Saturday, April 24, 2010

Sepia Saturday 20 : Son Of A Bathroom


Son of a gun I may not be, but if this photograph of my mother is anything to go by, it would seem that I am the son of a bathroom! I remember my mother telling me a little of the background to this photograph which must have been taken in the early 1930s : a fancy dress party to which she went dressed as a bathroom. But who would dream of going to a fancy dress party dressed as a bathroom? Certainly not the sensible woman who gave birth to me a decade later. Perhaps it merely emphasises the point that if you want to journey into the unknown all you need to do is to investigate your own heritage. But I like the slightly eccentric inventiveness which created the dress and I admire the audacity which translated a silly idea into what I am sure was an award-winning project. Son of a gun I may not be, but wouldn't it be nice if the slightly eccentric chap who dreamed of taking his dog on a virtual tour of America was the son of a bathroom.



25 comments:

  1. One wonders whether you have a good bathroom singing voice.

    By the way - I think you should do a piece of The Crooked House - especially considering who supplies the ales. Very apt in these days.

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  2. Chairman B: Are we talking about The Crooked House in Staffordshire?

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  3. Oh my gosh, that is even funnier on closer examination, when enlarged. It's so neat to discover these odd and wonderful little moments in time.

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  4. Dunno if Steinbeck e'er did this but he did go across the U.S. with his dog Charley ( or so he wrote ), the auld fashioned way.

    I think your Mum's costume ranks brilliant! How many to-day put forth the effort, wot?

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  5. Alan, maybe that explains a lot. Good to see your Mum had a sense of humour.

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  6. That outfit is a winner! Not just the time and trouble it took to create, but the ability to carry it off. Your mum looks charming.

    By the way, if you are the son of a bathroom, I guess you'll be undertaking your virtual walk in a pair of loofahs?

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  7. I think that's one of the best costume ideas I've ever seen. Now we see who you got your creativity from!

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  8. Was She A Tap-Dancer?

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  9. What a great photo and what a clever idea your mother had! She deserves the Order of the Bath.

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  10. What a great photo and what a clever idea your mother had! She deserves the Order of the Bath.

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  11. What a fun photo--it is wonderful, I think, to see our parents in their youth--a time of dreams & exuberance!

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  12. Now we know where you got your creativity. She is so lovely! I guess you got some of that too :)

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  13. One wonders if the party featured other rooms. Would have been an interesting collage of characters. A charming picture.

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  14. What a clever costume! I wish I'd thought of that back in the days of the boys needed costumes for parties! It's especially great enlarged, too. How fun!

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  15. I love this photo! Not too many would have the panache to pull this off ... the fittings are so right. Your mother was the Queen of bathrooms. Did you inherit your wonderful sense of humour, so evident in your posts, from her?

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  16. Obviously a woman with imagination!

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  17. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to inventedness and off beat humour. What a wonderful photo and lovely endowment to you from your mum!

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  18. Very creative mom you have there, Alan. And pretty, too!

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  19. lan: That's the one. In Dudley. Don't tell me - you have already featured it.

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  20. Alan, this photo explains a lot!
    What a fantastic, off-the-wall idea for a costume - no doubt she was showered with compliments..

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  21. That's very clever of your mom to dress that way. I'm sure it stirred up some whispering in the background in that era. She looks like a lady who was ahead of her time. Great post, thanks for visiting my crazy blog.

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  22. I love that Alan, and I think I love your mother. She had an amazing sense of humor and daring.

    That is just and amazing and delightful photo.

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  23. Brilliant idea for a costume, and I'm glad she thought to have a photo taken to immortalize it!

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  24. Oh, I do love that costume! The raggedy-raggedy dress looks soft as tp and the look your Mum is giving the camera.... -j

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  25. Splendid post, how amusing!

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