View allAll Photos Tagged shrewd
I was 'tagged' by my good Flickr-friend Sheree (Hadassah 28).
As you probably know, you need to tell ten things about yourself.
It's often hard to think of ten interesting things, but here's ten about me, at random.
1. While still in my twenties, I made my fortune from shrewd stock-market investments and retired young.
2. I once dated Scarlett Johansson for a few months, but there’s only so much flatulence any man can put up with. She was upset at the break-up, but I’m glad to see that she’s found happiness again.
3. The statement I hear most often from others is “Wow, you must really work out”.
4. While I love my house in Beverly Hills and the penthouse overlooking Central Park, my favourite property is my apartment in Monaco. (Princess Stephanie regularly drops over for “coffee”).
5. I taught Michael Flatley many of his Irish dancing steps.
(There’s no truth to the rumour that I taught Michael Jackson to ‘Moonwalk’).
6. Generally, I don’t like to be chauffer-driven, preferring to drive one of my own supercars. At the moment, my favourite is my new Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4.
I plant deciduous hardwood trees on my estate in South America in order to offset my carbon footprint.
7. I try to remain modest and ‘grounded’, though sometimes it can be difficult, especially when I sit back and think of all that I’ve achieved at such a relatively young age.
8. It’s hard to say who’s the most famous person that I have in my
cell-phone/mobile. Tiger, probably.
(Although I’m sure Madonna will argue over the fame thing when she reads this. She sooooo hates to be second! I always like to remind her of that whenever we meet).
And no Maddie, I’m not deleting this!
9. Friendship is important to me. I have hundreds of very close friends.
10. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. (Aside, perhaps, from trying harder to keep Scarlett away from the baked beans. We’d probably still be together otherwise).
In the same general region as the Rockingham Church (my most recent photos) sits the former, infamous Costello Hotel. It is located in Brudenell, and although the area is pretty depopulated now, it was once a busier community with three hotels.
It is located on the former colonization road, the Opeongo Line. Back in its 1880s heyday, Brudenell's population reached about 200. In addition to its three hotels, the community "two blacksmiths, a race track, church, meeting hall and school. It was also thought to have a daily stage service to Eganville, Rockingham and Combermere." (www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so05/indepth/soc_brude...)
Brudenell was on the stage line to nearby Eganville, Rockingham and Combermere, and had plenty of offerings for travellers stopping along the way. Its main industries seem to have been gambling, drinking, and sex - not necessarily in that order.
The owners of the hotel, Jim and Mike Costello, emigrated from Ireland in the early 1870s helped to even increase Brudenell's unsavoury reputation. It was under their watch that Brudenell became known as the most notorious 'sin-bucket' along the Opeongo. (www.ghosttownpix.com/ontario/intros/brudenel.html)
James Costello, aka Black Jim, was "a tough, shrewd businessman who staked the loggers heading to the pineries. Their families could draw supplies from his store while the wage earners were in the lumber camps. The men settled their accounts at the Costello store in spring when they returned from the winter camps with their pay. It seems that there was seldom much cash left over once the bills were paid." (www.ogradys.com/opeongo/brude.html)
"When the loggers working at the Pineries were off…………they partied hard in Brudenell! The hotels in town were famous for copious drinking, gambling and finding a ready, willing and able girl for the night…..for a small fee of course. When the workers were back in town they brought their money and decadent desires! It was a notorious town for hedonism and excess in all departments." (abandonedexplorers.wordpress.com/2015/07/15/brudenell-the...)
The 'town' fell into decline for two reasons. When Laurier succeeded MacDonald he had the railway re-routed through Killaloe. At the same time, this area was beginning to run out of square timber, and the loggers began to move on. The 'town' became unnecessary as a stopover and was soon bypassed.
I have driven past Brudenell twice previously, the last time being four years ago. Both times, this old hotel was for sale. With the For Sale sign gone, a trailer parked by the side with a few toys strewn about, and a few little repairs seemingly done to the porch, it seems that the place is now under ownership. What a major and perhaps impossible task it will be to restore this place, which is larger that it looks in this photo with another wing extending off to the far side (in comments).
© Anvilcloud Photography
Shrewdly touching upon the notorious victimizing instinct which
rejoices as a hospitable invitation is muttered towards the baffled
guests gaping at gunpoint
I took this picture with my wife, Bea. It's a joint work.
Savvy: shrewdness and practical knowledge; the ability to make good judgements.
Something we all need these days. - - - Food price inflation eases slightly but remains high
The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 17.4% in the year to June 2023. This was down from 18.4% in May and from a high of 19.2% in March, which was the highest annual inflation rate for over 45 years.
I present to you this new 2021 moc with a medieval theme.
The moc rests on two 32x32 bases and was designed to be placed side by side with the moc of the medieval windmill that I made in 2018.
I made a medieval bridge and a watchtower. The bridge rests diagonally to the bases using a somewhat complex but effective technique.
The watchtower is developed on three floors and is made with the walls that can be opened at the rear to be able to observe the interior.
Inside the entrance door is a secret hatch that can be operated with a lever to drop a minifig into the underground tunnel that leads to one of the bridge's water streams. Through this function a skit was born to give a story to this moc:
"High on the Watchtower, the lookout soldier, unaware of his future fate, watched the chariot coming to the Tower with the King's trusted knight.
His job was to collect a chest full of gold for the King to deliver to the castle.
A shrewd thief, however, had discovered how to steal the chest through a secret trap door that led to the tower and which also allowed him an escape route from the conduit beyond the bridge by passing through the cold waters of the river. Will the thief be able to escape? "
Yesterday is History,
’Tis so far away -
Yesterday is Poetry - ’tis Philosophy -
Yesterday is mystery -
Where it is Today
While we shrewdly speculate
Flutter both away
(The game is afoot. In the hidden house. Below.)
Left to right: First Company Schütze, company appraiser, sea captain, Second Company Schütze x2, Seemann x2
Established in 623, the Essener Ostterra Handelsbund (Essian East Terra Trade League) united part of the Free City’s guilds and merchant houses into a single venture aimed at colonizing the New World. With Essen lacking the power of larger nations, the City Council saw fit to consolidate its resources, creating a chartered company capable of matching the influence of its larger rivals - not through force of arms, but through enterprise, organization, and shrewd diplomacy.
