having a long weekend to enjoy after the wedding, we decided to check out the Titanic exhibition at Chatham Dockyard.  I must admit it wasn’t quite what I expected and I was disappointed that I couldn’t try on the heart of the ocean necklace; but I did enjoy it and it awakened my interest in history, as well as reminding me of when the film was released in 1997 when I was a teenager in love with Leonardo DiCaprio.  I remember wanting to watch all his films and Mum only allowing me to see ‘Basketball Diaries’ if she watched it with me as I was too young for its 18 rating.  At the time I think my walls were covered with Leonardo and Backstreet Boys!  I would dream that I met them and they fell in love with me.

My boyfriend and I recreated the famous scene from the film on the railings.  That evening we decided to watch the film and I cried yet again!  It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I watch it, I still ball my eyes out.

 

I think one of the most moving things about the Titanic disaster was the arrogance of human nature.  They really believed that the ship was unsinkable so saw no need to ‘clutter’ up the deck with life boats.  It is also sad to see how class determined whether you were to be saved; 34% o f first class men were saved whilst only 30% of third class children.

Sunday evening, after enjoying a roast dinner, I tried to get my boyfriend to sit through the film Coco before Chanel.  He was having none of it though so I compromised with The Cashmere Mafia.  We were barely 5 minutes into it when the television and DVD player turned off.  Turns out there was a fire in a junction box in the road and so we had to endure a power cut for the rest of the evening.  If I didn’t know better, I would think my boyfriend had arranged it to get out of the girly films.  I was just annoyed to already be in my pyjamas when there were fit fireman just a few doors down!

We lit some candles and amused ourselves with cards as well as polishing off quite a proportion of a wine box.  It wasn’t like we could make a hot drink, so of course we had no choice but to stay on the wine!  I paid for it the next morning though and even woke up talking French, much to my boyfriend’s confusion!  It got me thinking about what life would have been like for the first occupant of our house in 1898 without all our modern amusements.  The next day I got researching and found the name of the first owner and his occupation.

 

This led me on to think about Victorian and Edwardian fashion.  This autumn Victorian is one of the many trends making a comeback, along with cord, 40’s and 70’s.  I love the lace of the Victoriana clothes, so girly and pretty.  I found an interesting website for anyone interested in learning more about fashion especially of shoes at the time of the Titanic sinking.

http://www.vintagedancer.com/titanic-edwardian-shoes-for-women-buy-or-make/

In my parents collection I discovered this old picture of my Dad’s side of the family which would have been taken around 1914.  It’s interesting to see the fashion of the day.

Let’s have fun and experiment with fashion this coming season!  So many eras to choose from for inspiration; where to start?

Getting back to the sinking of Titanic which will be 100 years ago next April; there was such a sense of excitement at the time it set sail, a feeling of hope and dreams of endless possibilities.  This can be likened to how most of us feel as we grow up.  As teenagers we believe we are indestructible and can do anything we want to do but as we get older we realise this is not always the case.

At the wedding one of our friends pointed out that we left school 10 years ago.  What a scary thought!  When we left we created a yearbook and put in it our dreams for the future.  We probably felt full of optimism, much like those Titanic passengers.  Circumstances get in the way though and we often end up treading paths we didn’t imagine.  This is sometimes for the better however.

I went for a friends birthday drink with people from school, in a bar in Soho during the week called Barrio Central.  I must be getting old as I don’t have the stamina I used to for drinking on a ‘school’ night! Was nice to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen for a while though, despite the ‘mouthwash’ cocktails on offer (a Mojito with an extra large helping of mint!)  I was glad that the riots had calmed down; otherwise many of us wouldn’t have wanted to venture out in London.  The riots were really quite scary and give us an insight of what life during the Blitz must have been like.

The weekend just gone, my boyfriend and I met up with a friend and her other half.  I got to continue my birthday as she gave me my present.  We got on to talking about when we first met at school at about the age of 13.  It’s funny looking back and reminiscing.  Perhaps it’s something about approaching 30 that we are all starting to look back.

Sunday was spent working in the garden.  It felt really satisfying to get it looking nice but I got very sunburnt.  Strange that I find a sense of enjoyment from gardening now, if you had asked me 10 years ago, I didn’t have the slightest interest!  How things change.  The neighbour kindly gave us some plums from her tree so I made a crumble; how very domesticated!  Both my boyfriend and I ached like crazy that evening though; a snapshot of 50 years time when we will be sharing our aches and pains!

From bridal shower to baby shower, Sunday evening was spent making invites for my brother’s girlfriend’s belated baby shower.  As I stuck down the Disney princesses, it struck me how we all dream of that happy ending.  On the train the other day, I overheard a girl of 8 saying that she must keep her drawing safe as it was the plan for her wedding!

The important thing I take from these last couple of weeks is that despite us all progressing through the book of life at different rates; some travelling, some married, some parents and some in between them all; us friends can all still find time to come together on the same page occasionally.  That’s true friendship for you.  We share a history and despite each entering new chapters, we share a common bond.  Friends and family make the world go round and always will.