sjclayton's posterous

Not posted for a while with Posterous being "under attack" and a busy week of random freelancing and interviews (not that I'm complaining, much rather be busy than not). Explored Chelsea Physick Garden last week, but will post about today first off.

Have a presentation and a couple of things to muse over so today thought I'd relax and feed the creative spirit so I headed to Lord Leighton's House near Holland Park, hilariously described in my guide book as a "haute-bohemian" pad - sounds just like my flat then.

From outside the house appeared to be ugly in the extreme so my expectations were suitably lowered. Got a ticket for a fiver, which includes a free return visit (that could go on for ever though couldn't it?).

The inside of the house is incredible, with its own gold, arab-style dome, moorish tiles, artworks and shutters brought back from Cairo.  Leighton 's own drawings and paintings dot the rooms and you can also see his studio, complete with easel and powder paints still in pots in a room specially designed to capture the light. The area where the models would have stood does make you want to hop up and strike a pose but I resisted the urge.

The colours in the house are intense and sensual, deep azure blue tiles, green silk wallpapers, post-box red floors in certain rooms. The dining room appeared unintentionally set for a seance but did at one time host the stars of the day such as William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and even, reportedly, Queen Vic herself.  The red pattern wallpaper was temptingly touchable, I copped a quick feel while one of the sentry-esque staff was out of sight.  It felt pleasingly soft.  The sort of wallpaper Keira Knightley would be ravished against in some period drama.

Get this for extravagant - in the hall, below the dome, is a small fountain and a statue of Narcissus. I bet Elton John would like one of those. Leighton was part of the Aesthetic movement "appalled by the ugliness of Victorian Britain" and seeking a sense of beauty in the world through art. Its a shame that not a great deal is known about him as a person though.  He left no personal diaries and was very secretive in life. His bedroom, where he died, though beautifully decorated, seemed terribly lonely and sparse. I left feeling reflective, that someone is remembered mostly for the things they liked and looked at rather than the person they were in life seemed sad to me, almost a twist on the Narcissus story. A stroll round Holland Park reminded me of bad British romcoms so walked down the Goldhawk road for a reality check.

• A sense of the brands that are lost and completely of their time - tin of boiled mutton anyone? No thanks. Or perhaps some Voice Ju Jubes "for public speakers and singers...to invigorate and strengthen the organs of the voice".  Could do with some pre-best man speech this Saturday.
• The popularity of the xmas card as communications advance with the penny post - great one of a whole load of owls riding penny-farthings.  Well, they would, wouldn't they?
• Late 19th century makeup and perfumes - such as "Russian Bear's Grease - Highly Scented".  And presumably one for the men.
• How various wars fuel the product development cycle and advertising changes e.g. OXO cubes morph from tin to cardboard packaging, and inks were softened so as not to waste the pigments.  Particularly strange was an ad for "Robinson's "Patent" Barley and Groats" - an early baby formula - marketed to "give baby a chance" because "we cannot have an A.1 Empire with a C.3 population".  Catchy.
• Make Do and Mend 1940s - brand campaigns of today seem to be lifted straight out of this wartime tradition of turning the heater bar off, using less coal, switching the lights off, saving water. Like that I can make mascara out of vaseline and soot should I ever need to now, but not sure it'll be hypoallergenic. In 1943, 1.5million households had allotments to grow their own and even pig clubs to make the best of collective leftovers - The Guardian would have just loved it.
• Early vacuum cleaners market positioned as the replacement to domestic servants. One ad has a poor down trodden servant saying "Wot! Not Want Me Anymore Mum?" and the lady answering "No, Thank You, I Can Manage Myself Now". Of course you can love, but you haven't seen a Dyson yet...
• The British Empire Exhibit of 1924-25 was famed for...its statue of the Prince of Wales made out of butter.  I can't believe its not really the Prince of Wales but made out of butter. No pictures of this unfortunately.
• In 1932 unemployment is at 3million.  I also discovered though that this is the year Terry's brought out the Chocolate Orange and their boxes of All Gold.  Disney also released Goofy this year to cheer everybody up.  So every cloud eh...
• The changing position and role of women is evident throughout the museum.  Strange yet revealing were WW2 cards depicting Britain's Maids of War - "Lucy, the maid of the land", "Mary, the maid of munitions". Wonder what I would have been?  "Sarah, the maid of stakeholder relations" or "Sarah, the maid of strategic planning". Thats sounds a bit shit. And I'm not a maid.  Guessing too they must all have been wearing their "Pond's - Guard Your Beauty While On Duty" cold cream.
• I thought the 60s coke slogan was unintentionally funny: "Things Go Better With Coke" with a young couple out on a date.  Less keen on naming conventions for Revlon - "Persian Melon" lipstick ain't gonna persuade me to buy, sorry.
• Everyone goes on about 1970s retro so much I'm only going to mention one thing - a set of Decimal Dominoes to help people learn WTF to do with the new currency. Remember those? Nope me neither.
• 1980s - now this was my childhood.  A list should suffice: the muppets, Clangers, Bag Puss, Dusty Bin, KP Space Invaider corn snacks, an original Sony Walkman, Roland Rat, Haunted House spagetti shapes, Morph, Birdseye French Bread Pizzas.  Thank god those days are gone. Except for Morph, who I absolutely loved. RIP.
• Cadbury's purple and Milka lilac are actually copyright registered shades of purple. I had no idea you could even register a copyright (I thought it was innate in the creation of the work?) so its poss the museum blurbage used the wrong terminology here, or I'm completely wrong of course.  Which is also fine.

Quite literally food for thought and I was starving by the time I got out after staring at all those FMCG labels. Some fabulous little displays of certain brands through all the decades, like Fairy Liquid and Johnson's baby powder, showing how much we take them for granted and how they illustrate continuity in our lives like reliable old friends. I guess the main impression I came away with was that in order to survive, brands have to constantly evolve and change to keep up with their markets. I can relate to that myself.