Door Tales

All doors have a story behind them

[doortales]

Door 6 - 28/06/2018

Salisbury 

“The smell of dried salt on the pebbled beach, olive oiled salad and new vine leaves” Visiting my brother in the county of Wiltshire, catching up on work, life, family and feeling incredibly proud with a tinge of jealousy of the perfect life he has created in the country. In awe of the Salisbury streets and gothic architecture you find around churches, it was impossible not to imagine what life would be like living in a quaint lifestyle like this. Moving around to the quieter streets away from the locals and tourist crowds, the style of houses start to move into more personal tastes. This was the one that stood out for me. 

Mid conversation with my brother about a Sopranos scene, this little beauty caught my eye and transcended me to a Mediterranean retreat. The sort that is your own little secret where the smell salt from the sea is stuck in your hair, the olive trees are as dry and crisp as the wine in the afternoon, and the lemon coated house is as inviting and the fresh tomato salad Nigella bangs on about. 

First impressions are incredibly important, and when it takes you to a moment in time that you may have been or dreamed of, that impact lasts and continues to reveal itself when the right triggers are met. This one in particular can show up whenever it likes, and I can walk away with a smile on my face still feeling the imaginary sun on my face. 

My brother then said “Badda Bing! That was the name of the club.”

[doortales]

Door 4 - 30.07.2017 

In my first home, the garden was beautiful and green with so many different hiding places amongst the trees or behind the bushes. At the time, I had no care for the effort made towards the work behind the creation of a perfect garden, but I was lucky that the little haven that was ours replicated a Secret Garden that you can escape to.  

There are many fairy tales and stories that are based at the bottom of the garden, as it is the most secretive place you can find. From when we play there as a child, to when we’re trimming the bushes at an older age, there is something we find in our gardens that bring us peace and tranquility and it is our daily chance to be as close to nature as possible. Working in the big smoke all day can be draining, but there is a dream to come home to your kitchen for a tea, and roam around the garden checking on the crinodendron and the monkey puzzle tree where the parakeets are perched. You can see that I haven’t planned this at all. 

The most important embellishment is the entrance to your garden, or to the little part of the garden that feels separate to the rest. A great example I came across was this entrance made from the stem of the tree and its surrounding branches, neighboured by so much greenery that the owner had taken time and effort to create. This is the entrance to their sanctuary and it helps that this was found on the coastline in Luss, Scotland. The town is idyllic and ideal for the person that wants to live a solitary life, whilst listening to the sea crash against the rocks.

Gardens are nurtured with your imagination and green fingers with the intent to create our own haven of nature, and no matter how large or small your space is, it is your personal space that you work hard to produce and care for just to watch grow. 

[doortales]

Door 3 - 16.07.2017

Glasgow University is the fourth oldest university in the English speaking world since it was founded in 1451. Wandering around the large stoned pavings, you begin to notice that there is rarely a flat piece of wall around this entire building. The crevices, and gargoyles attached to each buttress, in their warm light red tone colouring gives off more of a warming and comforting feeling to be inside the quadrangles. 

This door I found whilst wandering around the East Quadrangle of the Main Building, staring up at the pointed pinnacles surrounding each corner. The building was so gothic, it was impossible not to remember the stories my Nanna once told me about The Grey Lady. 

When students are shown around their new home for the next three years or more, they are told the story of the Grey Lady. Porters and staff will tell you she walks the Cloisters of the Gilbert Scott Building and also the Lion and the Unicorn Staircase. Security have said she secures the building from 11pm to 5am, as they have seen her mistaking her for a lost student out at night.

The door is situated in-between the said path for the Grey Lady, and my mind imminently swept to the thought of how many times she may passed this door. Although it was locked, there could be a number of things behind here, a secret stairwell up to a door, a trapdoor down into somethings further, or just a place for the porters to put their coats. Stepping inside the grounds of Glasgow University leads your imagination to believe this door could be so much more, and I don’t doubt that the Grey Lady has seen it many times before. 

[doortales]

Door 2 - 02.07.2017

A story that captured the hearts of many millennials, and will continue to do so as they read it on to their children. The magical life of Harry Potter acted as an escape from the world of reality, into a more comforting and dreamy place. The cushiony red chairs in front of the fire, the flame lit hallways through a warm stone castle, the fairies in the bushes lighting up the path outside and Honeydukes, the magic sweet shop centred in the quaint village of Hogsmeade. These are but few of the qualities of the story that could brighten a child’s imagination. Visiting the set behind the story and the movies was like entering a playground for the mind after following the books from 1 to 7, and this was the door to the house where it all started for our protagonist. The house in Godric’s Hollow, where Harry Potter returned on Christmas Eve to visit the site where he lost his family and the infamous scar took place. I would encourage anyone who followed the stories to visit the studio tour, and also to continue reading the books to yourselves, or to the next generation. Let the magic live on. 

[doortales]

Door 1 - 14.06.2017 Rome, Italy

“Qualcosa da una fiaba“

Walking through the close, cobbled streets of Italy can be beautiful at any time of year, but in December can only be described as something out of a fairy tale. The warm lights mixed with the terracotta coloured walls create a glow that can mesmerise around each corner. You never know what will be there when you turn your next corner, like the strong and intricate water fountains within the piazzas and courtyards. The one that I remember most is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in the Piazza Navona, and the story behind the four water Gods monitoring their rivers. You have the Nile, the Danube, the Gangees and the Rio de la Plata. Whilst looking at the granite obelisk and the marble animals, a door caught my eye. Beautifully surrounded in pine trimmings and glowing lights, with a balcony sheltering above, weaved with vines and more glowing lights. It over looked the wonders of the piazza, older local couples nursing red wine happily exchanging as little conversation as possible, girls out for the evening with their Aperol Spritz chatting away their troubles or families enjoying the Christmas market with a new balloon daddy heroically won. I couldn’t help but notice the detail just above the door that intertwines with the glass, which glowed an ombre of soft pink to white. This was a sturdy door with an intricate side, and a vast attention to detail.  Although I never met the owner of this delightful door, there is no doubt they have watched and admired different lives with different stories wandering through the piazza, while he or she enjoyed the sound of chatter and glasses clinking to the enjoyment.  ... Part of my wants to believe the old man in the middle of the piazza, reenacting Renato Catosone’s Tu vuo’ fa l’americano on a karaoke box, just to get a smile from passers by actually lives here.