Hagley Park, winter stories

*I have this little sister Amélie. She is small and very funny.



Pink milk for you if you know the above reference.
Little big brother was at school when we were here at the park, but that* is what he says about her. Especially lately! And I do think my little girl is especially looking like Lola here.

She is exactly like Lola at present, or at least very similar, including her voice and the things she says, of course. Poor Lili. Lucky me. :)

Hagley Park and the return of gingerbread for morning tea. :)




Gingerbread happiness because the cafe at the park was open again.

These delicious and handsome gingerbread people are made by Molly Woppy. You can also order them online. Yum! (But only if in New Zealand)

Following the Avon River

Hagley Park, and a winter tree admiring walk....

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Because it is one of my favourite children's books and one of the inspirations behind Amélie & Alice (of course!), here are some favourite Alice in Wonderland images & items, just because...

The original illustrations

In 1865 John Tenniel illustrated the first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


( i love the cheshire cat! )



(... which was first a story called 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground', itself a story written down from a tale told by Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, to three young sisters, one of which was Alice Liddell, while on a boat trip on the river Thames.)






I like Alice in Wonderland for a thousand different reasons ;), and I also like that Charles Dodgson, or his pseudonym Lewis Carroll, was also a mathematician (which I love, as I was a student of mathematics) and a photographer!



(Lewis Carrol was a mathematician at Christ Church, Oxford,
and Alice was one of three daughters of the Dean at Christ Church.)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published on July 4, 1865, exactly three years after Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed in a boat up the River Thames with three little girls:

Lorina Charlotte Liddell (aged 13) (Primus in the opening verse)
Alice Pleasance Liddell (aged 10) (Seconda in the opening verse)
Edith Mary Liddell (aged 8)

...whereupon the beginning of Alice In Wonderland was told that "summer afternoon when the sun was so burning that we had landed in the meadows down the river, deserting the boat to take refuge in the only bit of shade to be found, which was under a new-made hayrick" ~ Alice.




.. which is also now part 'Hogwarts'!

But anyway, back to the book...



Tenniel's colour illustrations





In 1907 the English copyright to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland expired, and new editions from other publishers were printed. These illustrations are now also in the public domain,
my favourites from 1907 are Rackham, and Attwell :)



Illustrations by Mabel Lucie Attwell, 1907




Arthur Rackham's illustrations, 1907,
are just divine








And countless Alice inspired art!
:)

Annie Leibovitz's Alice photoshoot, with model Natalia Vodianova, for Vogue magazine, 2003.




Annie's interpretation of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll...








Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll




The three Liddell sisters


Alice in costume as a beggar girl



Alice inspired flickr art...

recruiting a new alice

Recruiting A New Alice, originally uploaded by tartx.

A Very Merry Birthday To You!, originally uploaded by boopsie.daisy.

the so very wonderful sadie and boopsy.daisy!!

alice and the white rabbit

Alice & White Rabbit, originally uploaded by Rebecca Lader.

alice in wonderland miniature garden, originally uploaded by liquidskyarts.

etcetera, etcetera !
x

book love, and charlie and lola ♥

A little off-topic perhaps, but I absolutely love well written and illustrated children's books, and have been passionately interested in good quality children's books since my first child was very small.
I have to say, a post at some point about children's books and reading was probably inevitable, and my only uncertainty was whether to talk about them in this photo-centric journal, or to make a separate journal for all our book loves. We'll see...
.
Tonight, for fun, Lili (7) and I added a stack of our most favourite books to our Library Thing list, after tidying a bookshelf or two and getting nostalgic about our favourites.
We had a stack of books as high as the bed, which was most impressive! Meanwhile little Amélie made her own stack too.

I will make a list of our most favourite books too, and what we found useful for different ages. With three kids and a strong interest in books, there are a few! Also, anything listed on our Library Thing library is highly recommended, as we only added the best books.

Here's one recent favourite!
Anything and everything Charlie and Lola! Adore! ♥

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I let my little one read and play with my Alice book. She loved it. :)
















These images are from an impromptu mini session while trying out my lensbaby. A dreamy almost toy lens, it is so much fun to use! :)