Blossom and Butterflies

These lazy spring days

continue - but how far away

those times called Long Away!

A Haiku poem by Buson

Just Something To Think About...

Nell x

Buried Alive!

For the past few weeks I've been...absent but I have reasons excuses:

1. Essays and in particular English essays which are a pain to start, write and finish. They have a wonderful way of turning working brain cells to mush within ten minutes.

2. Other coursework in general piling up - it's getting pretty busy now what with exams approaching etc...

3. Feeling exhausted when I do have free time/if I have free time and wishing that I had more energy to write something on here rather then leaving little "hello yes I am still alive" messages every week or so. 

However hopefully sometime in the next few days I'll put a longer post up and I'll get around to writing the monthly book character (it should be the third one but I forgot about March - typical of me) so expect that appearing sometime soon. :) 

I don't take Maths (thank goodness) but this summed up the amount of stuff I have to do!

Don't go anywhere!

Nell x

Be Silly!

"This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."
(Quote by Mark Twain, 1894)


I completely agree with that quote! So today is April Fool's Day and I'm busily finding stuff for my costume. Right now I've found a suit jacket, a shirt, black jeans and brogues. Doesn't sound very interesting but then I add a pipe, magnifying glass and then, wait for it, a deerstalker! 'Can you guess what it is yet'? ;) 

That's right I'm being Sherlock Holmes on April Fool's Day! Did you dress for April Fool's and what was it? Comment below! :)




Nell x

The Circus

Ladies and gentlemen,
Boys and girls,
Step right up, step right up.
Come closer, you won't believe your eyes,
Behind this curtain,
Witness something you've never seen before,
Heard before, dreamt before,
The most amazing show on earth!


I saw the trailer for 'Water for Elephants' yesterday and it looks soo good! There's something about circuses that seem so other-worldly if that makes sense. Also the trailer reminded me a little of 'Big Fish' which is one of my favourite movies. :)

I hope that the next post will be longer so until next time,


Nell x

Little Folk

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting 

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping altogether;

Green jacket, red cap, 

And white owl's feather!

'The Fairies' by William Allingham

It is one of my absolute favourite poems.

- Artwork by John Bauer - 

Until next time,

Nell x

When we were Young

When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three,

It was hardly me.

When I was Four,

I was not much more.

When I was Five,

I was just alive.

But now I am Six,

I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

By A.A Milne

Nell x

You're never fully dressed without a smile

Smiling is infectious,

You can catch it like the flu.

Someone smiled at me today,

And I started smiling too. 

:)

Happy wanderings,
Nell x

A Childhood Wish

"So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!"

I believe in fairies.

Nell x

In the Month of Madness

"Have I gone mad?" asked the Hatter. His expression was tragic as if his mind had been stretched to breaking point. Calmly Alice put her hands on either side of his worried face and in a reassuring voice answered.

"I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers but I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

The Hatter smiled, his large green eyes united with their spark of eccentricity once again. 

Right now I know how the Hatter feels...being different to everyone else that I know hurts sometimes but this quote is a reminder that being different isn't always a longterm curse and has it's advantages. Besides I'd rather be the Mad Hatter then a playing card any day! 

This post is for my oldest, truest and bestest friend in the world! Thank you for your crazy ways, wit and sense of humour which have provided so much fun over the years! Thank you for all those camping adventures, spaceship flights and trips to Hogwarts! 

Nell x

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: The Amazons

They were an army of Amazons: tall, striking and fierce. Their long hair was tied sharply behind their ears in a manner that extenuated their sharp cheek bones and bright red lips. Yellows, browns and reds all mingled together like autumn leaves on a breeze. They had been dressed in identical tailored black suit jackets with strange black leotards beneath and high, black heels on their long, lean feet. Their expressions were sphinx-like as they towered above their admirers. With an otherworldly air they followed their leader, the tallest of them all, to the end of the raised path: the catwalk.

