Udipi Charlotte

Archive for August, 2009

Christening ceremonies are back in fashion with new parents keen to copy celebrities like Geri Halliwell, the Beckhams and Charlotte Church. In recent years more and more people have chosen to get their little one’s baptised but the trend has seen children going through the ceremony at a later age.

During the 1940s and 1950s babies would be christened at a few weeks of age but now most children are aged 6 months and older.

This is because parents are so busy. People want to have the celebration and there are celebrity christenings in the news and this makes people think about it a bit more. People are put off because they don’t know what the options are or they’re extremely busy during those first months.

However, there are many more options available to parents. Rather than having Christenings, some parents have opted for a Naming Ceremony.

Both Christenings and Naming Ceremonies have similar elements in that they welcome the child into the community. The difference is that in a Christening you’re welcoming the child into the Church community where as in a Naming Ceremony you’re welcoming the child into your own community of family and friends.

The Church of England also offer a Thanksgiving Service which is a lesser known ceremony and in that service the parents can give Thanks to God for the gift of their child but they don’t have the full commitment of baptism.

So what are the main differences between a Christening and a Naming Ceremony?

In a Naming Ceremony the promises are made by the parents and the supporting adults. They are of love and support for the child where as in a Christening the promises are committing the child to be brought up in the Christian faith.

Naming ceremonies can be carried out almost anywhere. However, if you want a registrar to officiate over proceedings the service will have to take place where civil ceremonies are currently held. However, this may be different outside the UK.

You can have a celebrant to perform the ceremony and they’ll welcome the child. You can customise the ceremony quite a bit and you can add in poems or readings. You can make reference to absent friends and family. You can make it more into a ceremony which is very personal and meaningful to you.

A lot of hotels, golf clubs and restaurants are approved for a civil ceremony so you could hold it at one of these venues.

The British Humanist Association also provide celibrants for Naming Ceremonies, you can have Godparent equivalents but they’re not generally called Godparents because you don’t generally have religion in your naming ceremony. They are called special adults or supporting adults some people actually call them oddparents.

For more information about Christenings contact your local Church. For Naming Ceremonies your local registry office should be able to point you in the right direction.

The “Birkin” bag is a handbag manufactured by leather goods and ready-to-wear manufacturer Herms. It is named after British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin, a longtime resident of France.

http://www.himfr.com/buy-Warm_Socks/”>Warm SocksPress accounts of the bag’s genesis differ in details. Birkin told noted fashion writer Dana Thomas that while seated next to Herms CEO Jean-Louis Dumas in 1984 on a Paris to London flight, she opened her Herms-made datebook and a flurry of loose notes fell to the floor. Dumas took her datebook and returned it a few weeks later with a pocket sewn into the back (which has since become standard). Birkin went on to discuss with Dumas her difficulty in finding a leather weekend bag and at his prompting, described her ideal. Shortly thereafter, the bag she described arrived at her flat with a note from Dumas.[1]

A more piquant version of the story was repeated by film director Andrew Litvack. He put the year as 1981 and says that Birkin was called to Herms to receive the first prototype. As she was leaving with the bag, they asked if she had forgotten something. Puzzled, she realized they wanted her to pay for it. Litvack claims Birkin was eventually reimbursed, and now receives a 10% discount on Herms products.

Generally, the price of a Birkin starts at approximately $7500 USD, not including sales taxes, but can reach 5- and sometimes 6-digit prices, particularly when the bag is constructed from exotic animal skins. Allegedly, the waiting list for a Birkin is over two years. In practice, however, many stores have a “call list” and an “order list”, both usually consisting of clients who have in one way or another become “regulars” or have formed a relationship with a particular Sales Associate.

Herms does not sell its handbags online or to online retailers. Authentic Birkin bags are sometimes available on auction websites such as eBay, though often at a very high markup over the retail price. It is also possible to acquire a used Birkin bag at couture-consignment shops. In Plum Sykes’ novel Bergdorf Blondes (2004), the character Julie Bergdorf steals a Birkin from her family’s store, Bergdorf Goodman, to avoid a three-year wait, although in reality Birkins are only sold by Herms, are not available (as claimed in the novel) in pink with fur trim, and probably would not require such a long wait for a socialite like her.

Herms handbags have been noted for being one of the few brands of handbag to either hold or increase in value with time, giving them the distinction of being considered by some as “investment quality” products. Author Michael Tonello in his book, Bringing Home The Birkin, published by William Morrow in 2008, shares his experiences buying and selling the Birkin Bag on eBay. He recounts how he acquired Birkin Bags in Spain and France and became a powerhouse eBay seller until Hermes refused to sell him anymore Birkins. The book provides an insiders peek at the mystique of this exclusive accessory.

Herms Birkin handbags are hand-built by experienced craftsmen, one of the primary factors contributing to the high price of all Herms handbags. The production of each bag may take up to 48 work hours, translating into weeks. They are distributed worldwide to Herms boutiques on intentionally unpredictable schedules and in even fewer reliable quantities, creating a sense of scarcity and exclusivity around the product.

The exterior of the bag can be made of a variety of leathers. One of the most expensive variations of the bag is made of saltwater crocodile skin. The price of these bags depends on the size of the scales. Bags with smaller scales cost much more than those with larger scales.

