Interview with Charly Cox

We’re so excited that one of our favourite poets wrote us a poem inspired by autumn and the changes it brings, for our latest issue. Charly Cox’s book She Must Be Mad is the best-selling poetry debut of 2018. We love that her writing focuses on destigmatising mental health, what it means to be a woman in the modern world and, of course, everything else in between. Grab a copy of issue 45 to read the poem Charly wrote especially for us. Here’s our chat with the writer and poet about our shared love of autumn and her perfect day…

What inspires you about autumn? Jumpers. Jackets. Boots. Sartorially I'm at my best from October onward, which makes me feel put together. Put together visually tends to mean put together in practice of work, for me. Ridiculous, I'm sure. I love the cold and the red wine and the sudden pull to closeness of autumn, you're not quite yet wishing for summer again but you're enjoying the retelling of what happened. It feels like such a wonderful time to look back on the sun stung memories and mistakes and turn them into something new again.

Describe your perfect day… I spend a lot of time wishing for a change of scenery/pace/routine but the more I thought about this question the more I realised how perfect my current set up is for me.

Wake at 10am, feed Peanut (my adopted wild rabbit) (yes, really) and walk into the woods with Piper my black lab. Coffee and a cigarette by the fireplace. Re-listen to the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, more coffee. Shower, dress, get on the train to London and convince a friend to take an early lunch and have a glass of wine. Wonder Soho aimlessly, buy another book and a magazine I don't need. Call Adrian. Call my grandparents. Sit and people watch on Dean Street and scribble in my notebook. Think about dinner. Convince another friend to let me go to theirs and cook and invite everyone over. More wine. Catch up. Be stupid. End up in G-A-Y Late.

What does writing poetry feel like? It feels safe and understood.

What's your writing routine? It's highly sporadic which makes deadlines and feeling 'productive' difficult. I'm slowly accepting that my routine at its best and most powerful starts at 1am.

Where do you like to write poetry? I write everything on my phone to ease the sense of 'oh my god my hands are hovering above a keyboard why has my brain gone silent I'm a failure' that I get when I try and write on a laptop if it's deadline based but love nothing more than scribbling in my notebook as I wake to get out initial ideas. I like writing in bed and on the tube, in pubs on my own.

How did you start writing poetry? I've written for as long as I can remember. I started writing to profess love for teen heartthrobs and damn school crushes and then it later turned into a crutch through times of depression and anxiety. Poetry became a source of therapy for me. Once what were often terrified and enmeshed thoughts and feelings were out on a page and tangible, something for me to look at and study, I felt as though they were easier to tackle and understand. I still feel that way a lot.

What're you reading right now? So. Many. Things. I am terrible at doing one thing at once, so I've got 5 books on the go at the moment. The one I carry around the most at the moment is The Best of A.A Gill. He was a genius.

Read Charly’s ode to autumn in issue 45.

Issue 45 playlist: autumn

Illustration: Chrissy Curtin

Come and have a sit down. Why not rest your head for a short while? We’ve compiled a suitably dreamy playlist for our autumn issue to accompany you through the darkening days of the season. Slow your pace and let the likes of Bat for Lashes, Aretha Franklin and School of Seven Bells soothe your soul. There, that’s a bit better already.

Take a listen to our autumn playlist here

Win some Yawn PJs

Wahoo, we’ve teamed up with our fave nightwear brand Yawn to offer you a chance to win some PJs.

Simply answer the following question: In what year was Yawn created? 2007, 2014 or 2016. Give your answer here.

Competition closes on 5 December 2018.

(The answer is somewhere in our latest issue)

Terms & conditions:
The competition closes Wednesday 5 December 2018. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries after this time and notified shortly after. Full terms and conditions are at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Win £250 to spend at Birdsong

Win £250 to spend with sustainable brand Birdsong so you can dress, protest and totally transform your (out)look

To be in with a chance of winning, answer this question.

What type of hat did the Black Panthers wear in the 60s? Give your answer here.

Competition closes on Wednesday 5 December 2018.

(HINT: you’ll find the answer is somewhere in our latest issue)

Terms & conditions:
The competition closes 5 December 2018. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries after this time and notified shortly after. Full terms and conditions are at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Time travel: a visit to the Bauhaus

Photos: Frances Ambler

In our late summer issue, we share four different stories of time travel. Frances Ambler wrote about what it was like to spend a night at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany.

"I was standing in front of the then ultra-modern building… Its architecture represented to me the beginning of a new era.” So wrote student Hannes Beckmann on arriving at the Bauhaus in Dessau. Walter Gropius designed the building to match this ambitious art school, a vision of soaring glass, proclaiming its own name in huge letters down its side. Its photograph was circulated around the world – at first a symbol of German creativity and forward thinking; later, after its closure by the Nazis, a symbol of a lost era.

As I stood there, in grey drizzle, it wasn’t quite living up to this promise. I was staying overnight in one of the 28 studio rooms where students had worked and slept, part of my research for my book, The Study of the Bauhaus. The room had the single bed, fitted cupboards and sink familiar from student halls – here, however, the furnishings revealed the creativity of its former inhabitants: the tubular metal furniture devised by Marcel Breuer seen in a set of nesting tables; the modernist patterns promoted by the weaving workshop present in a bedspread devised by Gunta Stölzl. Echoing the pattern of my own student life, I crawled into bed with my phone, distracting myself with the hum of contemporary online life.