Through the clever reading and creative interpretation of old treaties, the Handelsbund serves more than merely commercial aims. While Essen’s official military may be limited in size - a legacy of the civil war and its heavy peace - the Handelsbund is permitted to maintain its own forces for the defense of its holdings abroad. Called the Schutztruppe, or 'protective troop', these troops, drawn mostly from outside the City, across Carno and beyond, form a disciplined and well-equipped small army, nominally independent, though clearly benefitting from Essen’s martial expertise and supply lines.
Outsiders and foreigners mostly refer to the Handelsbund as 'Ravenclaw' or the 'Ravenclaw Company', due to its use of raven claw symbology, which is linked to one of its founders: Rupprecht Ravenclaw.
Sailors and soldiers of the Ravenclaw wear dark blue uniform, often marked with the emblem of the company. In the early days of the Bund, soldiers were supplied with leftover black uniforms of Essen's military, which are gradually being phased out to deny any links between both organizations.
Our safari truck growls into a tiny South African town. It is one of the few stops I haven't been looking forward to much. Here we are offered one of two options: We can go to a micro brewery or we can take in some arts and crafts. This is most unlike the rest of the Drifter's tour. It's touristy...and we never like touristy.
Sheree and I exchange looks and decide not to do either. We will pack up our cameras and take a walk and meet people.
We wander into "The Village Inn Restaurant and Karoo Kitchen."
The Karoo is a vast beautiful place. The day is searingly hot with just enough of a breeze to keep certain Canadians from melting, leaving only cameras, sunglasses and garish colored shorts in haltng little bilingual puddles.
We step into a dark interior, twice as dark because the sun outside is so very bright.
The menu is hand printed on a fireplace. It offers items like ice cold ginger beer, lemonade and fresh scones.
I am struck by the idea that I have walked ito a hobbit hole because the rooms are crowded with lovingly placed bric-a-brac. Everything has a place.
No one's here. But there is someone humming a softly off-key tune in the distance.
We stand and chat with another tour-fleeing couple and poke around at the stuff on the shelves.
Eventually a voice that has seen a LOT of miles cheerily calls he's 'on his way.'
Shuffling feet that sound like they're encased in favorite slippers. Into the room walks an old guy who looks a lot like James Whitmore.
He's a friendly little fellow whose face lights up at the prospect of actual customers.
"Hello," he says. "I'm Neil."
It feels strange to be introducing ourselves at a restaurant, but we all do and shake his hand.
Sheree orders a coffee and I opt for ginger beer. He nods again, increasing my suspicion that I am with an affable hobbit and shuffles off into a back room.
He's gone a really long time. I mean a REALLY long time. I start to wonder if he has died. Eventually he shows up again, carrying a small kettle and a frosty glass of ginger beer.
After putting the drinks on the table, he settles into the table next to us, for a little chat.
He's very curious about Canada. Having farmed until recently in South Africa, he wants to know about how farming works here. Personally, I have no idea.
We chat about how proud he is that his wife is the official translator of plays for a South African playwright I have never heard of.
Sheree takes a sip and declares she's never had coffee this good. She's not making it up...she's really impressed.
I sip the ginger beer. It's really sweet.But it's cold and it's wet...and there's this wonderful bite to it.
Neil is impressed with our cameras and he asks about them. He doesn't seem to know much about photography but he's interested.
I am replying to his questions...but I am thinking, not unkindly that Neil has the bushiest eyebrows I've ever seen.
"We've got just under a thousand people here," he says. "A 40% unemployment rate and 23 restaurants."
"That seems like a lot," I observe shrewdly.
He nods again "It is. But tourism is increasing every day."
I am thinking of the rutted African goat trails we took to get here. Neil is, apparently, an optimist.
He tells us about some of the photographic opportunities in the area.
Sheree thrusts the kettle at me. "You have to try this COFFEE," she says.
We've been living with instant truck slop so long I have forgotten what coffee tastes like.
This stuff is dusky, buttery and rich. It is amazing. I want to order a pot of my own, but can't afford to wait the seven hours it will take to make...and our time is already running out.
If we are going to take any pictures, we have to go.
So we say goodbye to Neil and his charming restaurant and his classic coffee and walk out into the African sun.
I thought you would like to meet Neil. But then I think EVERYONE should meet at least one Neil in their lives.
"Deep within the snow-covered mountains of the east, lies a forest of myth. Veiled by this forest, is a civilization spoken of in legend and lore. Nothing is known about these people, or their hidden city. Few who entered the forest in search of the hidden city ever returned. Those who did return, spoke of mysterious riders and strange structures. It’s said that only one person has ever been able to find the door to the city. Guarded by an axeman of stature and patrolling archers, the small, ornate door nestled within a mountain side appears to be the only thing we’ll ever know about these hidden people. Perhaps one day, a brave and shrewd individual will find their way into the hidden city and return, but until that day comes, it will be known only in myth and legend.”
I had fun with this one. The initial inspiration for this model was the door to Moria from "Lord of the Rings" and Mr. Tumnus's house From "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". I am really pleased with how the texturing and the composition of the model turned out. This is one of the few models that I’ve started without having a specific purpose in mind, which made the build process much more relaxing and free flowing. Overall, I’m very happy with the build and I enjoyed getting to work on it.
Enjoy!
The Hourglass Of The Catherine The Great - Mystic Challenge Group Week Theme - Hourglasses
With the music : Jeremy Soule – Peace of Akatosh (The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Soundtrack)
(*) The Blue Crystal Hourglass Of The Catherine The Great
Empress Catherine II most commonly known as Catherine the Great (1729-96) ruled Russia for the last 34 years of her life. She pursued many reforms with energy, intelligence and political shrewdness.
The long-missing ancient hourglass of crystal was filled with the sands of the Taklamakan Desert around the ancient ruins of Khotan, made of crystal and gold. Flanked by four golden lion figures in it was embedded an Egyptian scarab from an Egyptian sarcophagus, offered by her lover, Prince Zubov.
