Dame Vivienne Westwood's popularity knows no bounds. Her punk attitude is more alive now than in the movement's seventies' heyday and her outspoken, Union Jack-waving Englishness (with a few added safety pins and tea stains), is undiminished. Cutting edge but classic, her collections are unflinchingly rooted in her interests and beliefs, whether it is human rights or classical fiction. In 2007 she was awarded the gong for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design at the British Fashion Awards - but she was late on to the stage to collect it since she'd popped out to go to the loo. Original and outrageous, British designer Vivienne Westwood is one of the most recognised and influential designers of the late twentieth century. (biog by Megan Boyes, taken from Vogue.com)
Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born on 27th January 1832 at Daresbury in Cheshire. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford University and later became a mathematics lecturer there. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872) for the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church. He was very fond of puzzles and some readers have found mathematical jokes and codes hidden in his Alice books. He died on 14th January 1898.