If I went to bed in a 21st-century fug, I woke up in the optimism of the 1920s. Bright blue sky had taken the place of the grey. The huge desk by the window suddenly looked inviting. I stepped onto the balcony, and looked over the surrounding town in a new light.

The day opened up a Bauhaus experience bigger than the room: what had been the student canteen, auditorium and gym, the spaces where workshops once whirred with activity. On a tour, we stopped in one of the studio rooms, made up as it would have been then. It had belonged to Marianne Brandt, who had found her calling in the metal workshops, inventing lamps, ashtrays and her now-famous tea set, which today sell for thousands of pounds. It was right next door to the room where I’d spent the night.

Looking at Brandt’s record player, I understood my earlier disconnect. The many snapshots taken by the students themselves show them in and out of each others' rooms, leaning across their balconies and throwing impromptu parties – rows of cakes spread across the nesting tables, grinning attendees squished onto the single bed. They experimented and learnt together; they also gave friendship.

Right wing opponents forced the Bauhaus to close in Dessau in 1932, and it moved, temporarily, to Berlin before finally closing the following year. Its students spread out around the world. We tend to hear the names of the lucky ones, such as Josef Albers or Marcel Breuer, who forged new lives in America. Others struggled in Germany, their careers never reaching such dizzy heights. Some suffered in concentration camps. The building itself was damaged in bombing, only fully opening for visitors four years ago.

But the Bauhaus was always more than its building. It was about the people and their desire and determination to build a better world – a spirit that blazed as brightly as that day’s blue sky.

The Story of the Bauhaus is published on 11 October (Ilex Publishing). You can pre-order a copy here. And enjoy three other stories of time travel in our late summer issue.

What We're Loving: London Nights exhibition

What happens when the sun goes down? Nighttime can mean danger, excitement, maybe drunkenness, too, or perhaps the possibility of escaping from prying eyes. See the capital at nighttime through the lens of 60 photographers at the Museum of London’s current London Nights exhibition. The images all have one thing in common they reflect the darkness that can transform a city – from the late 19th century to the present day. From deserted streets to dingy clubs, it’ll make you think about the city in a whole new way…

Mods on the street Borehamwood 1969.
Photograph by Terry Spencer

Song and Dance from the series London By Night, 1983.
Photograph by Tish Murtha

London A Modern Project, 1995, by Rut Blees Luxemburg

From the series Southwestern, 2007-10,
Photograph by Niall McDiarmid

Bourgeoisie from Night Flowers, 2014
Photographer Damien Frost

Ideal viewing now the evenings are getting darker. The exhibition is on until 11 November, museumoflondon.org.uk.

Cocktails inspired by inspirational women: The Zadie Smith

Celebrating incredible women? Cheers to that! Free The Tipple by Jennifer Croll is filled with cocktails inspired by iconic women. This Friday, we're sipping on The Zadie Smith. Here's how to make it for yourself... 

Illustrations by Kelly Shami

The Zadie Smith

Ingredients

1 sugar cube
2 shots bourbon
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
½ shot crème de cacao
½ shot absinthe
Garnish: lemon peel

Put a sugar cube in a mixing glass with enough water to soften it and crush with a spoon. Add bourbon, bitters, crème de cacao, and ice, and stir until chilled.

Take a teacup and pour in absinthe. Turn the glass until the absinthe has coated it on all sides, and then pour out the excess. Strain the bourbon mixture into the teacup and garnish

Some writers take years to make it (and most never do), but Zadie Smith has been a sensation ever since she published her first book, White Teeth, at age 24. Her broad, sweeping novels cleverly and deftly examine race, class, cultural identity, and celebrity, and their beautifully-crafted sentences and engrossing plots have made her a giant of contemporary literature.

As a half-Jamaican, half-English woman who grew up in northwest London, Zadie has long been both a symbol for and an interpreter of multicultural Britain. White Teeth explored that very theme through the tale of three culturally diverse families whose lives intersect in England’s capital. Her subsequent novels considered topics ranging from the nature of beauty to female friendship, with liberal doses of pop culture; Swing Time, for example, included a Kylie Minogue-inspired singer.

Zadie is also a style inspiration and role model for creative, ambitious women. With her chunky glasses, patterned tops, and turbans, she’s made the pages of Vogue, while her ability to consistently deliver gorgeous prose, year after year, has made her the envy of writers everywhere. Her cocktail is inspired by tradition, but isn’t too beholden to it. A chocolatey spin on a Sazerac, it’s served in a teacup — like a proper English cuppa.

This is an extract from Free The Tipple, published by Prestel. Check out the book for more tasty cocktails inspired by kickass women, including MIA, Frida Kahlo, Serena Williams, Beyoncé, and so many more... 

On Emmeline Pankhurst and Getting Stuck In

Illustration: Bijou Karman

Sometimes we all need a bit of guidance. Writers E. Foley and B. Coates have channelled the wisdom of remarkable women from throughout history for their new book, What Would Boudicca Do? From Hedy Lamarr to Rosalind Franklin, they show you how the examples of great ladies from the past can make your present a brighter place. Plus it’s illustrated by Bijou Karman (whose work also adorns our cover this issue). Here’s what we can learn from Emmeline Pankhurst about Getting Stuck In. 