Despite her personal indifference to religion it was an object that she kept secret for her protection, since she possessed a great feared of smallpox.
In those years, smallpox death rate was about 40 percent. In other words, in the 18th century, a sick person had almost equal chances to live or die.
The mystic hourglass disappeared after her death without a trace ... until our days.
(*) Mystic Story by Daniel Arrhakis
Each week a new Theme, each month a new Challenge.
You may choose enter only for the week theme, for the month challenge or both ! : )
Theme For This Week : Hourglasses - Begin May 3 / Ends May 9
*Mystic Challenge Group - Week Theme : Hourglasses - LINK HERE
Pep Boys
Philadelphia building
In 1921, four Navy buddies spotted an emerging market for auto supplies stores and pooled $800 to open the first one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, Pep Boys has been ahead of its time in the business world, weathering several economic events to remain one of the most widely known aftermarket auto parts and service brands in the country today.
Emanual “Manny” Rosenfeld, two Moes- Maurice “Moe” Strauss and Moe Radavitz- and W. Graham “Jack” Jackson chipped in $200 each to start the business. With car ownership skyrocketing, following the introduction of the assembly line production of the Ford Model T, Strauss saw a need for an auto accessories store and knew with the right partners he could make it happen. The founders rented a store at 7-11 North 63rd Street in West Philadelphia, but it still needed a name.
As the foursome initially set up their store, Moe’s eye fell on a carton of Pep Valve Grinding compound and suggested Pep. Pep Auto Supply Company was the company’s name its first two years. The current, famous “Pep Boys” name emerged in pieces, partly coming from a Philadelphia police officer who encouraged people to visit “the boys at Pep” and a cross-country trip to Los Angeles that inspired the “Manny, Moe & Jack” moniker from a dress shop. Radivitz and Jackson eventually left the business a short time later, and Strauss’ brother eventually took on the role of Jack.
Shrewd planning kept the company safe during the Great Depression. Manny and Moe had incurred no business debts other than reasonable mortgages on store properties. Even during the Depression, Americans still had to spend money on their cars, keeping aftermarket suppliers in business. Pep Boys also sold non-auto accessories including radio supplies and bicycles that made sense for their customer base. The company did not cut back or lay off personnel, run up debt, or sell out to a competitor during the Depression. Instead, it doubled its strength by expanding to California.
Pep Boys opened their first store in Los Angeles in 1933. The California expansion was opened as a separate company, The Pep Boys- Manny, Moe & Jack of California. The company’s first service bays opened their doors in Los Angeles since stores were larger in square footage out west.
Pep Boys went public in 1945 in order to meet increasing consumer demand unleashed at the end of WWII. The infusion of cash went directly into growing the business, and Pep Boys followed the masses out to the suburbs.
The company’s headquarters got a new home as well, moving to its current location at 3111 West Allegheny Avenue in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Pep Boys moved to the building on May 26, 1947, and paid off the mortgage by 1959. Today, this building is known as the Store Support Center, housing the company’s corporate offices.
In the next 20 years, the number of stores nearly tripled to a total of 124 by 1969. It was during this time service bays and service managers were added to each store. Through the 1970s, Pep Boys converted all stores to self-serviced merchandising and implemented a computerized inventory system.
The 1980s brought the most aggressive expansion program in the company’s history. To raise capital, Pep Boys split its stock 3-for-1 and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1982. This strategy enabled rapid growth and brought about the birth of the automotive “supercenter.” This concept boosted Pep Boys to more than 700 stores, almost 3,600 service bays and more than $2 billion in annual sales.
Pep Boys The Road Ahead
Pep Boys continued its expansion in the 1990s, including to Puerto Rico. As the automotive aftermarket need has shifted over time from a majority of auto parts customers who identify as “Do it Yourselfers” to an increasing number of customers who prefer service centers to take care of their automotive maintenance and repair, Pep Boys has expanded its service business. Today Pep Boys provides service for more than six million cars and car owners each year. More than 23 million “Rewards” members have signed up for special offers in stores.
Since 2009, Pep Boys has focused on the development of service and tire centers within its existing markets as its primary growth strategy. Today the company operates more than 7,400 service bays in nearly 800 stores nationwide. At the same time, in some of its traditional supercenters, the company has expanded to include “Speed Shops” within its retail stores, which cater to the growing number of car enthusiasts who have fun working on performance cars, like hot rods, “muscle cars” and off-road trucks.
In 2012, Pep Boys created a new service and retail customer experience, which it refers to as “The Road Ahead. ” Similar to the experience found at some high-end car dealerships, new Pep Boys stores feature customer lounges with amenities such as complimentary Wi-Fi and flat screen TVs near its full-service maintenance and repair shops, as well as the most diverse
retail product assortment in the automotive aftermarket.
"100 Live and Die" by Bruce Nauman, 1984. At Benesse Art House, Naoshima.
Naoshima is a small fishing island off the southern Japan coast on the Seto Inland Sea, between Honshu and Shikoku, within eyeshot of the city of Takamatsu.
During the 1990s, the Benesse Corporation, a Japanese textbook publisher, partnered with architect Tadao Ando to create Benesse Art Site Naoshima, a series of spectacular contemporary art museums designed around the theme of "Nature and Art." (There's a nice summary of the place here.)
Shrewdly, they also built the museums with hotel rooms in which visitors can stay.
No less shrewdly, we stayed. It was superb.
Cormorants
While driving along Niagara Parkway, I saw this gulp (collective noun for cormorants) of cormorants.
* I've always wondered what/where/who is the origin of these bizarre collective nouns for animals groups.
Some of the more interesting collective nouns for animals...
~ A Shrewdness of ape
~ A Bloat of hippos
~ A Leap o' leopards
~ A Parliament of owls
~ A Convocation of eagles
~ A Dray of squirrels
~ An Unkindness of ravens
~ A Pandemonium of parrots
~ A Kit of pigeons
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however, we are south of the Thames in the middle-class London suburb of Putney in the front room of a red brick Edwardian villa in Hazelwood Road, where Gerald has brought Lettice to visit his friend, Harriet Milford. The orphaned daughter of a solicitor with little formal education, Harriet has taken in lodgers to earn a living, but more importantly for Lettice, has taken up millinery semi-professionally to give her some pin money*. As Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie, has forbidden Lettice to wear a shop bought hat to Leslie, Lettice’s brother’s, wedding in November and Lettice has quarrelled with her own milliner, Madame Gwendolyn, Gerald thought that Harriet might benefit as much from Lettice’s patronage as Lettice will by purchasing one of Harriet’s hats to resolve her fashion conundrum.
