Pretty In Pink?

"Pink isn't just a colour.  It's an attitude."

- Miley Cyrus

Now I wouldn't normally be found casually quoting the wise words of pop enfant and intellectual genius (what?), Miley Cyrus, but this time it does seem quite appropriate.  If you had asked me a few weeks ago whether I liked the colour pink, I probably would have replied "...." no wait, I wouldn't have replied at all.  Instead, assuming you were about to produce something pink to show me, I would have run like a mad man directly to the horizon and beyond. I mean, just think Barbara Cartland...

In fact, if I had stuck around to say anything, I probably would have declared that it was the most hideous colour on the planet and that I wouldn't be seen dead in, on or beside anything pink.  But oh, how wrong I was.  I'm not saying that pink is a gorgeous colour and should be celebrated for its adorable fluffiness, but rather that, as always happens when I say anything with any conviction and confidence, I am immediately proven totally wrong.  Again and again.

A few weeks ago a blogger friend of mine, Nordljusfollowyourstar, devoted some time to discussing her favourite colours, one of which was a bit pinkish, and I say "pinkish" because it immediately became apparent that saying "I don't like pink" was a bit like saying "I don't like buildings" when what you really mean is "I don't like 1960's brutalist concrete apartment blocks."  Of course, there are loads of buildings I like, and some which I absolutely adore.  I'm even sitting in one right now.  And in a similar vein, I quickly realised that right now I have 4 shirts in my wardrobe, that I wear on a regular basis, and that any normal person would immediately recognise as pink, so I could hardly say that I wouldn't be seen dead in pink.  And have you ever noticed that once you start thinking about something, it crops up absolutely everywhere?
I'm sure if I said right now "You don't see women with beehive hairdo's any more" I would then see four a day for the next two weeks.  And that's how it's been this week with the colour that looks like pink (and that's what I'll be calling it from now on.)  Now I haven't always had my camera with me so you'll just have to trust me when I say that the colour that looks like pink (CTLLP) was easily the most common colour everywhere I turned this week, and there was no subtlety about it.  It started on Tuesday when I needed to go to Exeter, my nearest city, for a 2-day training course.  Imagine my horror when this little sports car arrived to collect me.  I only had my phone to take a picture so it hasn't picked up the full effect of the thousands of tiny sparkles in the paint!  Worse still, I had drawn the short straw and had to sit in the back which was impossible to do without banging my head quite painfully, several times.  Yes, believe it or not there are seats in the back of this thing, and it feels like you're in a goldfish bowl or an astronaut's helmet - not too bad in the cool of the morning, but in the full sun of the afternoon... phew!  I remember being dropped off in the middle of the town at a bus stop where about 20 people were waiting for their evening bus home, all of whom had the small joy of seeing me bang my head once more on the way out, and one young girl saying "Look mum, it's a Barbie car!" 

I suppose I wouldn't have minded if it had been Penelope Pitstop's fiery little sports car

or Lady Penelope's Rolls Royce (and I wonder why they were both called Penelope..?)

but Barbie?!?  Sigh...

Anyway, while we are on the car subject, I had been keeping my eye out for one particular car that I had seen around town from time to time, but hadn't yet caught on film (what do we say now that we don't use film any more - "caught on sensor?")

Whatever.  As if by magic I found it parked in a lane behind my house a few days ago so, hoping that the driver wouldn't return in the next 5 minutes, I whizzed home to get my camera and grabbed this little shot.  I'm guessing that the driver got quite annoyed with people saying "Your car's got a pink roof" and rather than paint it a different colour, which would be my choice every time, they stencilled the correct name for the colour on the side.  Genius.

So what else have I seen this week to make my eyes cry in pain?  Well, any talk about the colour that looks like pink would be incomplete without the house that sits under the cliffs down at West Bay, which the owner has very thoughtfully just repainted for all the summer holidaymakers to enjoy and photograph, or cover their eyes and wish they had bought darker sunglasses.

And then there's the Bombay Nights Indian takeaway restaurant in nearby Dorchester, and I think they are missing a big marketing opportunity by not having a small fleet of similarly-coloured motorcycles to deliver their wares.

And then yesterday, as I was strolling around the Saturday market my eye was drawn to a whole stall of gifts for girls including these very girlie notebooks and even a garish leather-bound clock -
imagine the kitchen that that would look good in!







Even in our vintage quarter, which is definitely worth a visit if you're ever in Bridport, I spied through another car's windows this writing on a truck which just about encapsulated the whole spirit of this blog.

But the best I have saved to last - OK, so I didn't see it this week - they've long since changed the display, but at the time I couldn't resist taking a photo of this window display in one of the more expensive and exclusive gentlemen's stores in town.  Pink pants.

I don't even want to imagine a situation where those would be considered suitable underwear.




Let's finish this silly little journey through the world of the colour that looks like pink with a quote by the delightful Audrey Hepburn, and I hope she wouldn't mind too much if I alter the order of this to suit my purpose.

I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe that tomorrow is another day, I believe in miracles. I believe in pink.

Of course, I believe in many of those things too, but I don't have to have them, do I?