We live in deeply unsettling times. When ridicu­lous men with access to armies and red buttons seem to be in charge all over the place, it feels very tempting to put your fingers in your ears and shout ‘La la la la la’ to drown out the terrible noise our politi­cians are making left, right and centre. Tempting, yes, but wrong. 

Emmeline Pankhurst, champion for the right of women to have a vote in the first place, would have stern (but motivational) words with you.

Born in Moss Side, Manchester, Emmeline Goulden was weaned on the intoxicating milk of radicalism, raised in a family burning with political passion. The eldest of ten children, she is said to have attended her first women’s rally at the age of eight, and her forward-thinking parents sent her to a Parisian fin­ishing school in which she was instructed in the arts of book-keeping and chemistry, as well as the usual embroidery and etiquette. In 1879 she married Rich­ard Pankhurst, a barrister 24 years older than her and buddy of the great reformer John Stuart Mill. With her husband’s support, Ms P. founded the Women’s Franchise League – one of their wins was ensuring that married women were able to have a say in local (but not general) elections. This was an early step in the struggle for votes for women – before this, you were lucky if you got a chance to pick the captain of the local knitting club – but still, only those women clever enough to ensnare a husband got their minute at the ballot box.

After Richard’s death at the age of 64, Emmeline managed, through the fug of grief, to find solace again in intense social campaigning. She found­ed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903 with her three daughters, Christabel, Sylvia and Adela. The Pankhurst gang’s goal was simple: votes for women in every election in which men could vote. Frustrated with a lack of progress on this issue across the party spectrum, Emmeline, with her gals at her side, set the political barometer to stormy. Their slogan was ‘Deeds, not words’, and boy, did they mean it.

The WSPU’s dramatic feats included arson attacks, pouring acid into mailboxes, and even (for the Fifty Shades of Grey fans among you) attacking Winston Churchill at Bristol Temple Meads rail station with a riding crop. One woman even took her meat cleaver to Velázquez’s Venus in the National Gallery; she said afterwards that she attacked the most beautiful woman in history as revenge for the government attacking the woman with the most beautiful soul in history – our very own Emmeline. Another, Emily Wilding Davison, ran onto the course at the Epsom Derby in June 1913 and was killed by the King’s horse. It’s worth noting that these high-stakes stunts were too much for some, and Sylvia and Adela abandoned the WSPU in protest, causing a family rift that never really healed.

When war broke out in 1914, the pragmatic Emme­line called a truce. She recognised that there was a greater cause to fight for – and that there was no point chasing the vote if ultimately there might not be a country in which to cast it. She switched her focus to campaigning for women to join the war effort, and as the boys went to the front to fight for Blighty, women began to take on more traditionally male occupations. Suddenly there were female tram drivers, farmhands and firefighters, and the ladies also took on roles in the civil service, police force and factories. It’s no surprise that women began to question why they were being paid less than their male counterparts for identi­cal roles (and it’s frankly bonkers, not to mention real­ly boring, that we are having to ask the same question over a hundred years later). Women’s rights were back in the spotlight and, in 1918, the Representation of the People Act extended the vote to women over thirty with some stipulations: they had to own property; or be married to a property owner; or be a graduate voting in a university constituency. So not much cop for our younger working-class sisters.

Emmeline died in 1928, agonisingly just two weeks before women finally won the vote on the same terms as their menfolk. Some hair-splitting historians have questioned whether it was Ms Pankhurst’s actions or merely the seismic changes of the war that meant that women were finally judged capable of having the vote without frittering it away on fancies. Was it simply that, with so many men dead, it was now impossible for the government to overlook women? In our eyes, Emmeline still deserves our respect, and more importantly we owe it to her to turn up and take part in our democracy – her activism paved the way for a future in which women’s equality has never been off the agenda. Yes, politics today is unpredictable and sometimes depressing, but women have a special duty to exercise a right that was so recently fought for and ferociously hard-won. In fact, we’d go so far as suggesting that the next time you have to vote – in a general election, for a staff rep or for the oddest-shaped vegetable at the village show – you make sure you put your best feminist fashion foot forward and array yourself in the WSPU colours of purple, white and green.

Taken from WHAT WOULD BOUDICCA DO?: Everyday Problems Solved by History's Most Remarkable Women by E. Foley and B. Coates and illustrated by Bijou Karman, published by Faber & Faber

Reading Art

A book filled with art for book lovers – that's our kind of book. Here's a sneak peek inside Reading Art by David Trigg...

Young Woman Leaning on a Book, Anne Vallayer–Coster, 1784, oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, Private collection. Private Collection

The Reading Girl, Theodore Roussel, 1886—7, oil on canvas, 152.4 × 161.3 cm (60 × 63 ½ in), Tate, London. Tate, London 

Crown, Wen Wu, 2016, oil on canvas, 30.5 × 25.5 cm (12 × 10 in), Private collection. © Wen Wu. Courtesy Riflemaker London. 

This enchanting compendium celebrates art and reading throughout 2,000 years of art history. And this gorgeous hardback book is a work of art in itself.

Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers by David Trigg. Published by Phaidon. Go to uk.phaidon.com to see more

An ode to stationery

words: Jane Audas

As August melts away, cooler weather will bring leaf kicking and the joy of layered dressing in knitted things. This is also the time of year many are preparing to go back to school or college, so buying a new rucksack, pen, paper and eraser. That might be a tad romantic in our time of computers. But even after being out of formal education for decades, I still get the urge to go shopping for a new protractor set when September comes.

