A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 27 April 2021 - T for supermodels, interior doors, vaccination and VW cars

 Hello lovely ladies,

How are you all? Today is Tuesday again. It has come around so fast! I'm going to visit Elizabeth and Bluebeard at the T-Party. Will you join us? All that is needed is a blog post with a beverage or reference to a beverage in it. You will see mine in a little while, but first I'd like to show you my postcard for today. 

This is Alek Wek, supermodel. On the back of the card it reads: 'With pouring rain and danger fast approaching, Alek had to flee her childhood home in South Sudan. In her new land she dazzled others with her radiant beauty on fashion runways and became the first African American woman on the cover of Elle magazine.' 

That piqued my interest. 

She was born on April 16th 1977 in Wau, south Sudan. Here is a photo of her:

This is what I found out about her:

She was born to Akuol, a housewife, and Athian, a teacher and was the seventh of nine children in her family. Her family grew up in extreme poverty, but Wek remembers being happy and peaceful.

She suffered from a skin condition known as psoriasis from birth until the age of 14. It cleared up because of the climate change once she moved to London with her family.

In 1985, a civil war broke out in Sudan, which caused the Wek family to flee their now dangerous home. Her father eventually died on the journey after an infection  in his hip.

In 1991, Wek’s family finally arrived in London where Alek had a hard time adjusting to the cold climate. Bullies at school picked on her dark skin and accent. She enrolled in ‘London’s College of Fashion’ and majored in fashion business and technology.

In 1995, Wek was discovered at the age of 19 by a ‘Model 1’ scout named Fiona Ellis.

Ralph Lauren chose her to walk in his runway show within the first year of moving to New York, an unprecedented achievement for a new model. This assignment propelled her modelling career and helped her establish a strong foothold in the white-dominated industry.

In 2007, she published an autobiographical book that detailed her journey from refugee to supermodel in order to spread awareness.

In 2002, she became an advisor to the US Committee for ‘Refugees Advisory Council’ where she helps raise awareness for the issues facing Sudan and refugees around the world.

In 2003, she entered into a relationship with an Italian real estate developer named Riccardo Sala. It was reported that the pair had split up after an affair of eleven years.

In July of 2012, she returned to her home country with the ‘UN Refugee Agency’ in an effort to spread awareness of how much work must be done to rebuild this country.

In 2014, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o gave a speech in which she spoke about her negative self-esteem regarding her appearance growing up. However, when she saw Wek in the media, she realized she too could be beautiful. Nyong’o has since won several awards for her work, including an Oscar.

She is still working for many charitable organizations, including ‘World Vision’, ‘UNICEF’, and ‘Doctors Without Borders’ in Sudan.

What an amazing woman!

The stamps are interesting:

 

I particularly like the car. It is a VW Golf. It was my favorite car back in the days. When I lived in Italy, there was a black VW Golf at the second hand car dealer. We wanted to buy it but by the time we came up with the money, the car had already been sold to another. I was so disappointed! Later in the UK, in the early 90s, our eldest who was a student and living with us, bought an old Golf and painted it black. It did bring back memories...

This week has been a quiet week as it has been dull and sometimes rainy weather. So I have stayed in most days. Of course, I did what i like doing, which is baking! I made cinnamon rolls:

Hubby pinched one of them before I could take the picture!

And I found some filo pastry in the supermarket (Not easy to find around here) and I made a quiche:

It's a Jamie Oliver recipe from YouTube called 'Speedy Quiche'. It has broccoli and courgettes in it and lots of eggs. 

Absolutely delicious. 

We've had a bit of excitement: See my front door with it's little hallway? 

We're having doors put in.

Although they look like they are made of wood, they are metal and very sturdy.

This is what they look like when one opens the front door:

And on the inside it looks like this:

You can see my reflexion in the glass.

I couldn't resist adding this funny door I found on the Internet:

The other news this week is that I have had my vaccination. In the hospital car park, they have rigged up a drive-in facility. In the photo below you can see part of it. There was a young lady with a laptop asking my citizen number and name. Then another young lady explained I was going to be given the Janssen vaccin, and gave me the vaccin as I sat in the car. The she told us to drive on and wait 10 minutes  in the car park past the hut.

Here we are waiting to see if I have any immediate reaction (I didn't), and that was that. The next day I had a slight headache and felt a bit tired, which were side effects mentioned in the leaflet. That was all.

Hubby was told he will have his at the hospital as he is having chemo therapy. It can only be done on certain days. He is to wait for a telephone call.

No, I haven't forgotten my beverage. It is my coffee. It looks like coffee with milk but it is black with the lovely froth on top as it comes out of my Senseo machine. Here we are having a slice of my apple and walnut Herman cake.

Words to heal the soul:

I'm leaving you with Morgan Freeman.

Have a good week all of you. I'm looking forward to reading your posts and perhaps sip some of the beverages offered.

Happy T-Day!

Hugs, 

Lisca