Saturday 24 December 2011

Liverpool, UK: Celebrating a Birthday



 'It's my Birthday!!'



'YAY'


'Icon People'
('ICON' was the student radio station we all presented on back when we were studying at The University of Liverpool)


Alex, Tommy B and Maffus.

This is us not eating food, not drinking tea, and not talking about Mike's previous comment in the Philharmonic Pub about me dressing like a boy in Uni...


Tom taking the opportunity to show me just how much his friend Alex looks like John Lennon...


Me leaning over a balcony at the Kazimier Club in Liverpool with my housemate Mags.

I couldn't chalk here (too many watching eyes) but I did accidentally leave my mark anyway (I saw a nice skirt at the market and, in my excitement, spilt mulled wine all over my coat and all over the*...)


Mmm, mulled wine.






*floor.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Sefton Park, Liverpool: running, swinging, falling

"Christmas is coming, the bird is getting fat, so out I took my chalkbox, in my favourite winter hat..."


On December 13th, 2011, I arranged to meet my buddy Chris for a trip to Sefton Park. I had worked a late shift in work the night before so I was too tired to bother about matching my clothes. I sat and waited on my doorstep in a khaki green coat, my favourite khaki green jeans and a grey bobble hat...


'Sitting on my doorstep waiting for Chris'


He took ages.


So long, in fact, that I started thinking about Christmas and other days that are a long way off...


Wrote some nice greetings on the doorstep...


Let all of the heat out of our house by shifting from the doorstep to take a photo...


Quickly smudged the last bit because Chris turned up...

(When I first typed that line I wrote 'Christ')


'SO MANY BIRDS!!'

When we got to the park, I had to crouch on the floor to stop forty thousands birds feet hitting me in the face and making me feel sick...



It looks like there aren't so many now, but if only you could see just a little to the left of this photograph...


Birds pretending they wouldn't hurt a fly...


Calmer views to calm my nerves... (we all know what a bird is capable of)


Documenting Chris getting so close to a swan that if it wanted to flap its wings and snap his legs, it could...



'Chris being brave'


Just one flap, brother...



Ruffled feathers.


Weird neck thing.


An evil side glance.


'First chalk walk with Chris since Glastonbury' (well, the Glasto post)


'And we've been talking about...'


'Swinging...'


While Chris was talking, I noticed a tree swing behind his head that I had never noticed before...


Look!


Chris testing its strength...


Hope you don't have those jeans with the hole in them, like...


He has...


Oh dear...


I fell down the bank shortly before this photo was taken...


'Cured meat'

Chris probably tried to change the subject to avoid talking about the huge mud stain on the back of my coat, and the fact he still hasn't sewn up the hole in his jeans...


^ The birds from earlier

'& plans for 2012'


We both have lots of those...

:)

Monday 10 October 2011

Liverpool, UK: Chalk meets Peaches & Cream



It's time to take the chalkboard out for the day...



ummm...


'To Peaches & Cream!'

My friend Rose works at a local beauty salon in Liverpool called Peaches & Cream. On this particular day I scheduled my face in for her to practise her 'glitter smokes'.

Scared to chalk inside the building (because I was definitely taking some sticks with me), I took my own chalkboard. Aiming to please, I took in a small pink cupcake, too...

Oh, and I ordered a taxi.
It's on Dale Street...


Which is NOWHERE near my house...




The front of Peaches & Cream!


'Hello Helen :) Welcome to Peaches x x'

A nice welcome!


It's time for a '#Roseover'...

(Hashtags remind Rose and I of a gig we went to in the city a few months ago. It was too loud to talk so we, using our phones, adopted the hashtag method of communicating our thoughts. It made sense to carry on the tradition today to avoid moving my face to talk/to make use of my hands and my chalk.)


This is Rose.


This is her make-up collection....


This is uh...


...before the glitter stage



Yip, that one's nice.


Yep, I like it.


Yeah, that one as well...


Shortly after Rose mixed this, I flipped it onto the floor...


'Too much for work?'

'NO'

There was still the rest of my face to cover...

So I shut my eyes and we had a little chat.

Firstly, about The Maccabees...

(Rose is going to see them live)



Then about other people's weddings...

(She did the make-up for a whole host of them in the summer...)


And then about uh...morphine.



And by the time we stopped discussing bands, young love and aches, it was complete :)


Eyes shut!


Eyes open!


And not an ounce of powder out of place/all the way down my face...


Love the makeover. Love my new postcard.


Love that the photo of my rabbit from the chalkboard now lives in the salon...


But sad to go.


Bye fish in your great big tank!

#Iwanttoownyou


Bye welcoming lady with the neat handwriting!

'Byeeee'


It's time to face the music...(work)


Well, right after I've run around the city with my new look...


...and drunk tea in a place where I would usually only wear mascara.


***


Making girls in Liverpool feel awesome est. 2003.


'I'm sat in the newsroom covered in glitter'
...