A Musical Interlude #26

IT'S EUROVISION!

A Musical Interlude #25

House music fills my soul with joy, without this lady would it have been the same?

ginger ambition

Many moons ago I put together a rather ambitious list of things I wanted to do before my 34th birthday. Partly inspired by that and partly inspired by not looking like a Goth in my black work uniform, I started hennaing my hair.

Now henna is a bit of a slow-burner, especially when your hair is dyed as dark as mine was. It's strictly tone-on-tone, it won't lighten your hair, so it can take a while to build up the colour. It has taken a coat of Lush's chemical free Caca Rouge (my secret ingredient is a tablespoon of paprika stirred in the mix) every couple of weeks for six months to get this colour. Natural hair dye is not one for an instant change but it is worth it. I think I accepted mine had finally gone really red, when I was offered a treatment for redheads above the naturally auburn Mama Firebird.

Thoughts on being a redhead? Well it is slightly higher maintenance than my old faithful dark brown hair dye, it can fade and the hennaing process takes a long and messy time - but my hair is in much better condition than it was when it was chemically treated. I love the way it shines in the sunlight. And because henna is tone-on-tone colourant I have highlights (thanks to my greys going a golden blond) and lowlights (over what is left of the dark brown) - something I never got from my old packet dye.

Despite the occasional double take ("f**k, I'm really ginger" was my reaction to seeing my reflection in the glass walls of Media City in Manchester - where these photos were taken), I am loving my red hair. I have a new found love for green tones, turquoisey blues and generally battling the myth that red is hard to colour coordinate with.

And I love this rather bright fiery edge is gives me, maybe redheads have more fun?

(photos by the Aussie)

it's the (yarn) bomb

Source: Black Cat Originals via Pinterest

Exciting times! My photo of yarnbombed lamp post in Moscow has been featured on Sarah's Black Cat Originals blog. Head over and have a look at some of the others - I really really love those yarnbombed weapons.

Two days in Manchester

Some times you just need to get away, jump on a train and explore somewhere new. I'd only ever been to Manchester before for football matches so it was brilliant to spend some time wandering around the city. It's a really beautiful city, the difference between the Victorian industrial heritage and its modern renaissance is really striking. I'm a little bit smitten.

My favourites:

• Imperial War Museum North - an astonishing modern building on Salford Quays and a focus on people and their stories. Make sure you spend enough time there to take in a couple of the 'Big Picture' projections that fill the whole exhibiton space. Possibly the best museum I have ever been to.
• 57 Thomas Street and Marble beers - fabulous micro-brewed beers and an extraordinary cheese list.
• Drinks in the sunshine on the canal side patio at Dukes 92.
• Possibly the best veggie sunday lunch ever at Trof.

Just a couple of hours on the train and I have discovered new places that I find really exciting. I need to explore more of my own country. 

What's your favourite UK city?

Ps. Congratulations Manchester City, the rare Mancunian blue skies in these photos must have been an omen...