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Emma Watson’s dress

December 24, 2008 8 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

The teen’s shoes

My teenager has just come back from two days at my parents. She rocked up there in complete Victoriana, a ruffly white dress (“It’s dirty.” “I know, it’s supposed to be.”), little lace-up boots, and a black and white leg o’ mutton sleeve coat. The little match girl indeed.

Of course my parents are horrified. My dad spent the whole two days sighing. My mum, who possesses a rapier wit, said cruelly that my teenager looked like Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen. To make matters worse, the ‘perfect cousin’, all meek manners and Christian values, same age as my daughter, was there.

“I told them that they didn’t have to buy me anything, that I’m not celebrating Christmas. Grandpa and Grandma hate me now”, says my teenager.

“They don’t really you know. It’s me they hate. They are just expressing their annoyance with me through you.”

She is very happy however because they bought her Emma Watson’s(1) dress and shoes from a vintage shop. The dress was made by Emma Watson’s mother. It is rather lovely. 

“So what happened with your friend the other night?” I ask, referring to the sleepover.

“Well she just annoys me. She’s really depressed. I’m really depressed but I don’t like other people so I don’t cry about it. It’s all second layer stuff anyway.”

My teenager has this theory: most problems fit into ‘second layer stuff’. This includes love problems, money problems, housing, education, body issues, politics, health. She, on the other hand, only worries about ‘first layer problems’, which are existential: Why are we here? Are we even here? What is the nature of consciousness? That type of stuff.

“What are your friend’s ‘second layer problems’?”, I ask patiently.

“Well she’s not very attractive, not very intelligent, her mum has made her live in a foreign country, and she’s always crying about losing her dads.”

“Her dad…z?” I emphasize the plural. 

“Yeah her real dad and her step-dad died. But that was years ago! She’s still going on about it”, says my teenager wearily.

“Hmm to lose one dad is unfortunate, to lose two is carelessness”, I paraphrase.

We both snicker nastily.
(1) Emma Watson is of course the actress who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films. My teenager is a Harrypotterologist.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ben Emlyn-Jones

    December 25, 2008 at 12:15 pm

    My daughter saw her once and you should have seen her face! She wants to be Hermione so much; she even tries out magic spells on me!

    Marry Christmas to you and your teenager!

    Reply
  2. corbin

    December 27, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    lovely lovely
    can I use that first and second level stuff thingy?
    pissing off the grandparents with fabric was my greatest thrill in life at or anywhere near that age.

    Reply
  3. marmitelover

    December 27, 2008 at 6:44 pm

    My nan never got pissed with what I was wearing. Only my parents did. Especially when I attended the Queen's Jubilee street party wearing only a Union Jack carrier bag as a skirt.
    Grandparents and grandchildren are supposed to have a common enemy: the parents. My lot aren't playing the game!

    Reply
  4. Ben Emlyn-Jones

    December 28, 2008 at 10:12 am

    In my family my grandmother lived with us until her death in 2001. Alliances and emnities seemed to vary between her and my mum more often that they did between Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia in "1984"! ML, when you say your nan got "pissed", you mean it in the American sense, not the British I take it. I had an image in my head of your nan soaking your dress in a glass of vodka and then lifting it to her mouth and sucking it! 🙂

    Reply
  5. marmitelover

    December 28, 2008 at 11:31 am

    oops sorry missed off the "off". I try not to use Americanisms, unless I'm actually over there.
    My nan never got pissed either, her idea of a drink was a thimbleful of Baileys.
    That image….erm…kind of disgusting. But thanks for sharing it, Ben. You are at liberty to express yourself freely here!

    Reply
  6. Ben Emlyn-Jones

    December 30, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Thanks, ML. Although my mind is such a sewer at times that I wouldn't excersise that liberty!

    Hope you had a nice Christmas. Happy New Year.

    Reply
  7. marmitelover

    December 30, 2008 at 10:15 am

    To find out how my christmas was, read about it on my other blog, The English can cook, in that christmas is mostly food oriented.

    Reply
  8. Mainframeguy

    January 9, 2009 at 4:04 am

    So – I have to ask – what do you have to fork out for a Hermione dress? And is it one she wore, or just a lookalike?

    I ask because when I met my daughters mum she wore Chrissie Hynde's cast-offs and that seriously impressed me… I mean I had some of her cast-off plectrums, but I could never dream of owning Chrissie Hyndes blouse or anything!

    Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

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Instagram post 2177561799364984754_28574231 Not gonna lie, this has been physically very tough. As my sister says ‘ we are from an indoors family from an indoors country’. Yesterday I did the longest day yet- officially 18km- but I did 35,000 steps! I’m small so I have a small step. So I converted steps into km and I did 27 km. that’s what it felt like. My legs throbbed all night, I had to take paracetamol to get to sleep. Have I had any life changing thoughts? Or spiritual revelations? Not a one. Well, maybe one which is I must get fitter. I mustn’t stop after this pilgrimage. I must get my health in order. Being freelance and working mostly on my own, it’s had to give myself time to look after myself. To assign time for fitness. Being freelance means never ending guilt about not searching for work. Never having stress free time off, as you don’t get paid holidays, sick pay or paid during national holidays such as Christmas. There is always a certain level of low key stress. Of keeping your self esteem up when you aren’t earning. The envy of others getting lauded for work you have pioneered. But I love my freedom! My opportunities to be creative. #thoughts #freelance #caminodesantiago #hiking #fitness #pilgrimage #spain #galicia #supperclub #rain
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Instagram post 2169866030516446893_28574231 Persimon Pani puri recipe up on the blog Msmarmitelover.com a street food which includes a flavour spectrum- sour, sweet, salty, hot, spicy, refreshing, crunchy, wet and dry, fruity and carby. Making the Puri from scratch took a couple of goes to get right but actually isn’t hard. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #spanishpersimon #vegetarian #vegan #recipe #chaat #streetfood #indiansnacks #canape #diwali
Instagram post 2169277948175951209_28574231 Overlooking the river at #vallaro in piedmont. Nearby was #sacroMonte, a hilltop religious monument with 45 chapels, each containing strange plaster statues of animals and saints, 800 of them.
Instagram post 2167511482116167199_28574231 Persimon fruit leather (the easiest EVER as it has so much pectin- just purée it, add sweetness spread on a silpat and in cool oven for a few hours), rolled into a pinwheel with bergamot zest and mint and goats cheese, a delicious canapé. This was served at last nights #persimon #supperclub for #Halloween on behalf of @spanishpersimon . Next week I’m going to Valencia to visit the farm.  #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #singleingredientmenus #fruit #vegetarian #canapé #christmascanapes #canapeideas
Instagram post 2166825702523830758_28574231 I’ve been working with persimon fruit for the last 3 weeks, pushing the envelope with what we can do with persimons other than just eat them like apples. And guess what? I still like them, I’m not bored. They are a wonderful autumn winter seasonal fruit. They are also really good for you. #VitC #fibre #5aday, #potassium #iron #calcium #betacarotene #vitA #7aday #manganese #B6 #supperclub #halloween #fruit
Instagram post 2166106717029345626_28574231 The creamy interior of a baked Camembert offset by persimons from Spain. This is the cheese course from my Halloween supperclub for @spanishpersimon this Thursday. #supperclub #persimmon #persimon #sharonfruit #kaki #cheese #camembert #bakedcheese #halloween #spanishfruit #igfood #autumnvibes🍁
Instagram post 2165411211139548124_28574231 Persimon bread, adapted from a recipe by @davidlebovitz. I used fresh persimon pulp and dried persimons with walnuts and @southafricanraisins now I have to decide whether to serve it as canapés, topped with goats cheese and fresh persimon or with the cheese course. 🤔#supperclub #halloween #spanishpersimon #fallfood #autumnvibes🍁 #food #travelandfood #spanishingredients #recipes #vegetarian #desserts #bread #fruitbread
Instagram post 2164809413936743946_28574231 Hazelnut risotto using carnaroli rice from @magicolucedio from piedmont. I used Piedmontese white wine as well as hot vegetable stock, use a moscato or arneis. Keep stirring for 18 minutes until creamy with a kernel of al dente rice. When I visited piedmont, I ate 4 risottos in 3 days! It’s grown in this region, being similar to a sushi type rice- round- rather than long. It’s beautiful stuff- ivory and pure- and I didn’t want to add any colour other than a few local hazelnuts, pecorino and nut oil such as walnut or hazelnut. Warming food for cold rainy autumn days. #supperclub #rice #risotto #hazelnuts #northernitaly🇮🇹 #visitpiemonte #foodandtravel #vegetarianrecipes #igfood #vegetarianfoodporn #regionsofitaly #femalechef
Instagram post 2163915113036239687_28574231 Cinnamon, pistachio and persimon pudding. Persimmon pudding is a southern dish but I added a touch of the Middle East. It’s so easy to make: remove stalks of fruit then blend. Add a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, 50g butter, spices, pinch of baking soda and bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180c. #persimon #persimmon #kaki #sharon #recipetesting #supperclub #halloween #spanishfruit #winterfruit #seasonalcooking #baking #dessert #foodblogger #chef
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