They certainly looked feline with their eyes outlined heavily in kohl, the ends of the black war paint tailed away towards their elfin ears. The kohl seemed to distort the natural shapes of their eyes, forcing the pupils to narrow, the lids to come closer and the whites to lengthen in an animalistic way. Their mouths had been painted a poisonous-looking red and worn in a defiant, haughty style. Their whole presence echoed of chicness, of something no other women on Earth could ever achieve. Their walk was a walk of confidence with their angular hips out, shoulders back and legs straight. Music boomed like tribal drums into the ears of their admirers and the women stalked down the black, lacquered pathway past the flashes of cameras and the awed gasps of the people below them. Their leader reached the end of the walk and struck the pre-arranged pose. Like a signal in battle her soldiers stopped behind her and struck the same pose. The effect was astounding: the audience went wild and the cameras flashed blindingly out of the darkness. No emotion escaped the leader’s arresting face. This was their territory and at her feet was their pray. The leader turned on her heels leaving behind her a bewitched world staring, mesmerised, at her swiftly retreating back. The spell had been cast…

Another experimental story about a picture from weheartit.

Happy wanderings,

Nell x

It's Here!

"To the women of America..."no, make it to the women everywhere: "banish the black, burn the blue, and bury the beige! From now on girls...think pink! Think pink! When you shop for summer clothes." - Funny Face


1st March today and although it's not the Equinox I couldn't resist waving goodbye to the coldness and welcoming back the sunshine! The film 'Funny Face' reminded me of the start of spring so I added the quote of the 'Think Pink!' song. 


Happy wanderings, 


Nell x

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: The Cavern

He was about to descend into the dark chasm. His destination was unknown, his thoughts were jumbled with anticipation and dread. With astonished eyes he looked down at his legs that were already being consumed by the inky blackness below. Somewhere down there he heard the sound of water rushing over rocks. Was there a subterranean river? 


The faint sound of the river mixed with a raucous chattering of the brightly coloured parrots as they flew to and fro, feeding their young in their cliffside nests. It was cold in the shadow of the cavern's mouth; a welcome change from the heat and humidity of the surrounding jungle.


He checked his ropes and safety clips for the final time before pushing off the last lip-like edge of the vast cavern. It sloped diagonally away from him into the parrot's cliff home. His feet left the smooth rock. He was fully sitting in the gathering blackness with nothingness all around him...   

I'm sorry that I've been very quiet recently. I was on weheartit (again) and found this image and thought of a short story about it. Hopefully this makes up for the past few days of silence!

Happy wanderings, 

Nell x

Stars

This was one of the poems that my Mother used to read to me when I was tiny - ahh nostalgia :)

The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out

   Through the blinds and the curtains and bars;

And high overhead all moving about, 

   There were thousands of millions of stars.

There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,

   Nor of people in church or the Park,

As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,

   And that glittered and winked in the dark.

The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all, 

   And the star of the sailor, and Mars, 

These shown in the sky, and the pail by the wall

   Would be half full of water and stars.

They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries,

   And they soon had me packed into bed;

But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,

   And the stars going round in my head.    

'Escape at Bedtime' by Robert Louis Stevenson

- images from weheartit - 

Lessons from Old Friends

Today I was exploring my many bookshelves and found my collection of childhood fairytales. Among the battered old copies of Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella there was also a large book of fairytales and fables including disney and non-disney stories. Each of them had a lesson or a moral to share so I picked out my favourites (over-indulgent posts again- sorry!) and wrote them out here:

Dorothy taught me to appreciate home more.

Cinderella taught me that hard work pays off

Alice taught me to try six impossible things before breakfast.

Ariel taught me to follow my heart whatever happens.

Belle taught me that appearances shouldn't matter.

Mulan taught me to fight for what's right.

Who are your favourite heroines and what did they teach you? Why do you like them? Hope you like mine! ;)

Leave a comment!  :)

Until the next time: happy wanderings,

Nell x

- images from weheartit - 

Shoe Art ♥

"I like Cinderella, I really do. She has a good work ethic. I appreciate a good, hard-working gal. And she likes shoes. The fairy tale is all about the shoe at the end, and I'm a big shoe girl." - Amy Adams

Warning: this post appears to have become entirely superficial!

Happy wanderings, 

Nell x

- weheartit - 

Be Green: Eco and Literally!

For some reason this month I seem to have developed a new love for green. Maybe it's because the Spring is nearly here and green is associated with freshness. I'm getting increasingly more impatient for a new start. Winter is lovely in its own way but I'm beginning to feel that it's time for a change. Enjoy and welcome the green-ness! :)

- images from weheartit -

To be away with the Raggle Taggle Gypsies

It's funny because my great-grandmother made a patchwork blanket that's very similar to the one in the picture!