I love stationery. The old-fashioned gummed envelope, blue marbled notebook sort. And the washi tape, stickers and improbably cute Japanese cartoon character sort. I like a wall of pens with scribbled on ‘test’ notes lodged sporadically in them. And to find the thinnest nib is my self-appointed, happily accepted, lifelong challenge. So far, I am at 0.03mm.

To my joy, there now exist beautifully created stationery shops. The sort of shop where a notebook with an elastic band around it will cost a pretty penny. But I think something I use every day (as I do a notebook) is a special buy and worth the cost. With age comes the knowledge that four or five cheap tacky notebooks can’t replace the one that really pleases your hand and heart.

I can also be found in more ordinary stationery shops. On holiday I’ll search out both the just-so stationery emporium and the (hopefully slightly dusty) office stationery shop. There I will hopefully find multi-size binders and clear plastic poppered wallets, old paper accounting books with blue carbon copy paper in-between their sheets. If I get lucky there will be a selection of tiny cardboard boxes containing paperclips, drawing pins, small bulldog clips and the like. And if the stars are really aligned, the shop will sell cardboard tubes of different sizes.

A love of stationery began early. As a child I had a Galt Toy post office. This came in a bright red cardboard container, shaped like an old-fashioned post box. Inside bits of paper, a franking stamp and ink pad, gummed stickers, stamps and mini envelopes combined to keep me quiet running a post office from my bedroom.

Growing up with recurring autumnal needs for new stationery set me up for a life in paper and envelopes. One preferably topped off with a tin containing a rainbow of 50 assorted felttip pens. Comedian Victoria Wood had the right of it when she said: “I didn’t want a boyfriend, I wanted a 13-colour biro.”

Our friends at Papier love stationery as much as we do, so they are offering 15% off personalised stationery using code OHCOMELY15 at papier.com. Offer expires 30 September 2018, valid on notebooks, notecards, sketchbooks and planners only

Blooming lovely: Harriet Parry

We love Harriet Parry's floral creations, so we caught up with the artist behind the beautiful blooms to find out where it all began and where she gets her inspiration

We're obsessed with your blooms. Can you take us back to where it all began, when did you fall in love with flowers? I grew up in the countryside, so have always been surrounded by nature. My granny had such a beautiful garden, and we would often make flower arrangements to enter into the village fete, along with the cutest miniature gardens. I went on to study Fine Art, so combining the two makes perfect sense. 

When an opportunity arose to work as a florist – from a more design background, rather than a floristry one – I jumped at the chance. I learnt on the job and I've developed my own style ever since. I have worked on lots of amazing projects with the likes of Vogue, and on television and fashion sets. I also collaborate with Bloom & Wild to really show everyday flower arrangers the beauty of styling flowers. We focus on experimenting and using flowers in creative and unexpected ways.

We also love your miniatures, how do you create them? I create my miniature arrangements by using the tiny parts of different full-sized flowers, arranging them in mini doll's house vases or other tiny vessels – as I would a full-sized bloom. Sometimes, the individual parts of a big flower take on a new life. For example, parts of a wild garden flower in "real life" could be used as a tropical in "miniature life"

The anatomy of a flower is a fascinating thing. When working on a tiny scale you observe and work in a considered way, gaining a greater appreciation for the medium of flowers I'm so lucky to work with.

What flowers are currently in bloom, and what has been your favourite for the hot summer months? Currently in bloom are dahlias – my favourite. I love a bold shape and colour. My favourite summer flowers are also sweet peas, irises, and peonies.

I recently styled a shoot with Bloom & Wild, for their collaboration with the fashion label Mother of Pearl, which featured some beautiful Peonies in fabulous pinks, whites and deep reds. I think everyone loves a peony right?

If you could be a flower, which would it be? A hydrangea, they are always found brightening up people's gardens. They also have an earthy scent, which reminds me of where I grew up.

You work with flowers in such innovative ways, where does your inspiration come from? I get inspiration from so many things. Art, music, fashion, a moment in a film, a particular time in history, or just something that's caught my eye while going about my day. These are often referenced in my designs, which I approach with a painterly aesthetic. People are also a great source of inspiration. I love collaborating with other designers, artists and brands, which really adds magic to my creative process.

What's next? Well, I'd love to have an exhibition of my miniature arrangements. The mini scale gives the pieces a precious, treasured and jewel-like delicacy. I'd encase them all in glass boxes. I think that would be lovely.

Give Harriet a follow on Insta @harrietparryflowers

The fight for 50:50 Parliament

Why should we fight for more women at Westminster? Men currently outnumber women 2:1, but what impact is this having on the UK as a whole? Lucy Skoulding on the fight for a 50:50 parliament.

Frances Scott formed the basis of 50:50 Parliament when her eight-year-old daughter was elected to her school council. "There’s always a boy and a girl from each class," she explained to Frances, "boys don’t understand the decision around whether we should wear skirts or trousers to school and we don’t understand how the boys’ toilets get so dirty. Our experiences are different."

Over the next few years Frances began wondering why Westminster wasn’t the same. She began talking to people about the idea of two-seat constituencies with one male and one female MP.  Time passed, and Frances continued her life as a mother and antenatal teacher, but the burning desire to do something never left her mind. “The experience of giving birth had not got better, even though we knew how it should get better, and no wonder when most people in parliament don’t [give birth to] babies so it’s not an experience they can empathise with directly.” When one day Frances heard Oxbridge professors debating the two-seat constituencies idea on the radio, she launched a petition on Change.org and 50:50 Parliament was founded. 

