Les Couilles du Chien

Yesterday I was in near Portobello, and I found this little shop selling antique stuffs which has the funniest name ever!! 'Les couilles du chien' = literally 'The dog's balls'

Loved it.. So delicate... And I still cannot see why they are called like that!

English Girls public makeover

Hi Muffins!

There is something striking about English girls... They know exactly how to make the best use of their time while they are on the tube... Indeed, haven't you ever noticed how many girls were actually putting their make-up on, doing their hair, and even their NAILS regardless of how many persons were looking at them? It's like this 'ritual' that -I guess- you usually do in the intimacy of your bathroom, didn't matter at all... It is like it wasn't a ritual actually. And I must say that in a way, it makes the whole make-up thing less attractive. I'll explain that.

In a way, when you put on make up, whether it is to please yourself or to please strangers, you transform yourself, right? You make yourself "better" (only on the surface and this is really discutable given the amount of foundation some girls put on their face! Man, this is awfull!). You hide your little defects and reserve them for those who know you (lucky them!) like family, friends etc... But this process means that you don't necessarily wan't strangers to see you 'before'.

Here are some testimonies I found about people explaining why they were wearing make-up. I thinks it explains very well how intimate it is to some persons:

' In my opinon, I think that anyone who wears makeup, is trying to convey a picture of themselves to other people the way that they think others would like to see them look in terms of the accepted norms of the society in which that person lives. Wearing makeup, and how it is applied in such a society, is an art. Those are my opinions, anyway.'

' It makes us feel pretty or maybe because we have uneven skin tones or a zit and according to society that is so not cool! So we head to wal-mart or Macy's depending on how much you wanna spend...buy some magic in a tube or bottle and holy shit we are pretty again!'

This is what I can't understand. Don't chicks realize how unglamour it is to see them applying (often badly) their foundation stick, mascara, eye liner, lip-gloss...? Anyway, we are in a free country, and they do whaterver they want...I am always very pleased to see the girls little routine to make themselves look pretty!

Street Art - Part 3

My favourite

Let the Sunshine In!

This morning: nothing but enjoy the gorgeous Mr Sunshine.

Not gonna last I'm afraid..

Sexy Cup Cakes and Graphic sweets

Hi Sweets!

I can't help it! I have to talk about food! In this case, the place I am going to write about sells cakes that I do not like at all... 

What is the place? Cox Cookies & Cake 
What do they sell? Graphic Cup Cakes
Where? In Graphic Soho

This place is kind of funny and yet very interesting. Indeed, you could as well pass by this store without even realizing it. Indeed, amongst all the erotic shops and peepshows in Soho, CCC totally blends into the landscape as it took the same 'erotic codes': flashy neon lights, dark interior, sexy staff - with 'Bite Me' and 'Better than Sex T-shirts! Just have a look at the window

 Really different than this one just aside? Not really..

 The best thing is their amazing rated X cup cakes ! They are called 'kiss cake' 'pop cake', 'titty cake', 'Man cake'.. and just look amazing on their neon shelves

But to be honnest, if I really appreciated the store's concept, I didn't buy any cupcake. I truly cannot understand people's passion for these cakes that are, in a nutshell, mere butter cakes, sometimes flavored, with lots of butter on top.. Let's see if Wikipedia has a better definition: 'A cupcake (British English: fairy cake; Australian English: patty cake or cup cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes.'
 
Anyway, what kind of pâtisserie is that? Fine, they always do look nice (in a very girly-smoocha-smoochies-sweety way), but they are so colourful you don't even want to have a bite - fearing that your teeth will instantaneously fell off due to the excess of sugar and colorant.. And above all, what about the taste???

I tried my very first cupcake here, in the UK... At work to be more precise. A colleague of mine had done them for her little girl's birthday and brought some for us. Because the cakes were homemade, I tried one thinking that it might be better than what I feared and that I was being unfair to this speciality...But actually it was has bad as I thought! Incredibly dry, stodgy and buttery... Didn't enjoy it at all..

But I am not closed-minded. If you, little chicken, think that cupcakes are great, let me know why. I wish I could understand!

Horrendous little cakes

 

Politeness and incivilities...

Hi Little Chickens!

Hope you are doing fine and did not catch this bad flu everybody seems to have around me during these days...

Err... Actually 'everybody' means also 'me' and that is why I have been less active on this blog - please forgive me.. But don't you worry, Morrison's little decongestioning pills have done some miracles here and I feel much better.

I could even enjoy once again a very nice day in London and, on my way back, I witnessed a scene that was kind of special.. .Nothing serious, but let me explain you.

Well, I was on the northern line, and today, because other lines (Waterloo trains towards Clapham) were out of function (as often during the week-ends), there was a lot of people in the tube around 6PM –including this nasty little girl throwing a hell of a tantrum for a chocolate bar… grrrrr! So, you can easily imagine people fighting for a seat (women are particularly alert at this game). I didn’t try myself to elaborate some farfetched strategy in order to get a seat. I happened to mechanically get one as people were leaving. And then, you know how it is when your eyes wander around…Looking at the neighbor’s magazine, this girl’s very short skirt (was that a skirt??)… 

It is during this moment of absolute passivity that I saw this old man with a stick entering our wagon. Of course, grandpa wants to have a seat. You think ‘ah, easy, there are special seats for pregnant women and elderly people’. Well, there were all occupied (remember, the northern line was packed). But then you are allowed to think again that somebody will naturally give his/her seat for the poor men… Well, Nay, Nay and thrice Nay! A mum was seating on a priority seat and just by her side was her vigorous 10 years old boy. Can you believe that Grandpa has to politely ask to the boy if he would be kind enough to let him seat? And then, the mum, all upset, told her child to give up his seat.

I just thought that was so rude! And it is not the first time I see that happening. French people are not particularly known for being polite –let’s admit we are quite rude people too! But I can tell you that it is kind of natural to give up your seat to elderly in buses/train/tube. And, on the other hand, here, people are nicely queuing while waiting for the bus which is absolutely astonishing for somebody who lives in Paris. 

 I really cannot explain this contradiction.. I guess that British people are really civilized and too egalitarian: men, women, elderly.. Thee shall fight to get a seat!

Street Art - bis repetita placent