weird ways of the past

I came across this intriguing - if not a little unsettling - image at the Welcome Collection's 'Skin' exhibition, taken in 1921. At first glance I presumed it to be depicting sufferers of some horrific skin disease that required minimum exposure, or protection of the skin following some tragic accident. Silly me. Far from being anything quite as dramatic, these women were simply sporting 'rubber face masks', believed to help remove wrinkles and blemishes. 

It's funny to see how womens' obsession with looking youthful, and their willingness to achieve this through any means possible, transcends the centuries. I'm sure there are many anti-aging treatments out there at the moment that will seem just as ridiculous in a hundred years time...

most wanted: Soup Spoon

GENIUS. This is how all soup spoons should be. Part ladle, part regular rounded soup spoon (plus light to hold) - it is a prime example of effective ergonomic design; allowing you to enjoy your soup in style, with minimum risk of accidental spillages.

everything but the food...

THIS week I found myself in a bit of a quandary. For me, a great local pub should comprise of the following elements: a good crowd, reasonably priced drinks, and deliciously enticing pub grub. So what happens if it ticks two out of three boxes. And the missing link is the food?? A vital ingredient surely, as your local should not only be the watering hole, but also the place in which to satisfy your carb attack the following day.

The pub in question that raised this dilemma was The Wandle. A friend and I were house-sitting in Earlsfield, and so naturally had to check out what the area had to offer. The Wandle consists of an interior that is eclectic yet not overdone: old cinema seats fold out in front of a large fire, old Beano cards are used for bar tabs; and an exterior that encourages use of the garden as though it was your own: patches of lawn, sofa areas, cosy nooks and - most surprisingly - an unlimited supply of topless athletic bodies sported in the glorious sunshine by large groups of guys... 

And so, in search of somewhere to recover from the night before, and in preparation for the night to come, we entered this haven of a pub garden to refuel our battered bodies. And how magnificently our new local failed us.

beachlife

THE riverbank of the Thames may not exactly be the people's choice when it comes to enjoying some summer sun in the city, but these guys have made the managed to make the beach opposite the OXO tower look almost idyllic...  

travel bite: Ios, Greece

SO, back from the holiday and I can say with confidence that the terrible cliche of how I now needed another holiday to recover was certainly the case after time spent on this little island...

internal flight from athens to san torini

Following a mammoth journey getting there - airplane, 5hr kip on airport seating, propeller plane, taxi, boat, taxi - we arrived exhausted on what we soon found out was the party island. Not for Brits of course, who the majority of which quite naturally do not have the inclination to endure a journey time equivalent to that of one to the other side of the world; instead it was the predominantly Aussie and Swedish visitors that were lending this island its reputation.

katerina's rooms

legless

LEGS for sale. Head down to Kempton Park's antiques market and trawling your way through a vast array of goods you are sure to find a treasure. My oddity of choice this week had to be this pair of artificial limbs...