Embarking on a journey: why we need to fight

Despite gaining less initial support than she expected, Frances worked to promote 50:50’s name. The political landscape began to change and the 50:50 movement grew. Nicola Sturgeon was elected as leader of the SNP and Baroness Scotland showed her public support of 50:50.

Looking at 50:50’s membership now, there are so many different women, all from different backgrounds, careers, and political views but all who want the same thing: equal seats and equal say for both genders at Westminster.

Hannah Philp is a 50:50 ambassador and founder of Her Stories, a charity raising money for women’s charities through art. “I really believe in 50:50’s mission, which is to ensure that women have an equal say in the laws that are made. I also believe that parliament should themselves be more representative of this country,” says Hannah. Currently there aren’t enough women putting themselves forward, for many reasons, but one is the lack of female political role models to follow. 

There is also the fact misogyny is still present in Westminster, as the recent sexual harassment cases highlighted, but it is also fuelled by some of the mainstream media. The Daily Mail ‘Legs-it’ incident is a prime example of this. “Women are targeted more than men and particularly if they put themselves forward and try to do anything political,” says Hannah. Frances continued to build support for 50:50. It wasn’t easy and in 2017 she felt close to giving up after losing her husband and feeling as if she was getting nowhere with the campaign. Then #Askhertostand was born. 

Ask Her To Stand

The #Askhertostand campaign is a practical way of trying to increase the number of women from all backgrounds who are in parliament to make it more representative of society. “Everyday women are signing up to stand and we liaise with the parties to put these women in the right direction,” said Frances.

“What if we all started asking the great women we know to stand and think about politics, to help them change the perception of themselves?” added Hannah. Dolly Theis, a Cambridge PhD epidemiology student, worked closely with Hannah to craft #Askhertostand.“Despite being different political camps, we have a beautiful friendship and by working together on this we could show the world that we could get on! We just want good people in parliament,” she said. “A lot of the work I do is cross party because ultimately we’ve got to all work together. The best solutions come out of that.”

Ask Her To Stand is such a simple way for both men and women to take action and improve representation in Westminster.  It doesn’t cost anything to say to someone - "I think you should be involved in politics,” says Hannah.

It’s time for deeds, not words

The long-term goal for 50:50 is to see a truly equal gender representation in Westminster, but there are many complex layers to this. While 50:50 currently focuses on fight for gender equality, Frances views this as a piece of the wider puzzle. We must fight for representation across all diversities and areas of life. There is also the fact that gender itself means many different things to different people.

 “I would always think about parliament being representative of society, and one that is evolving. The more people who don’t identify as either gender makes the gender issue for those people irrelevant and more about representing a specific viewpoint,” says Hannah.

For Dolly the future is bright, and she is very clear about her ambitions as a 50:50 ambassador. “We want to bump the numbers up big time ahead of the next election. [We need] women of all backgrounds, ages, and stories to stand for election. The commonality is just an incredibly passionate desire to change things.”

You can sign up at 5050parliament.co.uk

Delia Derbyshire: our woman who changed the world by Stealing Sheep

Ahead of their Wow Machine event, part of The Hexagon Experiment at The Great Exhibition of the North 2018, Stealing Sheep tell us about their enthusiasm for electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire

We first heard about Delia Derbyshire when we worked with the radiophonic workshop on a live score for a 1970s animated sci-fi film, Fantastic Planet. They shared stories about her work in the BBC workshop and sent us some of her unheard foley recordings [the sound effects added to media in post-production] that were found in her attic.  

Delia Derbyshire was an early pioneer of strange electronic music. She recorded “found sounds” during late night Abbey Road sessions. She cut up these tape loops meticulously to create rhythmic patterns that would now be categorised as minimal techno. She tweaked the “found sounds” with analogue effects pitch bending and tuning the sounds to create melodic movements in the music. From what we gather, she was always trying to find human qualities from the machines. Her mathematical brain aided this cut-up tape method. 

Our method of writing music is very similar, it’s just that now this method is emulated by software – we do endless late-night sampling and programme the sounds to the keyboard, setting arpeggiated patterns and sampling each vowel or cowbell note to make interesting musical sounds. We can really appreciate how laborious the work Delia did must have been. Her looped compositions are so simple sounding but host a multitude of technical skills. We feel a special alliance with Delia’s approach because of her commitment to creating organic ‘emotional’ qualities.

We’ve enjoyed listening to Delia’s tapes and have resampled her foley in our work using her techniques. We programme the electronic drum kit with her ‘explosion’ fx to replace the kick drum and use ‘tree falling’ as a loose snare, ‘gunshot’ to create a cool off-beat and a ‘car engine’ starts with her bar to create groove. It’s interesting to approach music like this. 

Delia’s influence is not just musical though. Her presence as an influential female electronic artist is very close to our hearts as we are always seeking female role models and idols that give us courage to do the same. Delia was highly creative but also very conflicted through her life. She was never recognised for her work during her lifetime.

