Today, I've got another collection of random photos from recent weeks. These are mostly things I see on my walks around town -- often discarded items like the wilted bouquet above, which I found in a bin at Fortune Green. (The same bin, in fact, where I found the orchid.)
And here's a perfectly good chair, apparently free for the taking. It disappeared not long after I took this photo so I guess someone seized the opportunity.
Settee? Daybed? Whatever it's called, it's looking a little tired -- but then, I took this picture on a particularly frosty morning, and the upholstery is covered with gray ice. It must have been wild when it was new.
Just some nice shadows thrown by a streetlight onto this car. I gotta have some shadows to live up to my blog name!
This stuffed toy has been sitting on this grave at Hampstead Cemetery for ages. I'm always intrigued when I find toys or whimsical items left on very old graves -- particularly when it's a grave occupied by adults, as seems to be the case here. The most recent occupant died in 1959, 64 years ago. Makes me wonder who left it and why.
I've seen a couple stickers by "Witness" pop up around Hampstead, featuring similar spattery-looking portraits.
This cup belongs to my boss -- in fact she painted it, but she wasn't happy with how it turned out. So I've adopted it, because it's a good size. The coffee from the coffee machine at work is so strong it bothers my stomach, but if I put it in a larger mug I can water it down a bit and that makes it palatable! Plus, I think her paint job is pretty good.
And finally, spotted in a shop window on my walk home last night: For the truly brown-thumbed person in your life, a potted plant that requires no care, except perhaps occasional vacuuming!
It is called a chaise longue.
ReplyDeleteI want the chicken dog ball. I always enjoy your random photos. So artful. We would have called that chaise a swooning sofa. That one goes with any decor (or not). The double-stuffed toy is kind of creepy. I too wonder who left it all these years later. There's a story to be written.
ReplyDeleteThe chair does not look comfortable and the chaise longue looks vile.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there isn't really a connection between the stuffed toy and those in the grave. It's just a random placing.
As art I like the Witness work.
Machine coffee too strong! I never.
It's always interesting to see what you see on the streets.
Of this bunch my favourite is the soft toy shoved into the plastic jar. It seems like such a weird thing to do but of course it keeps the soft toy dry. Perhaps that it is also how we should deal with the deceased. No need to dig holes.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the toy in a jar was moved by a visiting child and never put back onto the one it belonged.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting discarded items. I have 'saved' a large white cupboard and a huge round mirror from the skip (with permission of course.) I like the chair that was thrown out. The toy in a bottle is very strange and a little menacing perhaps? There is so much of interest to be seen out on a daily walk. Love to see your sightings.
ReplyDeleteOf all these treasures, I prefer the potted plant in the character cup!
ReplyDeletePerhaps the toy in the jar belonged to a gentleman who had dementia and it was his favorite cuddle toy!
Interesting things you spot. The wilted flowers appeal instantly to this natural dyer as great material for dyeing or hammer imaging. That's where you literally hammer the petals into linen and the image is transferred. You could reproduce an image of a bouquet with this raw material.
ReplyDeleteSomeone went insane with that chaise longue. It may have been an upholstery project.
ReplyDeletePlease. No toys in jars. That should be a rule.
I like that mug that your boss painted. I don't think you should drink coffee if it bothers your stomach. I never drink coffee tho maybe that is why I don't get the allure...
ReplyDeleteI have a plastic aloe plant that I just rinsed off yesterday as it was getting dusty. Even my plastic plants can look sad. :)
I'm one of those brown-thumbed people so that "plant" might work well for me. That lounge/chair item is wild. I can't imaging having that in my house. Maybe that's why it's on the street. Great looking mug. The "witness" signs are kind of scary looking. And, even though that stuffed animal is smiling, I hate seeing it squeezed into that jar. Poor thing.
ReplyDeleteI always love seeing your random photos. You do see such interesting things. When I go for walk and see interesting random discarded things, I always think of you.
ReplyDeleteSurprising what people put in the trash. Here many people kick it to the curb so that people know it can be taken.
ReplyDeleteI love that mug! I tried to drink coffee the other day & it did NOT go well. Blech.
ReplyDeletechair and cup are fabulous. , the settee could be but would take a lot of work. "money for nothing" come to mind. You could start your own Television show- Reed's Leads, take audience on a tour of street stuff. Huge success- I also love your shirt cuff.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine a school project for children where they put offerings on random graves of their choice, maybe. Maybe? FYI, 1959 does NOT seem long ago to me; I was two years old then and it seems like yesterday! lol And I can't tell for sure from the first photo, but the bin looks rather classy - is it public and are they all like that?