Lettice glances around the front parlour of the Putney villa, which doubles as Harriet’s sewing room and show room for her hats, with the critical eye of an interior designer, all the while listening to the notes of the oboe being played upstairs. The room’s middle-class chintzy décor immediately appals her as she takes in the floral covers of the flouncy Edwardian sofa on which she perches gingerly, and its matching roomy armchair by the fire, a hand embroidered pouffe and the busy Edwardian floral wallpaper. A bookcase stands in the corner, full of mystery novels covered in dust which Lettice suspects might have belonged to Harriet’s father, the deceased Mr. Milford. The bookcase’s top and the fireplace mantle are cluttered with family portraits taken in the possibly happier days of the idyllic summers before the Great War. The walls are hung with a mixture of cheap botanical prints and quaint English country scenes, all in gaudy gilded plaster frames. “How ghastly,” Lettice utters quietly with a sigh.
“I know: you hate the floral chintz,” Gerald says in reply to Lettice’s laconic observation. “You don’t need to tell me. The look of distaste on your face says it all. But you aren’t here to redecorate Lettuce Leaf, so be a darling and remember to mind your manners. You are a viscount’s daughter, after all, and Hattie is just a solicitor’s daughter. However, in spite of her low birth in comparison to your own, she is a good person, and she is my friend. Show some of your good breeding and be gracious.”
Lettice shoots Gerald an annoyed look at his use of her abhorred nickname yet again. “I’m beginning to question your choice of new friends – not that I even knew she existed prior to today.”
“Oh, there is a lot about me you don’t know, Lettice darling.” Gerald says with an air of mystery.
She glances around her again. “It’s awfully untidy in here.” she remarks not unjustly as she takes in the sight of a concertina sewing box on casters which stands cascaded open next to the armchair, threads, embroidery silks, buttons and ribbons pouring from its compartments like entrails. Hats in different stages of being made up and decorated lie about on the arm of the chair and the settee or on the floor in a haphazard way. The brightly patterned rug is littered with spools of cotton, scissors, ribbon, artificial flowers and dogeared copies of Weldon’s** magazines.
“Yes, well, Hattie hasn’t learnt the finer points of presentation yet,” Gerald admits. “But I’m working on that. However, suspend your judgement until you see what she can create for you.” Pointing to the three hats Lettice inspected a few minutes before sitting atop what must have formerly been a tea table, he adds, “You’ve already seen that her work really is every bit as good as Madame Gwendolyn’s.”
“Well, we shall see.” Lettice pronounces, withholding her judgement on Harriet’s work.
Just at that moment, Harriet’s scurrying footsteps across the tiled vestibule floor outside the door announce her arrival and she hurries through the door bearing a tray loaded with tea making implements and a plate of biscuits. “Be a lamb and bring over father’s chess table, will you Gerry darling.” she instructs Gerald.
Obediently Gerald gets up from his seat on the floral sofa next to Lettice, and with the familiarity of a regular houseguest, picks up a tilt table nestled on the far side of the fireplace. Tilting its surface into an upright position, Lettice momentarily sees the chess board set in marquetry on its surface before it is quickly obscured by an old fashioned Edwardian gilt banded tea set and the plate of biscuits as Gerald takes everything off Harriet’s tray.
“Thanks ever so!” Harriet sighs with relief before depositing the tray on the floor by the door, walking back across the room and around the table and then collapsing into the armchair with another deeper sigh.
“As an interior designer, Lettice has just been commenting on your décor, Hattie darling,” Gerald says to their hostess as he resumes his own seat.
“Gerald!” gasps Lettice, her face flushing at her friend’s frank admission.
“Oh I’m sorry it’s so untidy, Miss Chetwynd.” Harriet apologises as she snatches a rather tattered copy of Weldon’s* off the arm of her chair, shoving in behind her floral cushion, and tries to bundle her sewing bits back into the tray of her sewing box on casters. “Gerry has told me I need to improve the presentation of my premises, but having no domestic staff to speak of other than me, and trying to run a boarding house at the same time as make hats means I just don’t seem to have the time to tidy up in here.”
“Nor do I, Hattie darling,” Gerald scolds. “But that’s no excuse.”
Harriet blushes at her friend’s gentle rebuke.
“Shall I be mother then***?” Lettice asks. When Harriet nods in agreement, Lettice perches herself on the edge of the chintz sofa and sets out the tea things. “So,” she asks, pouring hot brackish tea into the first china cup. “You run a lodging house too?”
“Yes, for theatrical artistes.” Harriet explains proudly with a smile. “That’s Cyril playing his oboe upstairs,” She rolls her eyes up to the white plaster ceiling decorated with floral boiseries. “Although he is a professional actor as well as a musician in the West End.”
“Indeed,” muses Lettice.
“Although I do wish he’d play something other than Schumann or Mozart when we have guests.” mutters Harriet.
“Oh why, Miss Milford?” Lettice asks.
“Well, it’s not exactly the jolliest of music, is it?” Getting up again, Harriet walks over to the open doorway leading to the vestibule. Standing astride the threshold she calls up the stairs, “Do you think you could play something a bit jollier on the oboe, Cyril? We have guests. Gerry’s brought a friend. How about a nice bit of jazz?”
The music stops abruptly followed by a rather feminine sounding man’s fey voice opining from upstairs, “How can you, Hattie? I’m an artiste!” The last word is uttered dripping with melodrama. “Jazz music does not make one money.”
“Really? Then explain to me how the Savoy Havana Band**** make a living, Cyril? Please? Do it for Gerry, if not for me!”
“Oh, alright,” the fey voice bemoans. “But only because Gerry brought a chum.” The music recommences, only this time the opening bars to ‘The Sheik of Araby’***** fill the air.