Our WOW MACHINE involves her machine samples, creating organic rhythmic loops that are symbiotically synchronised to choreographed dancers. The music is thematic and vibrant but also goes to deep mysterious places, the dancing is robotic and unifying. It’s an emotional journey but also a visually fantastical one. We have referenced Delia Derbyshire as our pioneering woman through history but also taken a lot of inspiration from Kraftwerk and are hoping that as a female-powered techno electronica outfit we’ll reveal our own kind of magical mystery tour.

The Hexagon Experiment, which is presented by Brighter Sound, is part of The Great Exhibition of the North 2018. Six free Friday night experiments at venues across Newcastle feature live music, conversations and original commissions from pioneering women at the forefront of music, art and science. Wow Machine, Stealing Sheep’s tribute to Delia Derbyshire takes place on 31 August. More details here. 

Oh Comely reader survey

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Whether you love us, like us, loathe us, or reckon there's just a couple of tweaks to make us truly sparkle – from our illustrated covers to what we write and who we interview – please tell us what you really think in our reader survey. Plus, you'll be in with a chance of winning one of four £25 Wordery vouchers. Let loose, here.

Issue 44 playlist: late summer

Illustration: molly egan 

No matter where you are, whatever the weather, there are certain sights, smells and sounds that always conjure up those summers that seemed to last forever. This playlist celebrates those songs that pull you back through the past. It’s the soundtrack to staying out in the park till sundown, sitting out chatting with your friend into the early hours, perhaps a gentle doze in the sunshine. While the heat of summer may be beginning to die down, they’re the kind of memories that last forever. 

Take a listen to our late summer playlist here. 

Queer prom

Did you go to your school prom? Rachelle Foster speaks to the people reinventing it. Queer Prom is on the first night of Brighton Pride — and they are inviting members of the LGBTQIA+ community to ‘do it right, do it again, do it queer AF’.

It’s two weeks until Brighton Pride, which will shower the city with technicolour in this year’s ‘Colour my World’ theme. In keeping with the theme, Queer Prom's ‘Rainbow Ball’ is on Friday, 3 August. Queer Prom was set up in 2014 as an alternative to an incredibly alienating, heteronormative experience with no real space for people on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

 “Queer Prom began as an event designed to rewrite people’s negative prom experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community, it has since evolved into something far greater,” says its creator Vicki Cook. “I think that living under a Conservative government has meant individuals in a position of power and privilege are given much more of a platform than minority groups. We have witnessed a resurgence of fascism on a grand scale, resulting in discrimination and inequality in all forms.”

 Vicki says that even within the LGBTQIA+ community there is still gross prejudice and discrimination, especially towards trans and non-binary people. She makes reference to the anti-trans protest led by Lesbian Rights Alliance at Pride in London recently. The group claim ‘trans-activism erases lesbians’ and wrote a letter to Stonewall calling to remove the ‘L’ out of LGBT.

“As a part of the queer community we can’t ignore the issues that have sought to divide us,” says Vicki. “By coming together and throwing a prom that will change people’s past experiences, we also want to invest to change people’s future and not only will we party the night away, but we will unite in solidarity.”

As a non-profit event, Queer Prom are raising money for projects and services that support the LGBTQIA+ community. Their main charity choice, Mermaids, does tremendous work to support transgender children and their families. They will also be fundraising for Brighton’s LGBTQ Disability project and there will be charity buckets on the night to raise funds for other local causes.

Vicki says she struggles to take the time to pause and bask in her achievements and good ideas, and to see their potential on a greater scale. Her partner Jules Haydon Guaitamacchi saw her vision and helped her to mould it into what it is now. “As well as this, Jules is a PR powerhouse,” she added. Together, they took Queer Prom to the mainstream media and said "Look! Look at this amazing thing that’s happening in Brighton". 

“Jules and I share the same passion and drive, and have skills that really complement each other which makes us such a good team,” says Vicki. There is no dress code for the night, but Vicki and Jules say, "it’s an opportunity to wear the outfit your heart always desired".

“Last year, people came dressed to the nines in Queer Prom realness, some people even had their own crowns and tiaras! Everyone looked like Queer royalty and we can’t wait to see what people wear this time,” says Vicki.

Creators of Queer Prom, Vicki and Jules

 Queer Prom's ‘Rainbow Ball’ is on Friday 3 August. Tickets are available at patternsbrighton.com

Mordant recipe: mineral-based mordant alum and cream of tartar

Photo: Kim Lightbody

Turn to page 106 of the late summer issue of Oh Comely to read Babs Behan's tutorial on bundle dyeing with natural materials. But before you begin to dye, you'll need to mordant your fabric – this will help the colour stay on your fabric and not come off in the wash. This mordant recipe is also courtesy of Babs. 

Mineral-based mordant alum and cream of tartar

Alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) helps to improve the colourfastness of dyes, so they are less likely to fade from light and washing. It also helps to brighten colour tones. It is considered non-toxic in small quantities, so it is safe to use, but it should not be inhaled, ingested or come into contact with skin as it can cause irritation. You can buy it online or from Asian or South American food stores. Use the exact quantities of alum required for the weight of your fibre, so that it’s all absorbed by the fibre and not wasted. Always work in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves, dust mask and eye protectors when working with alum-based mordants. Safety bit over, let’s begin….

