14. Beautiful road works

I had planned to sticker somewhere at church tonight during the Community Meal. Now in its 16th (?) year the community meal is a once monthly DIY meal to which all who live in the vicinity of the Round Chapel (Clapton Park church's imposing home in Hackney) are invited. Must have been over 100 there tonight. Fab food for a paltry sum. Great vibe. But I was a bit busy delivering Crafty Kidz activities and totally forgot the sticker. .

Good job there are plenty of road works outside our house. Will have to try the church another day. Mind you we have a new and rather scarily efficient caretaker who will probably notice and remove it as soon as it hits the wall.

13. Beautiful minds

I found myself having to wait a while in the lobby at my children's school. People who know me will be sick of hearing me say 'I love that school' but it's true. So much life and vitality and chaos and opportunity. I suddenly knew they had to be told too... I can imagine them all getting on the beautiful bandwagon and embracing the concept. But I think I must have been spotted by the school keeper, who's office is just nearby, as when I returned to the school later in the day it had already been removed. Aha... I won't give up. Definitely gonna try and do another one before Lent's out! Maybe in a bit less of an obtrusive place?!

12. Swim beautiful

Kings Hall in Hackney is a mysterious place.

I loathe it because it's a reminder of what Hackney doesn't get quite right. Trying to bring its services into the 21st century but mostly missing the mark. It's dirty; it stinks thanks to a Victorian drainage system that seems not to be fixable; it's mostly freezing cold thanks to a 1960s boiler system which also seems not to be fixable and the 'Better' company who run it wouldn't know what 'better' was if it ran them down in the road.

But I also love it because it's relic from those great Victorians who did such a lot to get the Great Unwashed of Hackney a bit cleaner and healthier. It's a beautiful building, retains many Victorian features and (handily) is only a short walk from our house. However the main reason we schlepp there every Monday after school for swimming lessons is because they have the Best People Ever teaching swimming. I don't know how they manage to retain such teachers. They're the sweetest, kindest, most encouraging bunch of people I've met. They seem to know exactly what each kid needs to get them progressing through the stages. They make the lessons a good mix of hard work and lots of fun. Really, I can't fault them.

So it seems quite ironic that when my middle boy and I were waiting to pick the eldest up from her lesson we choose one of the 'Better' posters to place our sticker on. I would have liked to put it slap bang in the middle of the staff changing area, but you have to be a bit unobtrusive with these things. Once it was up there I was worried that the message might be understood as part of Better's (what kind of name is that for a company anyway??) marketing machine and I wanted to take it off and stick it on a wall. But it was all too late, the kids arrived with their wet pyjamas (it was my eldest's birthday and she'd requested a 'swim in your clothes' lesson. And of course, because those teachers are brilliant, that's what she got!) and we had a birthday tea to rush back for.

But that's the nice thing about Lent - it's so very long that I might have another chance to leave a sticker in some place where those lovely people will some how know it's for them.

11. X-ray beautiful

I had to get an X-ray done today. Nothing terribly exciting just a referral from the physio for the pain in my thumb. He already thinks its arthritis. Oh joy. Lately it feels like my body's a bit creaky. Which feels a bit scary at only 42.

But it was nice to sticker in the hospital. Though I wasn't brave enough to run the gauntlet of so many official looking people and ended up placing it in the toilet. Again. It's getting to be a habit. Hope I haven't started a whole new superbug by leaving it there.

10. Supermarket beautiful

Another super swifty sticker job with my son... I love the fact that his eyes lit up when I motioned to the rather abandoned shopping trolley in the carpark. 'Yes!' he said, running over. 'It will be nice that people can see that when they go shopping'... I had to agree that many times in the middle of supermarket shops people need reminding about this.

I just worry whether I'm also fostering a small street artist streak which may see him donning a face mask and brandishing a spray can before too long...

9. Proper one

An adventure to the post box for my middle one. He doesn't go many places on his own yet. So it seemed good to test his road crossing skills on a short journey which had purpose: he had finally written back to his friend who now lives in Cambridge. But as soon as he was gone I realised the post box is the best place for a sticker. So we went back together.

Finally confirmed my address today for the 'real' sticker shipment. Suddenly ordering 250 seems like overkill. Maybe there is still time to get others excited about The Plan.

8. Beautiful bus stops

Nice to dash out with my daughter to do this one. A rather manky bus shelter in Chippenham is now sporting a rather fine sticker. It will be nice as its close to the in laws and over the next year (or more!) I will be able to see how long it lasts.

9. Not feeling very beautiful

Oops. Didn't sticker yesterday. Went to bed feeling the gap of it. I hadn't been feeling very good about myself and I realise you have to be in a good place to spread the lurve. Maybe I should have gone out and done one anyway. After all it is a Lenten discipline.

7. Beautiful baths in Bath

My word they have cracked it at the Thermae Bath Spa in Bath. Just across the road from where the very impressive Roman Bath excavation and museum is you can try it out 21st century style. We went around dusk and got the full range of amazing light from the steamy roof top pool - golden fading light, captivating sunset and inky black backdrop to a bright half moon and Orion constellation. Another amazing treat to enjoy on an amazing couple of days away thanks to parents in law. I did think, as my head plunged into the naturally warm soaking shower, that this was perhaps as far away from the aceticsm of Lent as you could get. Whoops.

