French Sole at KLCC

"A girl can never have too many shoes" - Anon.  Recently B and I went to the French Sole launch of their Autumn Winter collection at the store in KLCC. My poor old feet can no longer tolerate shoes with heels, so (ballet) flats are the best for some comfort. I have 'kicked off my heels' for some time already, what with a persistant plantar wart aggravating the situation.

Here's some 'sole' history: British shoe designer Jane Winkworth loved ballet since childhood and a holiday encounter (with colourful ballet flats) in the South of France in the 1960s sowed the seed of her decision to design and sell her own range. "The Queen of Ballet Flats" founded French Sole in 1989 in London. "From the humble beginnings of a 'tabletop' business selling only through charity fairs, Jane then started a mail order company from her Chelsea home and then followed the four central London based French Sole stores ... the rest is history ... "

There was a 10% discount on everything in the store at KLCC that day, but I did not really find anything I liked sole-wise to add to my very meagre collection of shoes which includes only one pair of brown FS ballet flats. (Nevertheless the tea and cakes were good, thank you very much!)

Blogs to check out: 1. www.janewinkworth.com  2. www.frenchsole.com
28 September 2013 

A Wedding in TTDI

On the 22nd September 2013, we attended the wedding reception of Irwan Shahrizal, son of a former TKC classmate, Kazi (& her late husband Datuk Dr. Zainal Aznam). The kenduri was held at her home in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, in true Malay traditional style.

Kazi's artistic talent is apparent from the picture above of the wedding invitation card that she designed and drew herself. Compare it to the photo below of the groom and his bride Nur Mazuina, that I took at their makan beradat and you will agree that the likeness is obvious. Nice work, Kazi. Congratulations to the wedding couple and their parents. 'Semoga kekal bahagia hingga ke anak cucu ...'

The Best Nasi Lemak

IMHO*, the best nasi lemak ever is the one sold in Taman Keramat, beside the Aeon AU2 shopping centre. Every so often I never fail to savour this 'nasi lemak daun pisang' at the stall that is sometimes referred to as the 'Kedai Janggut'. Perhaps because there is a man there, the proprietor maybe, who has a janggut (beard)!

Anyway the stall operates everyday except Monday, from early morning till noon. I always try to go before they run out of my favourite vegetable of the kangkung (water convolvulus/water spinach) that is simply divine with the basic nasi lemak that I usually have for my breakfast. Of course you can add begedil (meat & potato patties), sotong (cuttle fish), chicken, etc., if it is brunch you are eating.

I usually go for this nasi lemak breakfast with my sister CY who lives in Taman Keramat, and sometimes I drag family members along although its not quite their best nasi lemak place. I guess everyone has their very own favourite. Do you?

*Read this however you like: In my humble opinion/In my honest opinion/In my highest opinion/In my hesitating opinion, or even, I might have ostriches?

Hairspray; the Broadway Musical

Event: Hairspray, the Broadway Musical, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, (17-22 September 2013)

Part of the cast (CNB 2013)

'Broadway's big fat musical comedy hit' deemed by the Guardian "The ultimate feel-good show". On Broadway since 2002, the musical is based on John Waters's 1988 comedy film of the same name. The 2007 film (starring John Travolta in a female role) in turn is based on the Broadway musical.

Part of the appreciative audience (WE 2013)

20 September 2013

Peace to the World

Yesterday was the International Day of Peace (unofficially 'World Peace Day', but not to be confused with 'World Day of Peace', which is another story altogether!) ... so I say "Peace to all Mankind".

But these days, watching or reading the daily news about what is happening around the world, is rather depressing - there are the man-made disasters of senseless wars and killings, etc., and there are the serious ravages inflicted by mother nature because we humans have over-exploited the good Earth.

On the personal front, a rather unfortunate incident happened on this very day. The picture below tells the story. It all happened in a split second - a window smashed, a handbag grabbed! So ... we've become a statistic in the KL crime scenario.

The Matchstick People of L S Lowry

L S Lowry's self portrait, 1925 Oil on board

When I was living in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester in the early 80s, I came across the artist L S Lowry. No, not the man himself, but his works at the Salford Art Gallery. I fell in love with what some would term 'naive art'. I liked his rendition of landscapes of the industrial north of England, and I particularly admired his iconic 'matchstick' figures of people going about their daily life. There is a certain charm to his figures, reminding me of a childhood period of schooling in Alor Star, when my friends and I drew people like this.

Mill Scene, 1965. Oil on canvas

Laurence Stephen Lowry was born in 1887 in Stretford and died at the age of 89. As a man and an artist, he "has been variously described as being lonely, solitary, enigmatic and eccentric without any definition of these terms in relation to the man. In some degree these attributes could be applied to certain aspects of his long life and some refer more strongly to certain periods. The action of most people, if viewed through a magnifying lens, could be classified in the same way".

Market Scene, Northern Town, 1939. Oil on canvas

A Fight, 1935. Oil on canvas

His artistic journey began when he was 15 and loved to sketch. He attended art classes in Manchester and Salford, and later exhibited at various art galleries both in the UK and overseas. He received honorary degrees from the Universities of Manchester, Salford and Liverpool. In fact, he has been described as "one of the most original English painters of this century" and he is "perhaps Lancashire's greatest artist and certainly one of the most loved of British painters".

Houses in Broughton, 1937. Pencil

It is interesting to note that this picture of his painting below, was entitled 'The Bedroom' until the artist's death, in respect of his wishes that it should not be generally known that it did, in fact, depict his own bedroom in Station Road, Pendlebury, Swinton, where he lived from 1909 to 1948.

The Artist's Bedroom, Pendlebury, 1940. Oil on canvas

Level crossing, 1946. Oil on canvas

The above picture is said to be 'an illustration of the artist's ability to caricature objects as well as people'. I had bought some prints of his paintings at the Gallery in Salford then and had them framed later. They became the mainstay of our Taman Pekaka (Pulau Pinang) sitting room walls till we moved to Shah Alam.

Note: Lowry trivia - he loved the operas of Bellini, Norma being his favourite!
Ref: L. S. Lowry; the Salford Collection. City of Salford Cultural Services Department, 1977. Ex Libris CNB 960

SA Garden Catalogue: Torenia Fournieri

The late August rains really poured on the last day of the month and it has been raining almost daily since the beginning of September. It has been really wet, wet, wet. Great for the garden, spurting really luxuriant green growth. But for the Torenia fournieri, the rains do not encourage much flowering. Being an annual herb, these 'happy' flowers seem to flourish best in the tropical spring and summer months.

Scientific name: Torenia fournieri
Common name:
Family: Scrophularia
Origin: Indochina

The plants are 20 to 30 cm tall, and flowers in the axils of the upper leaves. The flowers range from a deep purple colour to lighter purples, to pinks, and white. The species tend to propagate itself by small seeds, hence once you have them in your garden, you will find the plant sprouting in places that sometimes surprise you. I have had the plants mostly in the front garden, but somehow, a couple of them found their way to the back! (I swear I did not move them! Maybe the flower fairy did?) Anyway the plants grow well in full or partial sun and you can propagate Torenia fournieri by seeds.

The flowers in August 2011 (CNB)

The flowers in May 2013 (CNB)