Submitted! Time to Wait…

When I first heard about the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition I remembered that I have a few images that I could submit, but as I don’t consider myself a wildlife photographer, I decided not to bother. I also recalled seeing some of the winning images at the London Natural History Museum – this of course also didn’t boost my self-esteem…

Well, it’s definitely one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, attracting entries from photographers worldwide and, when I noticed that the deadline for submitting images was approaching, I decided to at least have a look at the rules and requirements. I’m glad I did. In fact seeing these rules made me realize that the right approach is - if you don’t take part, you can’t win.

I paid twenty pounds, that’s the standard fee, and submitted some images. When I say “some”, I mean twenty – the maximum amount. I didn’t think I’d come up with so many, but I did! There are lots of categories, but no more than five images can be entered into a single category. I managed to find images for botanical realms, urban wildlife, behavior: birds, animal portraits, wildscapes and creative visions.

So I have submitted. Now I’ll have to wait…

Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja)

The aim of this competition: “by encouraging innovation and creativity whilst maintaining excellence in nature photography, the Competition seeks to promote the discovery, understanding, and responsible enjoyment of the natural world.”

Young Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

What the organizers are looking for: “freshness, originality, creativity and innovation are at the core of the Competition and should be reflected in all images that are submitted.”

The Baltic Sea

Hmm… it might be that I have just wasted twenty pounds, but anyway, please wish me luck.

P.S. Closing date for entries has been extended to Monday 27 February 2012 at 09:00 GMT.

Some Thoughts on Shrove Tuesday

How many pancakes have you had today? Five, eight or maybe even ten!? Make sure you have plenty, as Lent starts tomorrow!

I don’t think that many of us remember what Lent is. Well, we’ve definitely heard about it, but  just theoretically. It should be a period of fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence that lasts till Easter, but when it comes to sticking to it… we simply don’t.

And if I ask you about the pancake day? Hmm… I’m 100% sure you won’t miss it. Am I right?

Making Pancakes, Illustration from 'Le Petit Journal', 26th February 1911

Some traditions do die off, still many keep going; although they might eventually lose their true meaning (just like the pagan rituals have been replaced by the Christian holidays). We seem to like the jolly things in life – if it’s Christmas we crave for presents and Easter has become the feast for chocolate eggs, so no wonder we remember Shrove Tuesday, but forget that it’s followed by the Ash Wednesday.

I’m not judging. I don’t want to say if such change is bad or good. It’s up to you how you want to view everything in life and I’m sure that if you don’t want to practice Lent, you will find a million reasons why not to (as it is the pretty body cult has taught us to torture ourselves with diets too often – I’m helping you already). I’m just of the opinion that we should always take a closer look at our holidays and know the basics – first of all the hidden meaning and why we celebrate them.

John Bull, Pancakes Day Races Magazine, UK, 1951

Anyway, lets get back to the pancake day. Here are some Shrove Tuesday festivities you might not have known about:

In England, as part of community celebration, many towns held traditional Shrove Tuesday football (‘Mob football’) games, dating as far back as the 12th century.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as a ‘half-holiday’ in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell.

On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

Scarborough celebrates by closing the foreshore to all traffic, closing schools early, and inviting all to skip. Traditionally, long ropes were used from the nearby harbour. The town crier rings the pancake bell, situated on the corner of Westborough (Main Street) and Huntress Row.

The children of the hamlet of Whitechapel, Lancashire keep alive a local tradition by visiting local households and asking “please a pancake”, to be rewarded with oranges or sweets. It is thought the tradition arose when farm workers visited the wealthier farm and manor owners to ask for pancakes or pancake fillings.

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Enjoy your pancakes! and don’t forget to decide what to do with that Lent thing…

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A short anathomy of Lent: there are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour).

Information and images found on Wikipedia and AllPosters.com

The Queen of the Tea Cosies!

