Nina Conti

Can we all just take a moment to admire Nina Conti’s shoes? Ok, excellent – see you next month Fe-liners!

Only joking.

I was watching a repeat of QI last year that I hadn’t seen before – always an exciting prospect – and one of the panellists was this brilliant ventriloquist, Nina Conti, with her puppet, Granny. She was clearly very good at the whole able-to-speak-without-moving-her-lips thing, however I was particularly struck by how she interacted with Granny – or rather, how she didn’t. Often with ventriloquists – and puppeteers in general – although they are able to separate the movements of their operating hand from the rest of their body, there is a certain similarity between how the puppet is moving and how the puppeteer is moving which links them together and reminds you of what’s really going on. In this instance, however, it was as if Granny and Nina were two separate entities – Nina was sitting back in her chair quietly listening to Stephen Fry whereas Granny was alert, chipping in witticisms, and flirting with Bill Bailey.

A few months later, Nina Conti cropped up again, this time on Live at the Apollo (probably also a repeat – a little insight into my viewing habits there). I have to admit that the first thing that struck me was the AMAZING shoes she was wearing – talent and style, kudos to Nina (keep an eye out for them in this clip, they’re sparkly and everything):

As a panellist on QI, Nina (or rather, Granny) had been able to be funny, but up until this point, I had absolutely no idea how totally, utterly, and brilliantly hilarious she was. Not funny in a very-talented-ventriloquist-and-also-quite-amusing kinda way, but in an I’m-laughing-so-hard-I-can’t-breath kinda way. I especially liked how she seemed genuinely surprised by some of the things her human puppets were coming out with and was therefore laughing along with the audience.

I’ve noticed this phenomenon since when seeing her perform and whilst re-watching that episode of QI (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: research is tough, Fe-liners) I found that she actually discussed what is perhaps the reason for this “My mentor, Ken Campbell who taught me ventriloquism, he excited me [about] it by saying that people don’t say the first thing that comes into their heads, they say the second thing and we’re all barmier than we let it be known. (Granny: Once your insanity starts to leak, that’s when they put you away). But the ventriloquated doll can allow us access to the madness.”* How brilliant. I have to say, I often surprise myself with the things that pop into my head as I’m sure we all do. No? Just me? Ok, moving on…

Nina and her monkey puppet, Monk, made a documentary Her Master’s Voice about her mission to take the puppets left to her by her aforementioned mentor to a place in Kentucky called “Vent Haven”, a resting place for the “uniquely bereaved” and voiceless puppets of ventriloquists who have passed on. Her journey is a fascinating insight into the world of ventriloquism – you know the late night conversations you have with yourself? Those are magnified for the ventriloquist who have a physical embodiment (aka a puppet) for half the conversation – however what was really interesting about it was how her puppets spoke to her, some of the questions they asked her were very blunt. Of course it was really her asking harsh questions of herself on a very emotional journey, “it’s always premeditated, in the moment. I mean it’s not that they’re running away, I think it’s an interesting question to ask myself and they’re obviously thoughts that go through the head so they’re just voiced in the puppets.”**

I was lucky enough to see Nina Conti and Monk onstage in Hyde Park a few weeks ago. I’d booked to go and see Tim Minchin (who was epic, incidentally) but was probably more excited to see Nina Conti once I learned she was also on the bill. Her performance with Monk, general talent, and shoes did not disappoint. If you have yet to experience Nina Conti’s genius, I can heartily recommend.

Gottle a geer, gottle a geer,

* QI (17:10 minutes in)
** Kevin Durham Interview (1:34 minutes in)

Image taken by Debs at BST in Hyde Park, 10-Jul-14

Fe-line is awesome

Dear Fe-liners,

It’s August, which for a lot of you means Summer holidays, juggling childcare and eating ice-cream. At Fe-line it means more fantastic blogging, meeting up every week for #felinehour and this month having dinner together in Abingdon (not booked your place yet? Do it now).

As we move into another month we thought it would be good to reflect a little about the last month and talk about the ways that Fe-line is helping and inspiring us as we are sure that it can do the same for you.

Jo

Well last month was quite a big one for me with new inspiration from you Fe-liners coming from all directions. Firstly Joey’s blog about photography, made me start taking pictures of other things than The Babe again. I thought because I now live in the suburbs and do baby activities that my life had become a little less interesting than when I was living in the city and attending a lot of cool events and gigs. But just by looking around and seeing my new surroundings I felt inspired and realised there is soooo much beauty around me.

Secondly the #felinehour about literature inspired me to get to the library and borrow a book for me and not for The Babe. I haven’t read a single book since he was born and I am now determined to finish The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris before the end of August.

So thank you Fe-liners for helping me rediscover a few little bits of me and realising that I can have these even though I have a baby.

Debs

In July, I did something that I never imagined I could do and would, in fact, never have done if it wasn’t for Fe-line: I completed the 5k Race for Life. I even ran most of it, something that I would not have even contemplated doing without a supportive team of lovely ladies such as Team Fe-line.

Running is something that I’ve always felt slightly ridiculous doing; I’m instantly transported back to being that out-of-puff 10yr old who can’t keep up with the rest of her class. Proving to myself that I could actually complete a run in a vaguely respectable time has helped lay some old demons to rest.

So thank you, Fe-liners; Jo, Anais, and Rosie for encouraging me to get involved, everybody who ran as part of Team Fe-line, and for all of the encouraging messages left on the facebook pages. I really couldn’t have done it without you!

Anaïs

My July Fe-line highlight for me was the initiation of Andrea, Becky, Hannah, Sabrina and Sally!

We recruited five new bloggers last month and it’s been great to introduce new women into the fold – they blasted onto the site with an ode to Debbie Harry, thoughts on festivals, praise of floral print in all its forms, a journey from self-hate to self-love and advice on how to style and stay yourself amongst the whirlwind that is seasonal fashion trends.

Everyone on Fe-line brings their unique voice to the blog and it’s great to see the brand reaching so far and getting such a mix of women: we’ve now got Fe-liners blogging from Australia, Canada, the States, Ireland as well as of course the UK. It’s really thrilling to feel connected to great people in different places all over the world, thanks to Fe-line.

We’re always keen to have one off posts from guest bloggers to add into the mix too, so feel free to ping over an idea if there’s something you’re itching to write about for Fe-line!

Rosie

As a small business owner, Fe-line has been a constant source of inspiration and information this month, including Debs’ fantastic piece about Anita Roddick and her journery with The Body Shop and all that she achieved in her lifetime. I also loved Hannah’s piece on summer florals and how it is such a fun and easy look to wear this season. I have a passion for fashion and one of the best parts of my job is keeping up to date with trends and looking for the next hot look to incorporate in the Kinship collection. Flower power is definitely a key player in our range this summer.

Above all though, it is so great to be surrounded by such talented and inspirational women. Connecting through the blog and #felinehour has been a really fantastic ride and long may it continue. Furthermore, working (and maybe enjoying the odd cocktail!) with Jo, Debs and Anais has been so much fun. These girls are like little rays of sunshine and I’m so thankful to have them in my life. Why not come and catch some Fe-line rays at one of our awesome events!