You will need:

• Fibre (washed, scoured and dry – see the instructions in the magazine)
• Scales
• Alum
• Cream of tartar
• 2 large pots, with lids
• Measuring spoons
• Heatproof jar
• Long-handled spoon
• Small lid or plate (optional)
• pH-neutral soap

Now:

1 Weigh the fibre after it has been washed, scoured and dried. Use 8% of the weight of the fibre in alum, and 7% of the weight of the fibre in cream of tartar. You should weigh the fibre and calculate the correct weight of alum and cream of tartar to use before you begin preparing the mordant.

2 Place the fibre in a large pot of water and allow it to soak for at least one hour, or ideally 8–12 hours/overnight, so that the fibre is pre-wetted.

3 Fill a pot with room-temperature water. The pot should be large enough to contain the fibre you want to mordant and allow enough water for it to be covered and move around freely.

4 Measure out the cream of tartar into a heatproof jar and add enough boiling water for it to dissolve completely when stirred. Then add this to the pot of water, stirring with a long-handled spoon to mix it in.

5 Measure out the alum into the heatproof jar and add enough boiling water for it to dissolve completely when stirred. Then add this to the pot of water, again stirring with a long-handled spoon to mix it in.

6 Add the pre-wetted fibre to the mordant solution. Bring the solution to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for one hour.

7 Stir gently and occasionally with a long-handled spoon. Be sure to tease out any air bubbles trapped under the fibre, as this can make it rise above the surface of the liquid where the mordant cannot reach it properly. Moving the fibre also helps to separate any areas that have been touching, or touching the side of the pot, where the mordant may not be able to reach them.

8 Turn off the heat and allow the fibre to cool in the pot overnight. Then remove the fibre from the pot and gently wring out any excess liquid.

9 Rinse the fibre with cool water, wash with pH-neutral soap and cool/lukewarm water, then rinse again to remove the soap.

10 Use the fibre in its damp state and add it to your dye bath. Or hang out the fibre to air dry somewhere warm and dry, out of direct sunlight, for later use.

Now you're ready to dye! Turn to page 106 of the late summer issue to begin. We'd love to see the results: tag us @ohcomelymag. This recipe is taken from Botanical Inks: Plant-to-Print Dyes, Techniques and Projects by Babs Behan (Quadrille). 

My shade of red

In our midsummer issue, five writers tell us about the personal beauty rituals that have become part of who they are. Here, Amy Abrahams describes her shade of red. 

On the landscape of my face sit two mountain peaks: the twin pink summits of my top lip. They rise sharply, creating a defiant Cupid’s bow; they make a mouth more suited to a bygone era. 

I hated my lips when I was younger. Too pointy, too small, too neat. An austere companion to my rounded cheeks, un-angled nose and unruly curls tumbling around my face. Early make-up experiments avoided the mouth because I struggled to respect its geometry and like a child I could not keep in the lines. Glosses and lipsticks slid out and over, lipliners only made those peaks more severe. Lipstick was not for me, I decided, lipstick was not my thing. 

But when I was 21, that all changed. It was the early 2000s and a friend had introduced me to London’s alternative gay scene, where we danced at club nights named Nag Nag Nag and The Cock at now-long-gone Soho hotspot The Ghetto. Dress-up was encouraged and make-up was another portal to express ourselves. 

So it was that one afternoon, before a big night out, we walked through the hallowed doors of Mac’s Soho store and I found my lipstick soulmate. Her name was Ruby Woo. She was the perfect shade – a blue-hued red that balanced my rosy cheeks and popped against my pale complexion. Best of all, Ruby Woo was matte. It did not slide. The colour stayed put. It did not creep outside the lines. 

Putting it on for the first time was transformative – and its power has not waned since. A slick of bright red jolts you back to iconic old Hollywood, yet it's undisputedly modern too – this is a shade that refuses to let you hide away. My lipstick is warpaint and luxury and comfort and magic in one – it is a benevolent bullet of red-hot confidence I can carry wherever I go. I have worn Ruby Woo most weeks since that inaugural outing in Soho. She’s come with me to job interviews and meetings, to birthdays and dinner parties. I wore Ruby Woo to my wedding, even though someone told me brides “should wear pink”. And when  a best friend died, I wore it for his funeral – I knew he would have wanted me that way.

Yes, I flirt with different shades: a berry tint here, a fuchsia gloss there. But Ruby Woo will always be The One. As age changes the map of my face, these peaked lips of mine morph slowly into something softer, but I shall never turn my back on lipstick.

A smear of rouge taught me to highlight what is unique, it helped me subvert the “flaws”. Lipstick might seem frivolous to some, but to me, it really can set you free. 

Read four other 'made-up' stories in the midsummer issue of Oh Comely, out now. 

Join The Anti-Diet Riot Club

Ahead of The Anti-Diet Riot Fair this Sunday in London, we spoke to its organiser Becky Young about how she came to start her inspirational anti-diet community – The Anti-Diet Riot Club.

Almost two years ago, in the first stages of a seven-month trip around Central America, I had (what was certainly not my first but, good God, I hope my last) meltdown about MY WEIGHT. This had been a semi-regular episode since the age of 14, this time triggered by seeing photos of myself a year previously taken on a beach in India, tanned and around a stone lighter (most likely due to consistent toilet and tummy issues over anything else).

But I felt like a failure, like I had once again wasted the opportunity to be thin… a primary goal of mine for well over a decade.

I had spent the last year in the comfortable bubble of my new relationship – eating, drinking, having lots of fun, but not actively "watching my weight" and therefore deserving of the huge amounts of shame, guilt, and self-loathing I felt. So, as usual, I embarked on the mental preparations and planning for how I would do daily HIIT workouts and virtuously refrain from eating all the queso and drinking all the cervezas that Mexico had to offer. It was going to be a fun trip I could tell!