“Hattie had a rather awkward situation with a retired colonel when she first started letting rooms.” Gerald says in a lowered tone as Harriet smiles at the change in music.
“Yes, the old chap couldn’t keep his hands to himself.” Harriet replies with a curt nod as she walks across the room and takes her place again. “Dirty old lecher was old enough to be my grandfather!”
“How awful, Miss Milford!” Lettice exclaims.
“I don’t find I have the same problem with men who are theatrical types, especially those from the chorus, those who paint the sets or work in the wardrobe department,” She smiles at Gerald, who smiles back. “If you understand my meaning, Miss Chetwynd” Harriet says with a wink, returning her attention to Lettice “I feel much safer around the likes of Cyril and his chums.”
“Indeed yes.” agrees Lettice, glancing between Gerald and Harriet, the pang of jealousy curdling her stomach as it did when she first saw Gerald and Harriet embrace in the way she thought only she and Gerald did.
“My father sent me to domestic science classes, so I’m quite a dab hand at plain cooking and keeping house when I get the chance, so my lodgers are happy.”
“Do try one of Harriet’s jam fancies, Lettice,” Gerald encourages, picking up one for himself from the blue and gilt banded sandwich plate, placing it on the edge of his saucer as he picks up his cup of tea. “They really are rather good.”
Lettice picks one up and takes a small bite, the biscuit dough melting in her mouth. “Very good, Miss Milford.” she enthuses. “Every bit as delicious as my maid’s baking.”
“Thank you, Miss Chetwynd.” Harriet replies with a proud smirk. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Considering that Lettice doesn’t know how to make a cup of tea, never mind bake a biscuit, I would.” Gerald remarks cheekily.
Ignoring his remark, Lettice asks, “So how is it that you came to make hats, Miss Milford? I was just admiring those hats on the table over there before you came in. They are beautifully made.”
Turning her head, Harriet gazes pleasingly at the three hats sitting on the table next to her sewing machine in the bay window. “Thank you, Miss Chetwynd. Well, my mother before she passed on taught me how to sew and embroider. She embroidered that.” Harriet indicates to the pouffe at Lettice’s feet with its green flounces and a rose stitched on its top. “I always enjoyed sewing and working with fabrics, so I thought I’d try my hand at making hats.”
“Harriet had to turn over her sewing room to Cyril when he came to board with her.” Gerald adds.
“How do you know where Cyril sleeps?” Lettice asks with mild shock, her face flushing with colour when Gerald clears his throat awkwardly and blushes bright red as a silent form of reply. “Oh… oh, I see.”
“The light is much better in here anyway,” Harriet quickly pipes up brightly in a chivalrous effort to prevent her friend any further embarrassment, a gesture that does not go unnoticed by both Gerald and Lettice who both admire her action. “The bay windows downstairs are much bigger than the oriel windows up under the roof. Besides it’s much easier for customers to step in here than trudge up three flights of stairs to the attic.”
“And your little enterprise has taken off, I believe Miss Milford.”
“I’ve been moderately successful, Miss Chetwynd.”
“You’ve been very successful, Hattie darling.” Gerald corrects her encouragingly.
“And what are you going to call your cottage industry, Miss Milford?” Lettice asks. “Not Hattie’s Hats, I hope.”
“Oh how drole you are, Miss Chetwynd,” laughs Harriet. “No. Well, I hadn’t actually thought what I should call my ‘little enterprise’, as you call it, Miss Chetwynd. Maybe you and Gerry can help me find the perfect name.” Clearing her throat, she carries on. “Which brings me to the reason why you are here. I believe that you are in need of a new hat, Miss Chetwynd.”
“So, Gerald has told you about me then, Miss Milford?”
“Well, yes, Gerry did tell me that you are both to attend your brother’s wedding at the end of November – a country wedding in Wiltshire I’ve been told – and he did tell me that you have fallen out with your former milliner, Madame Gwendolyn of Oxford Street. He also gave me some background to your family,” She leans forward in her seat, her demeanour suddenly going from a relaxed stance to a more professional and formal one. “However, I am also perfectly capable of doing my own research, Miss Chetwynd. I’ve often seen your picture in the society pages in the company of Gerry, Minnie and Charles Palmerston, Celia Bamford, Willie Chelmsford, Priscilla Kitson-Fahey and more recently, American department store heir Georgie Carter: your ‘Embassy Club Coterie’ I believe you call it. You are also acquainted with Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon****** who has been linked romantically with the Duke of York in the last year. I also saw you in Vogue twice this year: once at the wedding of Dickie and Margot Channon in January - Margot Channon née de Virre your best friend – and then again at the marriage of the Princess Royal******* in February.”
“My, you are well informed, Miss Milford!” remarks Lettice, unable to disguise how impressed she is at Harriet’s research.
“I also noticed, without Gerry needing to tell me,” Harriet glances momentarily at Gerald slyly scoffing another of her jam fancies before returning her attention quickly to Lettice. “That the rather fetching straw hat with silk and feather trim you wore to the Royal Wedding was a model bought from Selfridges.”
“Gerald!” Lettice exclaims, slapping him hard on the knee.
Sitting up and spluttering out bits of biscuit onto the floor in front of him he manages to utter between coughs, “I… I didn’t… tell… her.”
“It’s true,“ Harried elucidates. “Gerry didn’t need to. I make it my business to study fashion, and anyone with a keen eye who reads Selfridges advertisements would know that it is a French mode Mr. Selfridge paid to import from Paris. Pretty yes, but not unique. No doubt, after your falling out with Madame Gwendolyn you found yourself in a tight spot Miss Chetwynd, needing a new hat, but not one from her. Being one of hundreds of guests at the wedding, you could get away with a shop bought hat. As a significant event on the Wiltshire social calendar, I imagine that you need something a little more discerning to wear to your brother’s wedding, considering that there will be far fewer guests in attendance than there were at Westminster Abbey, and therefore more attention paid to you.”
