Friday 5 February 2016

Crime Uncovered and The January Sales.

I have just got back from the Enthralling The Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition at the Museum of London. The first time ever items from the Metropolitan police's 'Black Museum' were on display to the public.

All the items have been kept carefully catalogued since the 1870's when the museum was first created  by a serving policeman. (we both suspect the officer in question was really a frustrated Librarian, we instantly recognised a kindred spirit in his meticulous cataloguing!)

The museum has always been used as a tool for training new detectives and it was absolutely fascinating to be lead through the history of crime detection, via the particular cases which lead to, or individual officers who developed, the techniques of detection that are still used today.

And of course from a ghoulish voyeuristic point of view, seeing the hair (still wrapped around it's curler) of one of Dr Crippen's victims, or the gall stones of one of the acid bath victims sends a delicious shiver down the spine.

Having said that I found many items extremely sobering. The death mask cast of a hanged man where you could clearly see the imprint of the rope on the neck or the tools of the trade carefully packed into the executioner's case.
The stockings that had to be cut from a strangling victim's neck where you could clearly see that the heel had carefully darned more than once I found particularly poignant.

All in all a great exhibition.

Now onto more frivolous things!

My January sales shopping. There wasn't loads, but more than I planned when I got sucked into looking at the Collectif website. As a rule I don't shop there, After a few disasters I conclude I'm simply the wrong shape for their clothes, and yet I ended up buying a frock, I haven't tried it on yet, (even though I ordered it at the end of December it only arrived this week!) I loved the look of it and it seems a forgiving shape, we shall see.....
I also couldn't resist a couple of cardigans

 I know I'll get wear out of both of them anyway!

I bought 2 Hell Bunny dresses, I know I'm on safe ground with them.
I have this dress in 4 colourways now and this one was mine for £10.
A new summer holiday frock :)
I bought this frock for £4.99 in Peacocks, perfect for wearing to work.
Finally I bought this anchor print shirt in Sainsbury's when they had one of their 25% off all clothes deals.
 I got a bracelet from Accessorize that was broken and they didn't have any more so I ended up exchanging it for this bag.
and on the subject of bags I found this fabulous little green beauty on Ebay, it made me very happy.
lastly I shall leave you with this t-shirt Himself bought me for Christmas
Who you gonna call?

10 comments:

  1. The Crime Museum Uncovered sounds frightfully ghoulish. John Haigh murdered three of his victims in the town where I grew up. Not only did they find the gall stones did not dissolve in the acid but nor did one victim's false teeth, allegedly. You've certainly been having a splurge...love the handbags, especially the WOW bag...it reminds me of Batman. xx

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  2. oo, I hope that Collectif dress fits! Good buys on the others, including the cute cardigan with cocktails on. Where do you normally buy your Hell Bunny from?

    That exhibition sounds wonderfully macabre, how gruesome! x

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  3. Such a wealth of fab finds! How cute is that cocktail cardigan? Love!

    I really like that classic green handbag, too. Such an elegant, timeless design and really pretty colour.

    You unearth the coolest things!

    ♥ Jessica

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  4. What a fascinating place to visit!

    I love all of your finds and the Accessorize bag is so cute - it would go really well with the cocktail cardigan. Love the green bag, too.

    x
    Veronica
    vronni60s.blogspot.com

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  5. The exhibition sounds fascinating. I read a book about the Black Museum years ago and it had some pretty grim photos in it.

    Great spurge you had there - I love the spotty Hell Bunny dress and your 'Wow' handbag.

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  6. Exhibition sounds grimly fascinating! Love both your new bags, especially the Wow one.

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  7. The exhibition sounds as though it has a macabre fascination about it. Shopping for frocks was obviously a necessary antidote to the grimness! Love that little green bag, very sweet. xxx

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  8. That exhibition sounds like a fascinating insight into the very human aspects of crime. I think I'd come away thinking of the poor victims. Congratulations on the green bag, it's a beauty! Xxx

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  9. You do find the best bags! Though that T-shirt might be even better than the bags...

    I know what you mean about sobering; when I went to the British Library's 'Gothic' exhibition they had the 'Dear Boss...' Jack the Ripper letter on display, and it suddenly hit me that here in a room full of fictional horrors was a link to a real one, with real people involved. Anything like that has to show the humanity, otherwise it's just gratuitous. I'd love to see that exhibition at the Museum of London, but I doubt I'll make it to the Big Smoke before it ends.

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  10. That exhibition sounds right up my street.
    You have been busy! That green bag is particularly gorgeous. xxx

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