"There were three old gypsies came to our hall door,

They came brave and boldly-o,

One sang high and the other sang low,

And the Lady sang the raggle taggle gypsy-o."

When I was little I was given a tiny toy caravan to play with. It made of girly pink and purple plastic and wasn't very realistic (the roof opened up) but it made me always dream about traveling around the country in my own gypsy caravan like the one above (looking again I don't think that picture is of a gypsy caravan but I like the warm colours of it).


Happy wanderings,


Nell x

Valentine's Day

So as you've guessed probably by the title of this post and the shocking amount of hearts that have sprung up everywhere that it's Valentine's Day on Monday. This year it isn't a such a big deal, for me anyway, and if I'm honest I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day being unattached and single. It makes a refreshing change to last year when Valentine's Day was a disappointment when the boy in question failed to remember or care.


Anyway I hope you all have a better Valentine's Day then I did last year!


Happy wanderings,


Nell x

Happy Valentine's Day! xx

Character of the Month - Rose Mortmain from 'I Capture the Castle'

One day I would like to become an author and I have already started practising my writing. However I hope to get better at it soon! Though before I even thought of becoming an author I fell in love with reading - novels mostly. I just love reading about other worlds and other people's lives. I guess that's also why I like photography: you get a peek at someone else's thoughts and life. When I read the characters become almost like friends to me and the idea came to me whilst reading today: character of the month. So this is it, the first 'Character of the Month' post on 'Footsteps of a Fledgling'.

Rose Mortmain sitting with her sister Cassandra

"Rose looks particularly fetching by firelight because she is a pinkish person; her skin has a pink glow and her hair is pinkish gold, very light and feathery." 

I've read 'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith countless times and seen the film and found the character of Rose Mortmain, the sister of the narrator, to be both selfless and selfish. I think to understand what I mean you have to read the book which, I promise you, isn't a arduous task! 

I first read 'I Capture the Castle' whilst on holiday in Wales. We stayed in a little cottage right underneath a privately-owned crumbling castle. It was built around the same time as the castle in the book and felt funny to read it in the garden whilst looking up at the real-life castle just across the lane! 

Rose Mortmain is the prettier older sister of Cassandra Mortmain who writes a journal in the 1920s-30s telling the story of her family living, virtually penniless, in a crumbling castle called Godsend Castle. Mr. Mortmain is a struggling writer who wrote one bestseller and now suffers from terrible writer's block. It is Rose's fantasy to marry a wealthy man and escaping the poverty of her family. She gets engaged later in the novel after a little help from Cassandra, her step-mother Topaz (not wicked!), Thomas her brother and Stephen who is the family servant. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't read the book because it is such a fantastic read. The piece 'Clair de Lune' is mentioned in the book and used in the film and whenever I hear it I always think of the Mortmains in their crumbling castle waiting for something or someone to help them.

Happy wanderings :)

Nell x

5 Things I Love About the Winter

These are only 5 things that I love about the Winter. I could go on listing but it would get a little repetitive! So here are my chosen five, what are yours? :)


Happy wanderings,


Nell x

1. The sights, sounds and smells of a traditional yuletime market in a town or country village

2. Wearing that special dress that you were saving for New Year.

3. How everything in December glows with thousands of lights.

4. When the snow turns England into Narnia.

5. All good things must come to an end and what better way to end Winter then with the beginning of Spring?

Into the Wardrobe & Through the Looking Glass

Welcome to 'Footsteps of a Fledgling', a safe haven from the harsh reality of the modern world that we live in.


My name's Nell or at least it's the name that seemed to find me. Not my real name - more of a variation of it. Once again I've missed the beginning of the year and the traditional time for new beginnings but it felt the right time to start this blog because a lot is and will be changing in the next few years.


The main aim of this blog is to improve my writing skill, something I really want to improve. I already have a storywrite account under the name 'wandering-wordsmith' so please feel free to check it out and comment on it. Every comment helps after all! Another aim is to improve my photography, both editing and taking pictures, so I hope to put some of my own work on here very soon. My final aim is that this blog be entertaining so I hope you do enjoy 'Footsteps of a Fledging'.


Happy wanderings :)


Nell x