Nice to leave another sticker in such a beautiful place. Another chance hopefully to have someone be reminded that they're already beautiful. But it was almost as if that place makes you feel beautiful. Is that ok?

6. Beautiful Bath

It's so lovely to be sitting outside a pub after a long walk with the sun warming my face and a glass of wine warming my insides. Very difficult not to feel beautiful and see beauty all day today - and yesterday - on a couple of nights' jolly away without our children.

It's the first sticker in the countryside and where better than on a public footpath sign. I love the English networks of public footpaths. Though no doubt if I spent anytime in Scotland I would be frustrated that we have less right to roam. We have been through more kissing gates these last few days walking near Bath than I have ever before in my life as a whole. And you don't get those were there's a right to roam!

Couldn't resist photographing pretty much every sign of spring. Also came across a great Darling Doris (it's a Fat 'n' Frantic term) phone box that had been turned into a book box.

5a. A word from our sponsors

• 

  When I saw the video of the You Are Beautiful photobook project I was so inspired I immediately ordered some stickers for a Lenten discipline around our neighbourhood which I hope, through this blog, you're enjoying as much as me.
  
  Lent started only two days later and so I rustled up some fake stickers in the interim period (which I have to say are not as big or as shiny as the nice originals in the picture). And then I got a bit worried that this might not be OK with the guys behind the originals. So I emailed them... and here's their reply... nice eh??

  Matthew Hoffman
  

  Friday Feb 15 2013, 10:27am EST

  Hi Lynda,
  Thanks so much for the note! You made made some DIY ones? Awesome!
  Thank you so much for your support!
  Can't wait to see what you do with them,
  Matthew

4. and 5. The beautiful Irish

Ah the dilemmas of the international traveller. I had been looking forward to a bit of international stickering on a day trip to Dublin for a meeting with work. But I didn't make it passed the toilets at Stansted. Just so many women passing through getting stressed by their journey. Worrying whether they are beautiful enough for international travel. Wondering how much they have to spend in Duty Free to become beautiful. So I just left one there and then. In the casement of a mirror in the washing area.

And I didn't really regret it all day. Until I was in the toilets at Dublin airport on my way home. I couldn't resist. Tomorrow I will probably be holed up at home at the the in laws and they already know they are beautiful so there won't be much opportunity to sticker anywhere. Maybe I have broken some Lenten rule. But I am not too worried. It's so late now that it's almost tomorrow anyway.

3. Post office beautiful

I had to skulk around before I had a chance to sticker without an audience. And I was panicking a bit so it didn't go in a very interesting place. But I figure on the notice board of the Clapton sorting office it might get seen by a fair few people over the next weeks.

On my way home I cycled to see if I could see the Valentine craft bomb a friend had told me about. Some lovely Danish hearts on our Olympificated road furniture. Looking a little worse for wear from the rain yesterday but still full if colour and warmth and love. I love my neighbourhood!

Loving blogging from my phone :-) but it does weird things to the pics!

2. Valentine beautiful

A friend's extra Valentine challenge had me up til 1.30am but it was fun to leave a crafty heart on a railing in Hoxton. Man that place needs a bit of love. I cycle through it by the canal each day for work but only see the shiny new riverside apartments. The city side of Hoxton is one boarded up estate after another.

I nearly bailed on my first sticker opportunity. I thought it'd be nice to put it in the canteen at work where many people come and go but I realised I didn't wait anyone to see me. So in the lift it went. Nice and private stickering! On the slightly dishevelled looking no smoking notice.

Quakers believe there is 'that of God in everyone'. I think that can be interpreted as it not bring possible to be anything but beautiful.

1. Beautiful.. but not pretty

That's me... with the ashen cross still on me for'ead!

It's Lent again. It does that. Comes around every year. And me and R were a bit late in the day, looking for some inspiration for a creative journey in our neighbourhood. But suddenly her fella is tweeting a link to the You Are Beautiful video project. And I smiled. And cried. And was off donating money and ordering stickers... Only that was on Monday. And they're sending them from Chicago. And Lent starts today. So I spent a good part of yesterday designing a stop-gap sticker so that we can start stickering our neighbourhood one Lenten day at a time. Look out Clapton here we come.

And I thought I wouldn't blog about it. I'm blogging here at the moment about something totally different and it's all getting a bit out of hand. But then, something prompted me to scribe... tonight, in a small family-sized Ash Wednesday moment I was reminded that the liturgy the Lovely Chris put together for kids included these words:

I am sorry for my mistakes.
I know you love me Jesus.
You made me.
I am beautiful.
Help me love and care for each person here.
Amen.

They are words said together as the ash cross is made on the forehead. They are an approximation (and small kid-friendly version) of the more commonly used "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return". I thought I would use my first sticker, then, on the mirror in our lounge. To remind me that I am beautiful. You can't think anyone else is beautiful until you own your own beauty, right? It will be seen regularly this Lent by all our family and each visitor to our house.

And then, by sheer luck and internet surfing, I came across this slam poet, ripping to shreds the concept of 'pretty', on the Avaaz website. I guess that's part of what the guys at http://you-are-beautiful.com/ are trying to say. There is beauty in us all. Pretty doesn't even come close.