ReplyDeleteI'll take the stuffed plant, since I truly have the black thumb of death.
ReplyDeleteMy aunt had a chaise lounge, though hers was upholstered with a much more subtle fabric. It was a great place to relax with a book!
ReplyDeleteBased on the items in that store window, I think I would love going in and browsing around!
My Second Favorite Series Of Postings Here - What Can Be Tops, Duh - So Dig The Randomness And Leads Me To WoW Thoughts - And Just How Head Shakes - Like The Stuffed Bear In The Cylinder - That Fainting Couch Is So Flipping Ugly That I Just Could NEVER Throw It Out If It Was Mine - Carry On Brother Man
ReplyDeleteCheers
P.S. When Olga Girl Is Sound Asleep , Quietly Place A Just Because Treat In The Meddle Of The Living Room Floor
That toy is somewhat sinister
ReplyDeleteI like your new mug! Good idea about watering down the coffee. That chaise might look great with a better upholstery!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting collection, as always. If those people that discarded the orchid are the same people who dumped the bouquet, I think they do not have proper regard for flowers. And that little piece of furniture is what I believe used to be called "a fainting couch". Perhaps in Scarlett O'Hara's day. This appears to be a child's version of one though. And I like that coffee cup's paint job too. 'Course I'm always impressed by people who can do anything in the arts.
ReplyDeleteYes, a chaise lounge. And the pink stuffed toy in a jar...to keep it clean? Dry?
ReplyDeleteI like the cup! I rarely drank coffee at work unless we had a meeting. Now that I'm retired I can use the bathroom ANY time I want (such luxury!) without leaving 30+ teenagers unattended. *Insert terrified face*
ReplyDeleteThe chaise longue just needs recovering and a bit of polish to be good as new, unless it has woodworm.
ReplyDeleteI like the fake pot plant in the last picture.
A happy painted mug!
ReplyDeleteRachel: YES! A chaise longue! Why couldn't I remember that?!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: I like the chicken dog ball too, but supposedly it also smells like chicken, which seems a little weird to me.
Andrew: But why would someone put a toy on a random grave? I don't get it.
YP: But of course soft toys don't come with their own inherent...moistness.
Ed: That's a good guess. It might belong on a different grave entirely.
Simone: You asked permission before taking from the skip? That's so polite! I think I'd assume it was free for the taking if it was in a skip.
Marcia: Oh, that's an interesting idea. But that toy is surely not as old as any of the graves on which it sits.
Boud: I have never heard of hammer imaging. I took to Google to see what it looks like! Here's a guide for anyone who's interested: https://www.instructables.com/Hammered-leaf-and-flower-prints/
Ms Moon: I think it's actually a commercial upholstery job, believe it or not.
Ellen D: Coffee, for me, is a balancing act. A little doesn't bother me. A lot -- or making it too strong -- is a problem.
Sharon: I agree. There is a creepiness to the Witness stickers.
Robin: You should take pictures and post them so I can enjoy your neighborhood trash from across the ocean! :)
Red: Yeah, people here do that, too. Or put it on the garden wall.
Bug: I do too! I think she did a great job.
Linda Sue: That settee would take quite a cleaning job, at the very least, and I don't want to deal with that!
Jenny-O: The bin in the first photo is an old-style cast-iron litter bin, which you often see in London parks. Newer ones aren't nearly as nice. (A bit like phone boxes.)
Allison: It WOULD bring a bit of green to one's decor, I suppose!
Kelly: Yeah, it looks like a cute shop! I've actually never been in it. I don't need to buy any stuff, LOL.
Padre: That couch IS so ugly it's amazing! Olga will get her treat, I promise. :)
John: It is, isn't it? But would we think so if it weren't on a grave?
Jeanie: Yeah, if I adopted it (which I didn't) I would reupholster it!
Catalyst: I don't think the fainting couch (or chaise longue, as was proposed above) was that small, actually. Maybe it's just London apartment-sized.
Ellen: Yeah, I'm sure the jar is meant to protect it from the weather. As I said, it's been there for ages, so I guess it's working!
Margaret: One thing I do really appreciate about my job is that I can duck out whenever necessary to go to a bathroom!
River: I always hope someone rescues furniture like that when I see it on the street. (If I don't do it myself!)
GZ: I agree! I don't know why my boss wasn't happy with it!