Wednesday's Window: Lacoste

Wednesday’s Window is one of my favourite posts. I have stopped and photographed shop windows for years without quite realising what they could be: a week after week blog post, of course! There are going to be some old and out of date ones coming up (so you’ll no longer be able to see them live) because even when I’m not blogging, I don’t stop taking pics of gorgeous, clever, interesting windows. I’m just drawn to them.

Back in June I had a date with some friends in the newly refurbished Siam Centre to eat cake and afterwards, I wandered about. This, as a window, wasn’t particularly impressive because I had to get up close to spot it; but as an installation inside the shop, I loved it. It’s from Lacoste and they very kindly – though I’m sure I wasn’t meant to – allowed me to take some pictures inside.

From the outside, these crocodiles were so beautifully crisp looking that I thought they were metallic but they are actually made of good quality card with a high gloss finish.

And I have to confess, I’m actually quite freaked out by the pile of crocs by the door. (My children will sigh and huff and roll their eyes, given that these are paper crocodiles in childish colours; but what is sculpture or art for if it isn’t to move us in some way? Yes, children, I am still too terrified to watch Jurassic Park; yes, I know that the dinosaurs can’t possibly be real but I go in prepared to believe.) It’s the way that these guys have clambered over each other to get to whatever it is they want that makes me unsettled, which is I think a reminiscence of  the behaviour I saw years ago at one of Bangkok’s crocodile farms.

Still scared

Things have calmed considerably in Bangkok. The original curfew that was instigated on Wednesday night between 8pm – 6am was extended. The following three nights were 9pm – 5am and last night until tomorrow it’s 11pm – 4am.

I feel a bit manic. We’ve raced around trying to be normal. On Friday after the biology exam we went to the cinema (Daughter and I saw Bounty Hunter which was just the sort of nonsense with pretty faces we needed. Son saw Robin Hood – I have a very low tolerance for dodgy/slipping accents (Johnny Depp, I'm talking about you in the first Pirate film) – I’m not sure I’ll cope with this film.) On Saturday all four of us went to see Shrek which had us all laughing. I do love Shrek. I saw lots of friends while we were out all trying to be normal or trying to cheer themselves up.

Everyone has taken a bit of a bashing but I expect we’ll get there in the end.

However, it turns out I’m still scared.

Not about Bangkok – though I am a little, if I’m honest – it’s the novel again. I’ll stop a minute while you all sigh. *Collective sigh*

Scared scared scared. That’s what I am. I’m fairly certain that I know what I have to do but I’m too frightened to start.

(I need Dummies Guide to Twentieth Century Britain. Does anyone have recommendations for researching twentieth century life? How we used to live?) 

A Writing Post

I’ve finally got back to editing my novel, Polite Lies. When I'm back in the UK in July (for good or as a holiday? Who knows? I certainly don't.) I have an Arvon course in July in Moniack Mhor (Writing Mainstream) and I’d like to have reworked the novel before I go.

But I’m a bit traumatized by this whole redrafting and editing process. As a flier by the seat of my pants I knew the end of my story but I had no idea how we’d get there. As a result, when I wrote it, I only felt equipped to write chronologically, A to Z. Now that I’m redrafting it seems obviously that there are lots of structural alternatives to this.

I’ve had several ideas for potential structure and frankly they’re all a bit (a lot) scary.

Am I any more equipped to reshape now?

There’s one idea that feels really radical. I can hear whispers in my head about rules being there to break but only if you know what they are. Do I? I’ve never seen this done before but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done. Or it could mean it’s a jolly stupid idea.

I have another idea that would be writing half the book again. I quite like this idea but hell, scary. It involves something I thought I’d never do.

Eeek.