Today we have opened our 3rd E-Exhibition this year – “Tea Cosies!?” by Loani Prior. I must admit I was really looking forward to it and I’m very happy that Decor-Art has an opportunity to show them to the world and, of course, to spread the word! (Please click here to visit the exhibition.)

You might say that knitted tea cosies are old fashioned or at least girly, but I believe that these, as Loani puts it, “little knitted objects d’art” are to die for. Trust me, after seeing this exhibition you will either dream of having one or, if you’re a man of action, actually start knitting! Their images will follow you (even haunt you!) until you have one.

Anyway, meet Loani, who has kindly agreed to answer some of our questions.

Loani and one of her rather royal creations

How and where did you learn to knit?

It is a question that every knitter can answer in a flash as if it were the most important thing they ever learned. Try it. Ask anyone. It is most usually a grandmother or a favourite aunt. For me? I was six and Mrs Theodosiou, the Greek neighbour, taught me.

Why tea cosies? Are tea parties as popular in Australia as they are in the UK?

It was an accident. A lucky, lucky accident. I made ten tea cosies for a family Christmas, almost ten years ago now. Even the twenty year old young men got tea cosies. Manly tea cosies. It’s all gone completely nuts from there really. Tea IS very popular in Australia, with tea houses popping up all over the place more recently. The ritual of taking tea has returned big time. And the ritual isn’t complete without a tea cosy now is it.

Let us into a secret – how many teapots have you got?

Nah. Not telling.

You have published 3 books… about knitted tea cosies… Where do you seek inspiration?

The more ideas you have, the more ideas you have. That very first book was a big struggle to fill with twenty-four different cosy designs, but now there are so many ideas, there is room for editing. The important thing is to understand which are flotsam and jetsam and which are jewels.

Ideas come from everywhere and everything; the world is a wonderful place. Chooks, gardens, coral reefs, New Guinea masks, haute couture, crazy furniture. I think my cosies are mostly graphic with a sense of humour, funny little knitted sculptures for the teapot.

The 3rd Loani's book will be released in Australia and the UK this April (2012)

What do you do when you don’t knit?

Eat. Drink. Oh that’s right, I do that while knitting. Just kidding. I garden. I have the most magnificent subtropical garden filled with Australian natives and then some African exotics. There is a small vegie garden too but the battle with insects is a bit disheartening.

In our winter months (your summer months) I seem to be away from home quite a bit teaching knitting in cold places. Yes it gets cold where I live but it gets much colder in the Southern Highlands of NSW and in Victoria and Tasmania. It feels like a real treat to wear wool and to make woolly things in a cold climate, as if everything is in order.

Tell us more about “Portraits of the Tea Cosies”. Can any tea cosy fan participate?

Well, it is an Aussie project at the moment. But you never know. It was Joan that let me in on the secret of the tea cosy. I met Joan at the launch of the first book “Wild Tea Cosies”, at the book-signing end of the evening. She handed me her copy and then pulled out her own tea cosy to show me. It was old and more bare than threadbare but she held that tea cosy like it was her favourite thing in the world and she told me a story.

The 3 books about tea cosies

Joan’s grandmother had knitted the tea cosy with her own young hands when she was a new bride. Her grandmother had used it every day of her married life and when she died, Joan’s mother had taken the cosy and used it too and now that she was dead, it was Joan’s. That funny old thing was almost eighty years old and it was filled with all the love and memories of three life times. And that is the secret of the tea cosy.

This year, photographer, Mark Crocker and I are gathering portraits and stories of Tea Cosy Guardians from around Australia. You can find out more on my website under the “Portraits Project” banner. This is the year of gathering. Next year, 2013, is the year of exhibition – photographic portraits, audio stories and yes – even more Queen of the Tea Cosies designs.

Thank you for your answers, Loani, and, of course, keep knitting.

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If you liked Loani’s tea cosies you can always visit her blog, where she shares her new ideas and information on the comming up workshops and events.