“Please forgive me, Miss Milford,” Lettice smiles across at Harriet, suddenly sitting up straight and looking her hostess directly in the eye. “I must confess that I underestimated you. When Gerald brought me here, and when I first met you outside, I didn’t detect an ounce of your shrewdness.”
“My father may not have valued my further education, but I did learn a few tricks and traits from him before he died.”
“Bravo, Miss Milford.” Lettice’s eyes glisten with interest. “You have my full and undivided attention. What are you proposing?”
“I believe you are wearing lemon yellow to the wedding, with russet accents. Is that right, Gerry darling?” Still recovering his breath after choking on biscuit crumbs he can only nod in reply before coughing again. “Then considering the shape of your face and the colour and style of your hair, I would suggest a yellow dyed straw, small brimmed picture hat with lemon yellow muslin and perhaps some russet flowers or autumnal shaded imitation fruit.”
“Hmmm….” Lettice ponders Harriet’s suggestions with a downwards gaze, envisaging what the hat might look like, before looking up again. “Very well Miss Milford. Consider yourself engaged to make my hat for Leslie’s wedding.”
“Oh hoorah!” exclaims Harriet, clapping her hands in delight. “We can settle terms later.”
Just as Lettice is about to agree, a tall, slender and handsome young man with pale patrician skin and a mop of blonde curls walks through the parlour door, dressed in a set of tails with a square instrument box in his right hand. Unnoticed by the party sitting in the parlour, the oboe music had ceased a short while ago, and the player now stood before them.
“Well, I’m off up the West End, Hattie.” Cyril’s voice, still containing that fey quality, was instantly recognisable. Placing a kiss on Harriet’s proffered right cheek, Cyril turns and snatches up a biscuit off the tray on the table before leaning over to Gerald and placing a kiss squarely on his lips, causing Gerald and Lettice to both blush at the brazen expression of affection bestowed upon Gerald so openly by the young men. As if nothing could be more natural, the young musician spins on his heel and elegantly walks to the door. Pausing on the threshold he turns back to the trio and says dramatically, “Don’t wait up.” Then he looks intently at blushing Gerald and adds, “I’ll see you after the show, Gerry darling. Ta-ta!” And he disappears from view, his exit from the villa being heralded moments later by the opening and then slamming of the front door.
The room is suddenly plunged into quiet, broken only by the ticking of the floral china clock on the mantle and the chirp of birdsong in the bushes outside the parlour window, the silence even more evident by the lack of Cyril’s playing drifting from upstairs.
“Well, you were right, Gerald,” Lettice says breathily after a few moments.
“About Harriet?” he asks gingerly.
“Well yes,” she agrees. “But also, about the fact that there is so much about you I don’t know.” She smiles cheekily, breaking the nervous feeling in the room. “So, is Cyril the reason you have come to know Miss Milford, or did you come to know Cyril through Miss Milford?”
*Originating in Seventeenth Century England, the term pin money first meant “an allowance of money given by a husband to his wife for her personal expenditures. Married women, who typically lacked other sources of spending money, tended to view an allowance as something quite desirable. By the Twentieth Century, the term had come to mean a small sum of money, whether an allowance or earned, for spending on inessentials, separate and in addition to the housekeeping money a wife might have to spend.
**Created by British industrial chemist and journalist Walter Weldon Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was the first ‘home weeklies’ magazine which supplied dressmaking patterns. Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal was first published in 1875 and continued until 1954 when it ceased publication.
***The meaning of the very British term “shall I be mother” is “shall I pour the tea?”
****The Savoy Havana Band was a British dance band of the 1920s. It was resident at the Savoy Hotel, London, between 1921 and 1927. Players in the band included future American crooner Rudy Vallée and British pianist and composer Billy Mayerl.
*****“The Sheik of Araby” is a song that was written in 1921 by Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler, with music by Ted Snyder. It was composed in response to the popularity of the Rudolph Valentino feature film The Sheik. "The Sheik of Araby" was a Tin Pan Alley hit, and was also adopted by early jazz bands, especially in New Orleans, making it a jazz standard.
******Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as she was known in 1922 went on to become Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952 as the wife of King George VI. Whilst still Duke of York, Prince Albert initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to" She was one of Princess Mary’s eight bridesmaids at her 1922 wedding.
*******Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897 – 1965), was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the sister of Kings Edward VIII and George VI, and aunt of Queen Elizabeth II. She married Viscount Lascelles on the 28th of February 1922 in a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey. The bride was only 24 years old, whilst the groom was 39. There is much conjecture that the marriage was an unhappy one, but their children dispute this and say it was a very happy marriage based upon mutual respect. The wedding was filmed by Pathé News and was the first royal wedding to be featured in fashion magazines, including Vogue.
This rather cluttered and chaotic scene of a drawing room cum workroom may look real to you, but believe it or not, it is made up entirely with pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection, including pieces from my childhood.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
1:12 size miniature hats made to such exacting standards of quality and realism such as these are often far more expensive than real hats are. When you think that it would sit comfortably on the tip of your index finger, yet it could cost in excess of $150.00 or £100.00, it is an extravagance. American artists seem to have the monopoly on this skill and some of the hats that I have seen or acquired over the years are remarkable. The natural yellow straw hat with white ribbon trim on the arm of the settee was made by an unknown artisan in the United Kingdom and was sold through Doreen Jeffrey’s Small Wonders miniatures shop. The red velvet hat covered with roses on the arm of the chair was made by an unknown British artisan. The two hats on the carpet were both acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House in the United Kingdom.
The copies of Weldon’s Dressmaker and the Lady’s World Fancy Work Book scattered about the room are 1:12 size miniatures made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. The books on the bookshelf in the background are also made by Ken Blythe. Most of the books I own that he has made may be opened to reveal authentic printed interiors. In some cases, you can even read the words, depending upon the size of the print! I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection, but so little of his real artistry is seen because the books that he specialised in making are usually closed, sitting on shelves or closed on desks and table surfaces. In this case, the magazines are non-opening, however what might amaze you is that all Ken Blythe’s books and magazines are authentically replicated 1:12 scale miniatures of real volumes. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make this a miniature artisan piece. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.