As the days went by, I delved into the depths of the #fitspo world on Instagram searching for guidance and motivation. I randomly – and thankfully – stumbled upon a body positive account (I can’t remember which one now) with a “big-bodied” woman embracing her body in all its beautiful rolls and folds, reclaiming the word fat for herself, and proclaiming her right to live without shame and stigma. She was fat, and she wasn’t planning on going on a diet! It was a complete revelation.

The brains behind Anti-Diet Riot Club, Becky Young.
Photo: Imogen Forte

When I saw this woman, I saw the kind of person that I wanted to be and the life I wanted to live. I saw an escape from food obsession, from hating my body, from feeling uncomfortable in taking up space, from continuing the cycle of restrict, shrink, regain, repeat. I wanted to be the person that spent time on changing the world, not just changing my physical appearance. I wouldn’t agonise over menus, spend hours watching workout videos, make excuses every time I ate another biscuit (and end up bingeing on the whole packet) and pledge every Sunday that Monday would be the day I started eating #CLEAN once more.

It was this desire that spurred me on to discover more about the online ‘body positivity’ movement  that was flourishing on blogs and Instagram feeds and start the much-needed detoxification of my online feeds. Almost like a juice cleanse but one that actually works… this involved unfollowing all the "clean eating", "bikini body workout", "strong is the new skinny", "paleo" (and so on, and so on) accounts clogging up my virtual world. These were most of the time making me feel absolute shite about my body – due to it not being anywhere near the shape, size or ability that was always represented in these feeds – or guilty for not eating low-carb, low-sugar, meticulously-presented alkaline meals and spending two hours a day getting a Kardashian booty.

This was the first step in a transformative journey that has led me to where I am now; in the lead-up to my fifth event under the Anti-Diet Riot Club project that I set up six months ago. After learning so much from the body acceptance community online, and the books and articles I read, I wanted to contribute to helping build this movement in London and so I started ADRC, an event series teaching people to fight back against diet culture and promote the ideals of Health At Every Size, fat positivity, and radical self-love. Learning to accept my body and give up the pursuit of thinness has changed my life and my aim is to help as many people as possible do the same through regular events, meet-ups, workshops and support.

The Anti-Diet Riot Fair (resident of SuperCulture) this Sunday 1 July is my next attempt at trying to bring the body positive community together, with a day of size inclusive brands, feminist makers, body positivity workshops, music, cocktails and community vibes! It’s important to me produce events and spaces that are inclusive to those who are fat, as well as just those are into body positivity. The Anti-Diet Riot Fair is all about combating the lack of fun shopping experiences for fat women on the high street, at festivals and at events… where it’s hard to find anything in sizes 16 and above (even though the average UK dress size is 16).

There’ll be opportunities to do some ‘Fuck Size Modelling’ with a body positive photographer, take part in a plus size swap shop, work on your own body confidence with stylist Lauren Jobling @ljstyling and check out the designs of the likes of Venus Libido, Doughnut Sexxii Clothing, Hotties Vintage, Aesthetic Laundry and many more.

Come one and all, and we can stick our middle finger up at diet culture together!

The Anti-Diet Riot Fair is at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, this Sunday 1 July, from 1pm–8pm. Get tickets here.

What We're Loving: solid, vegan foundation

We're delighted that our fave beauty brand, Lush, have made an amazing new, vegan foundation that doesn't have any plastic packaging and is full of natural ingredients that sound like they are good enough to eat. Now, that's our kind of make-up – kind to our skin, and kind to the planet, too. Our editor Alice Snape was lucky enough to be invited to Lush Studios in Soho for the grand reveal...

I am not usually a foundation wearer, but this could convert me. When I put it on, it actually made my skin feel lovely – like it was doing good things for it.

And, excitingly, the cheekily named Slap Stick foundation is available in an impressive 40 shades (see pic above), and made using 45% coconut oil from Indonesia to hydrate and sooth. The foundations also contain Argan oil harvested by a women’s co-operative in Morocco.

"Making foundation solid is a major leap forward to reducing plastic packaging without compromising on quality or effect," says Rowena Bird, Lush Co-founder and Product Inventor. "The dream is that, in years to come, none of our products will have packaging.”

The foundation is partially dipped in peelable wax (sort of like a Babybel, but smelling nicer, of course) and comes in a recycled cardboard box, which you can keep it in or recycle again.

The foundation comes in 40 shades

"The products aren't just there to look pretty, they are there for a purpose," says Rowena. "We've used what's called a Zorn Palette, so the shades actually match to skin tones." 

Ten per cent of profits from the purchase of the coconut oil within the Slap Sticks goes towards funding literacy classes and a dentist on the island of Nias.

We also love Lush's inclusive, non-Photoshopped campaign images 

If you want to find out your shade, you can visit the Make-up Swatch Shop at the Lush Soho Studio until Friday 6 July and be colour matched prior to logging on to the Lush Labs on Friday 29 June to buy it for £16.95. The Slap Stick will be on sale on for one month from that date, then once Lush have collected feedback and customers reviews it will relaunch in February next year, alongside a whole range of other make-up including lipsticks and shimmers (which will be as equally kind and wonderful). We can't wait!