What a week! It got off to a good start when on Tuesday while making some soup I stumbled upon this parsnip. Just look at it.

And the rest of the week has been equally exciting. It has been pretty full of culture vulture activity all topped off with some Halloween fancy dress.....

It all started off with a brilliant night at The Royal Opera House where I saw Romeo and Juliet, lovely traditional evening with a serving of champagne - felt so suave.....

Then the next day I went to hear costume designer Carlo Poggioli, who has done the costumes for the new Romeo and Juliet film! We got to have a sneaky peek at some of the costumes. He was such a cheeky chappy and had great advice such as.....

 'Take time to become a costume designer' and 'Never tell a director they are wrong.'

- wise words Poggioli.

Beginning of the film Juliet wears white, symbolising her purity and innocence.

Bad quality photo, but this skirt detail was beautiful, inspired by the content of Juliet's speech, how she talks of the moon and stars.

By the end of the film, Juliet's dress is very similiar to her initial costume, however the red mirrors how her character has developed with the tragedy.

And then I went to one of The National Portrait Gallery's late nights, 'The Elizabethans undressed' ! Great fun, if a tad on the busy side. As well as watching some dressings, I went to a talk on Elizabethan make-up, and how it all centered around their knowledge of herbal remedies, for such things as bad skin, teeth whitening and urm gum tightening? Learnt so much, like how they used to pluck out their eyelashes and for bad breath they recommended drinking mulled wine - something I could get used to.

Dressing in action.

Elizabethan beauty concoctions being put to the test.



'To make the hands and face white -
Take leaves and roots of nettle and boil them in water and with this water wash your hands and face and they will become white and soft.'

- 'Gli Experimenti' by Caterina Sforza (c.1500)

 Oh I felt busy! But my week wasn't quite over, I still had some fancy dress to do - what a hardship! This time an ode to the AMAZING Tim Burton by dressing, with Snow, as Beetlejuice and Lydia. I loved it and had a cracking night.....

 After all that I am winding down with a cuppa and catching up on Downton, looking towards the week ahead which includes my final crit for The Tempest, the beginning of some work experience, a student night at The Wallace Collection and an 80's themed party! Best get a good bit a sleep tonight!