The concertina sewing box on casters which you can see spilling forth its contents is an artisan miniature made by an unknown artist in England. It comes from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the in the United Kingdom. All the box’s contents including spools of ribbons, threads scissors and buttons on cards came with the work box. The box can completely expand or contract, just like its life-sized equivalent.
The hand embroidered and home made cream and green pouffe, the black japanned fire screen, the black metal fire tools and the plant in the corner all also come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop.
Harriet’s family photos seen cluttering the mantlepiece and the bookshelf in the background are all real photos, produced to high standards in 1:12 size on photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire. The frames are almost all from Melody Jane’s Dollhouse Suppliers in the United Kingdom and are made of metal with glass in each.
The porcelain clock on the mantlepiece is made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik in Germany, who specialise in making high quality porcelain miniatures. The pot of yellow and blue petunias on the mantlepiece has been hand made and painted by 1:12 miniature ceramicist Ann Dalton. The castle shaped cottage orneé (pastille burner) on the bookshelf has been hand made, painted and gilded by Welsh miniature ceramist Rachel Williams who has her own studio, V&R Miniatures, in Powys. The bowl decorated with fruit on the bookshelf was hand decorated by British artisan Rachael Maundy.
The spools of threads, the tape measure, the silver sewing scissors in the shape of a stork and the box of embroidery threads I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls’ House in the United Kingdom.
The tilt chess table in the middle of the room I bought from Mick and Marie’s Miniatures in the United Kingdom. The Edwardian tea set and cake plate on its surface come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House in the United Kingdom, whilst the biscuits on the plate come from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.
The sewing basket that you can see just behind the straw hat sitting on the arm of the sofa I bought from a high street shop that specialised in dolls and doll house furnishings. It is an artisan miniature and contains pieces of embroidery and embroidery threads.
The floral chintz settee and chair and the Art Nouveau china cabinet are made by J.B.M. miniatures who specialise in well made pieces of miniature furniture made to exacting standards.
The sewing machine to the left of the photo, I bought from Melody Jane’s Doll House Suppliers in the United Kingdom. It is made with extreme attention to detail, complete with a painted black metal body, authentic sewing mechanisms and a worksurface “inlaid” with mother-of-pearl.
The Chinese carpet beneath the furniture is hand made by Mackay and Gerrish in Sydney, Australia.
The Edwardian mantlepiece is made of moulded plaster and was acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House in the United Kingdom.
The bookshelf in the background comes from Babette’s Miniatures, who have been making miniature dolls’ furnishings since the late eighteenth century.
The paintings and prints on the walls all come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll’s House in the United Kingdom.
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Yet we are far from London, returning to Wiltshire, where Lettice grew up at Glynes, the grand Georgian family seat of the Chetwynds, and the home of Lettice’s parents, the presiding Viscount and Countess of Wrexham and the heir, their eldest son Leslie. Tonight however, we are not at Glynes, but rather on the neighbouring property adjoining the Glynes estate to the south and are at Garstanton Park, the grand Gothic Victorian home of the Tyrwhitts. Whilst not as old, or as noble a family as the Chetwynds, the Tyrwhitts have been part of the Wiltshire landed gentry for several generations and Lord and Lady Tyrwhitt are as much a part of county society as the Viscount and Countess of Wrexham. The current generation of the two families have grown up as friends with the Viscount and Countess of Wrexham often visiting Lord and Lady Tyrwhitt and conversely. In fact, the families have become so close that Leslie has become engaged to Lord and Lady Tyrwhitt’s only daughter, Arabella, thus guaranteeing a joining of the two great county families.
We find ourselves in the library cum music room of Garstanton Park, the preserve of Lord Sherbourne Tyrwhitt who has always had a voracious appetite for reading, and a great passion for music. In fact, his love of music was how he and his wife, Lady Isobel, met, after attending a piano concert at the newly opened Bechstein Hall* in London in 1899. The library cum music room’s walls are lined with floor to ceiling shelves full of Lord Tyrwhitt’s pride and joy, his enormous library, whilst on the rug covered floor stands his beloved Bechstein** piano covered with photos of his other pride and joy, his family. With the families now officially joined with the forthcoming nuptials of Leslie and Arabella formally announced, Lettice has been invited to a musical evening at Garstanton Park which she has happily agreed to, as she loves the company of Nigel, the Tyrwhitt’s eldest son and Arabella, as well as Lord and Lady Tyrwhitt, who like Gerald’s parents Lord and Lady Bruton, have been honourary uncles and aunts to her. The party is in full swing with cocktails, fortified wine and champagne aiding the high spirits as Nigel plays amusing music hall tunes on his father’s grand piano, accompanied by Arabella, Leslie and Lettice who stand about the piano, all taking turns to choose songs and be Nigel’s page turner as well as singing enthusiastically. The Bright Young Things*** can even occasionally get Lord Tyrwhitt, Lady Isobel and Lettice’s mother Lady Sadie to join in with a few of the less raucous songs.
“What shall we play next?” Arabella asks excitedly as she takes a drains her champagne flute.
“It’s your turn, old boy.” Nigel says to Leslie as he begins to limber up his fingers to play again.
“No, it’s not, Nigel! It’s mine!” cries Lettice.
“No it isn’t, Tice!” retorts her brother. “You chose ‘It's a Bit of a Ruin That Cromwell Knocked About a Bit.****’. It’s mine!”
“Oh, that was ages ago, Leslie.” Lettice pouts, snatching up her own glass of champagne and taking a sip from it.
Always the gentle adjudicator ever since they were children, Arabella says in a soothing purr, “Ages ago or not, Nigel’s right, it’s Leslie’s turn Tice.”
“You’re just standing up for him, Bella, because he is your intended now,” Lettice replies playfully.
“That’s not true!” laughs Arabella. “That’s jolly unfair!”
The two giggle together whilst Leslie shuffles through a pile of music sheets that lie in disarray across one of the comfortable gold striped armchairs next to the piano.
“It’s good to see your Leslie and our Bella looking so happy together,” Lady Isobel remarks with a wistfulness to her voice as she sits on the gold sofa that she shares with Lady Sadie. “I’m just sorry Cosmo couldn’t bear witness to it too this evening.”
