Saturday 14 March 2015

13/3/15 On the bookshelves II



 A new direction greets me when I get home from work today. Mum has brought along some props for her most recent assemblage. Little pizza box things make tiny podiums for the penguins.

Mum says the penguins chose the three most important books in the English language:


John Peel's memoirs.


A biography of David Bowie.



And the Complete Works of Shakespeare

The babies of the rookery are on the little stands whilst the elders of the group urge them on to read, apparently. I had no idea Mum was such a fan, or should I say that the penguins would be such fans, as of course Mum merely transmits their wishes. But then, what kind of books would penguins be interested in? And why should they not have such eclectic tastes? 


This is really challenging my own preconceptions. Interestingly, one penguin has broken away from the group to read a note on the shelf by the front door where we keep the post. Perhaps he/she wants to go to my friend's exhibition. Eclectic tastes. Who knew?





Thursday 12 March 2015

How the penguins came to be


Three years ago I went to Lille in Northern France, to the  annual Braderie. I bought some strange shaped lightbulbs, an old French school poster teaching about the use of 'ph', some Playmobil figures, some fabric (of course) and various other  bits and bobs. I drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of chips too, somewhere amongst all that I bought these little penguins. It was an amazing weekend and I wrote about it here.

The old French school poster. Perfect for this photography teacher. Also perfect for the damp patch it is covering.
I don't honestly know why I bought them. They just seemed so sweet, already quite worn but a such a gang, a gang who seemed up for fun and adventure.

And so it has proved to be.