Monday, September 21, 2009

hay-on-wye

books castle

That is my ideal place for retirement. If I have loads of money, I really like to buy a house in Hay. It's a small town with no train connection, but its remoteness also sets a good vibe for this town of books, isolated, far from the madding crowd, with only second-hand, mouldy and dusty books. Old books always give a strange kind of charm, travelled far in terms of time and space, they always have their own story to be told, besides the stories written within. I like to think about the identity of the original owner, where the book came from, the number of different owner in-between... did it come from a personal library of a book collector, or was it just part of the domestic decoration of a pretentious snob? It is like a mysterious thread connecting different people, or even different centuries. Like those lending records attached to the books of public libraries, I always feel intrigued by the previous readers. I've bought a small book of poetry of lord bryon. All pages were yellowed and the cover was creepily stained by human touch. This book must have been loved by its previous owner(s). I can almost feel the fanatical savour of this person to the book. Another book I've bought, charles lamb's essays of elia, it looks brand new though it was published in the early 20th Century. It must be placed on the shelf for a long time as "decoration" only. I hope I will give the books the respect they deserve by reading them sometimes, though I am afraid (and pretty sure) that the books in my house generally are also becoming part of the fixtures and fittings only, I read too slow. Sorry, books.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

solitude standing

I love those antique streetlamps in UK, elegance, solitude. No matter it's a peaceful night or a market full of hustle and bustle, they never fail to romanticise. They made me think of the lamplighter in the little prince. "A beautiful occupation", according to what the prince said, because whenever he lights a lamp, he adds one more star to the sky.

white night

squares, beautifully islamic
because they are beautiful, they must be useful.


We used to have them in the colonial past but in the name of modernisation they were all swept away.

Monday, September 07, 2009

"but then, he's very charming, and very, very sweet"

so i gave him two kissy kissy.


kissy kissy to this charming man

Must have item for every fan.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

ambivalent

of course i really like to have this chair, but also feel much distaste for the overt commercialisation of this person, not his fault, our fault.

100 quids

anyone will really sit on it? to imagine that he's around you? no, i won't (because i can't eat, drink or fart(!) on this chair)