Alice's tresses as seen in the evening sunlight as we cooked tea together.* She is my kitchen conspirator and consultant when it comes to savoury food as she loves spice and heat as much as I do, and is a patient stirrer and accurate taster. It also means we can stand together and discuss her hair colour and what she plans to do next. I'm in awe of her boldness and confidence (I'm a classic mouse); this is the toned-down version of the amazing beetroot/aubergine colour she had done for her birthday, and something new and different is coming up soon, I'm told.
[Lady Lilith Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1866-68), a painting with a story]
Alice's really are tresses, like the vast lengths of rippling auburn hair that belonged to the 'stunners' painted by the Pre-Raphaelites. Rossetti has plenty of wonderful tresses in his paintings, and although her hair might fit in, thankfully Alice doesn't look as bored as they do (as Simon once said after seeing a roomful of Rossetti's women).
*We always have tea, and never, ever 'supper' (unless it's the bedtime cocoa and a biscuit sort). Although I now say lunch for what was dinner when I was growing up, tea is still tea and I like the fact that our three southern teenagers still ask 'what's for tea?' even though they've never lived in the north.