Typically, a Birkin bag’s lining is made of goat skin and its color will match the bag’s exterior color. The bags can also be special-ordered from custom leathers and colors, but order privileges are granted only to certain established Herms clients, and again, on an unpredictable basis. Orders are reportedly submitted to Paris twice a year, with “special-order” bags coming back anywhere from a year to 2 years later. Occasionally, special orders may never arrive, as Herms is notorious for discontinuing certain leathers or colors without notice, frequently making the arrival and “pick-up” of a special order Birkin a cause for some fun fanfare both for the client, and occasionally even for boutique staff.

The metallic hardware on a Birkin bag (the lock, keys, buckle hardware and feet studs) are typically plated with gold or other precious metals, such as palladium, which, unlike silver, will not tarnish. The metal lock may be covered with leather as an option when custom ordering. Certain notable Herms clients have paved buckle hardware with diamonds, notoriously resulting in one black crocodile skin Birkin which notably sold for close to $65,000 at auction in 2005.

Birkin lock keys are enclosed in a type of leather lanyard known as a “clochette” which is typically, but not necessarily, carried by looping it through one of a Birkin’s handles. The Birkin bag may be locked by closing the bag’s top flaps over all buckle loops, wrapping the buckle straps, and closing the lock on the front hardware.

Locks and keys are number-coded.

In pop culture, the Birkin has become a symbol of ultimate luxury, although its ostentatious use by the wives and girlfriends of British footballers during the 2006 World Cup caused some fashion writers to speculate about its continued desirability.[4] In Paris it has been associated with, among others, so-called BCBG (bon chic bon genre) women. Jane Birkin remarked that by 2006, the fame of the bag had exceeded her own: “Now when my daughter [actress Charlotte Gainsbourg] goes to America, they ask her if she is the daughter of the bag.”

In recent years the bag has featured prominently on popular television shows such as Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, and Will & Grace[8]. In the final season of The Sopranos, Dr. Melfi carried a Birkin bag into her own therapy session. In Gossip Girl, Lily van der Woodsen carries her Birkin bag in black and tan in season one.

A widely publicized incident at London’s Heathrow Airport in 2006 where actress Lindsay Lohan’s orange Birkin bag was reportedly stolen drew further attention to the bag. The actress claimed that the lost bag was full of valuables worth upwards of $1,000,000. It was returned shortly thereafter.[9] Sophie Albou, founder of the fashion house Paul & Joe, claimed to have bought a Birkin each season for ten years, describing her collection as “an expensive addiction but … part of my heritage as a French woman”.

The town of Maldon is located in a historical gold mining region between the larger centres of Castlemaine and Bendigo.

Maldon has been perfectly preserved since its mining days and is Australia’s First Notable Town – classified by the National Trust in 1966. Its list of historic buildings is impressive and includes the railway station (built in 1884), the Grand Hotel (1888), the old post office (1870) and a number of churches.

Most of the historical buildings of interest are concentrated around the block in the town centre bounded by Main Street, High Street, Camp Street and Church Street. Many of the commercial buildings located along Maldon’s streets have been converted into cafes, galleries and antiques shops to cater for the influx of visitors who choose to step back in time by visiting this uniquely preserved historic gold mining town with a streetscape that looks like it hasn’t changed for well over a hundred years.

Good views of the Maldon township can be enjoyed from Anzac Hill, accessed via Anzac Hill Road south of town. Panoramic views of the surrounding region are best seen from the peak of Mount Tarrengower where there is a lookout tower. Mount Tarrengower rises to a height of 570 metres a few kilometres west of Maldon, and was the centre of gold diggings in the area during the 1850s. Maldon is surrounded by the Maldon Historic Reserve which contains forests and relics of the district’s gold mining era.

Situated on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range and surrounded by bushland, the large town of Maryborough has roots which date back to the Gold Rush days of the mid-1800s when gold mining was the predominant industry in the region.

Historical buildings are a feature of Maryborough today, with the highlights being the well-preserved commercial streetscape along High Street, iconic public buildings including the post office in Clarendon Street, and the grand railway station which was built in 1890.

Phillips Gardens, located at the junction of Alma Street and Inkerman Street, date back to 1870 and feature a lake surrounded by lawns, trees and a wetland area which is a haven for birdlife. The lookout tower at the Bristol Hill Reserve, on the western edge of town, offers impressive views over Maryborough and the surrounding countryside and forests.

Water attractions include Lake Victoria which is located within a few minutes walk of the town centre, surrounded by parkland and sporting facilities. Two kilometres south of town, on the road to Ballarat, is the Goldfields Reservoir which used to supply Maryborough with water but is now a recreational boating and fishing lake.

A short drive south of Maryborough is the Paddys Ranges State Park where relics of the gold mining era and colourful wildflower displays can be observed.

The small township of Talbot is located within what was a very rich gold mining area between Maryborough and Clunes. Originally servicing a mining population of over 15,000 during the 1850s, today only a few hundred people live in Talbot. The town retains many historical buildings from its prosperous gold mining days including the Primitive Methodist Church (built in 1870) which is now a museum, the court house (1866) and one of Talbot’s oldest buildings, the Court House Hotel which was built in 1860.