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Still on the subject of eggs, here’s a little vintage verse from Spike Milligan for World Poetry Day:
There once lived a virile cockerel
With a thousand hens in Spain,
Now he's old and slow
So he'll never go
To work on an egg again.
Chorus: In Spain the rain falls, etc., etc.
I love the childlike charm of Milligan’s poetry.
Do you?
PS ShopCurious has its own collection of curiously psychogeographical poems – click here to visit Matt Bryden’s poetry map.
Pinch, punch, it’s the first of the month.
I’m a poet and I don’t know it.
We're celebrating World Book Day by introducing our curious poet in residence, Matt Bryden. Thankfully, Matt’s poetry skills are somewhat more refined than mine.
You can read more about Matt, and his publications to date, in ShopCurious’s latest StyleCurious interview. We've also included his unique World Poetry Map, where you can read poems based on his experiences and the places he’s visited around the globe – a curiously lyrical form of psychogeography…
After all, every single soul is a poem:
Happy St David’s Day! My grandmother, who sadly died years ago, was born in Wales, so I decided to explore my Welsh heritage. Welsh icons include leeks and a delightfully archaic national costume. But it’s not all coal, rugby, sheep and dragons in this curiously Celtic corner of our little island... There are also daffodils and lovespoons too - the latter being rather pertinent in view of Prince William’s impending nuptials - what with him being based at RAF Valley in Anglesey and next in line to inherit the heir apparent's title, Prince of Wales.
Possibly dating from the 14th century, and based on the ‘cawl’ or soup spoon, lovespoons were carved by young Welshmen to demonstrate their practicality and craftsmanship (much needed in rural Wales) to the father of their intended brides. The suitor carved one or more of a selection of traditional symbols to convey his special message:
Single Heart – My Heart is yours
Double Heart – Love is returned, we feel the same way
Celtic Knot – Everlasting
A Flower – Courtship
A Daffodil – Flower of Wales
The Dragon – Symbol of Wales / Protection
A House – My Home is Yours
A key / Keyhole – My Home is Yours
A Chain – Captured Love
Balls in a cage – Captured Love / Number of Children Desired
Heart Shaped Bowl – Fulfilled Love
Double Bowl – The Couple
Triple Bowl – The Couple and family
Vines – Growing Together
Horse Shoe – Good Luck
Bells – The Wedding
A Cross – Faith
A Ship – Safe Journey through Life
An Anchor – I Want to Settle Down
(List courtesy of Lovespoons Wales).
However, accepting this token of love was by no means an indication that a Welsh girl would marry her suitor - and some popular women amassed huge collections of lovespoons…
Anyway, I blame the Royal Wedding for my digression onto the subject of lovespoons, when what I really wanted to talk about is identity. These days it’s rare for us to identify ourselves with one particular place and culture. Most of us are a conglomeration of influences, ranging from birthplace and hometown to cities we’ve travelled to and people we’ve met. Our unique psychogeography and the individual stories that make up our lives have become more significant than our local origins.
Unlike lovespoons, today’s gifts and tokens of affection are more likely to reflect globally procured character – like the curiosity charm necklaces by Cartography40N74W at ShopCurious.
But might this curious trend lead to the wholesale globalization of culture, and what will the implications be for future generations? Or has the nostalgia-led backlash already begun? Your comments are most welcome, especially if you’re proudly Welsh.
Are you?
You’ve probably noticed that psychogeography’s in fashion, but did I mention the psychogeography inspired designs by Fake London at ShopCurious? This really comfortable and easy to wear apron style dress, for instance, features a fabulous print of an antiquarian map and the English rose (and there's a scarf in the same fabric too).
Also just in are some new super-soft cashmere cardigans for men, featuring Fake’s trademark Union Jack logo. This cardie definitely qualifies as a timeless modern classic and is a great investment, as it’ll keep you warm for years to come. Something to consider for Fashion's Night In next Monday...
Talking of menswear, I recently produced some of my own DIY design men’s waistcoats, with suede at the front and vintage silk on the reverse side. One of these is made using retro tourist silk scarf fabric featuring a map of Italy. The simple waistcoat style, updated using upcycled offcuts of exotic fabric, looks flattering on everyone from cool young dudes to dashing old dogs.
Which reminds me of the typically quirky Fake London video, showing a British-looking dog getting up to all sorts of curious mischief. Come to think of it a book on the psychogeogaphy of dogs is rather a novel idea. A sort of four legged tour of trees and lamp posts… Might be rather amusing, don’t you think?
Do you?
With half term week approaching, many of you are probably wondering how to get the kids out of the house and how to encourage them to be a little more active? Over at The Dabbler this week, I step back in time on a psychogeographic journey to the days when children enjoyed walking. And I've come up with a few novel ideas involving books and celebrities that may help to get children stepping out in style.
The latest trends from ShopCurious also indicate that lifestyle walks are an increasingly popular way of exploring fashion, art and design districts to find out what exciting new things are going on. Read today's Curious Trends article and you'll probably want to step out on your own psychogeographic expedition...
Do you?