“Oh now! Come, come my lamb,” Lord Tyrwhitt remarks kindly from his favourite reading chair in the corner of the room, reaching over his glass of rich burgundy and Lady Isobel’s champagne flute, gently squeezing his wife’s delicate hand with paper thin, almost translucent skin, comfortingly. “You mustn’t be sorry that our Bella is getting married. As the old adage goes, we aren’t losing a daughter, but gaining a son.”
“Oh I know Sherbourne. I’m not. I’m very happy for Arabella, oh, and Leslie too,” she adds quickly, looking across at Lady Sadie. “It’s just…”
“I know my dear Isobel,” Lady Sadie assures her friend, patting her on the other hand. “I felt the same when Lally married Charles. You don’t regret your daughters marrying, but you miss having them around the house.”
“Yes, that’s it, exactly Sadie. I shall miss her when she isn’t here any longer.” She sniffs and withdraws her hands from Sadie’s and her husband’s grasps, pulling a lace handkerchief from the long sleeve of her deep blue evening gown, hurriedly shoving it beneath her nose as she sobs, looking at Arabella leaning into Leslie as he lovingly drapes a protective arm around her whilst he fossicks through the sheet music with his free right hand.
“She won’t be far away, Isobel,” Lady Sadie assures her. “She’ll only be across the way in the Glynes Dower House. You can practically walk there.”
“It’s good of you to give them that to live in, Sadie.” Lord Tyrwhitt picks up his glass and cradles it thoughtfully in his hand.
“Oh, it’s a pleasure, Sherbourne. It’s only sitting there idol for now, and it will suit the two lovebirds to have a home of their own to begin with, before they inherit Glynes. Besides, it will be good to have someone living in the house until it’s ready for me.”
“Oh you mustn’t talk like that, Sadie!” Isobel gasps. “Cosmo is well, isn’t he?”
“Aside from the head cold that has kept him in bed for tonight, yes perfectly, Isobel. I’m just being pragmatic is all. It may happen one day. Besides, if Cosmo is to precede me and I am to become the Dowager Countess, I’d rather move into a house that isn’t decorated with his sister’s dreadful daubs!”
“But I thought Eglantine was quite an accomplished artist,” Lord Tyrwhitt remarks.
“It depends on your interpretation of art, Sherbourne” quips Lady Sadie.
“I always quite liked her watercolours of flowers when we were young.” he adds thoughtfully.
“You haven’t seen her work inspired by those Modernists at the Slade School of Art***** daubed all over the walls of the room she used as a studio during the war.” humphs Lady Sadie, screwing up her nose in distaste. “Sunset filled landscapes featuring twee characters dancing across it, supposedly influenced by the landscapes and folklore of Wiltshire. Morris Dancers, Stonehenge druids and white chalk horses.”
“Sounds rather intriguing to me,” Lord Tyrwhitt replies kindly.
“Naïve is what I call it!” retorts Lady Sadie with a snort of derision. “The liberties that woman took when she lived there during the war. Do you know that she brought her German staff with her and hid them in the Dower House?”
“They were Swiss-German, Sadie,” Lady Isobel corrects her friend. “And yes, I did know because I visited her at the Dower House.”
“They still spoke German,” argues Sadie. “She could have brought shame to the family, bringing potential German spies to Glynes like that.”
“And she only brought them to Glynes with her because she was afraid they would be, incorrectly,” Lady Isobel puts emphasis on the final word, pausing for effect, before continuing, “Labled as German spies, when in fact they were just simple Swiss domestics. Really Sadie! Next you’ll be saying there was a German recording device in Sherbourne’s Bechstein between 1914 and 1918! I’m surprised at your hostility to them.”
Lady Sadie’s eyes grow wide as she splutters in an unsuccessful defence, “They could have been spies, Isobel.”
“Well, I always liked Eglantine’s work,” Lord Tyrwhitt concludes, determined to change the subject. “Even if it isn’t to your taste, Sadie my dear.”
“You always had a soft spot for her Sherbourne, just like Cosmo did, and still does.” Lady Sadie scoffs. She turns to Lady Isobel. “She always was a beguiling creature with her Titian hair and green eyes. You’re lucky Sherbourne only had eyes for you, dear Isobel.”
“Sounds like someone else has green eyes,” remarks Lady Isobel under her breath with a secret smile, shared quietly with a loving glance at her husband.
“Aha!” Leslie cries triumphantly. “I have it!” He withdraws a sheet of music from amongst the pile. He hands it to Nigel.
“The Wibbly Wobbly Walk!******” laughs Nigel as he looks at the bright yellow and blue printed cover of the well worn sheet music. “Grand choice old boy! Bravo!” He opens the pages on the music stand in front of him. “Bella, will you do the honours?”
“Of course Nigel,” Arabella replies as she slips alongside him.
With a trill, Nigel gathers everyone’s attention and begins to play the piano as he sings the opening to the song.
“Now, have you ever heard about the Wibbley, Wobbley Walk?
Well, just in case you've not, I'll tell you on the spot!
The Wibbley, Wobbley Walk is just another kind of way,
Of saying that the b'hoys are out upon their holiday.
And note that half a dozen fellas out upon the spree,
In half a dozen minutes, they're full of jollity.”
Then with loud and carefree abandon, Lettice, Leslie and Arabella all join in on the chorus,
“So they all walk the Wibbley Wobbley Walk,
And they all talk the Wibbley Wobbley talk.
And they all wear Wibbley Wobbley ties,
And wink at all the pretty girls with Wibbley Wobbley eyes!
They all smile the Wibbley Wobbley Smile,
When the day is dawning!
Then all through the Wibbley Wobbley Walk,
They get a wibbley wobbley feeling in the morning.”
As they sing, Lady Isobel starts to cough, muffling her throaty gasps with her handkerchief so as not to disturb the fun and frivolity of the young people who stand oblivious about the piano. Quickly putting her hock and seltzer aside on the edge of the table being used for drinks, Lady Sadie wraps her arm around her friend, whilst Lord Tyrwhitt leans forward and takes her outstretched hand.
“Isobel!” Sadie gasps.
“Just try and catch your breath, my lamb.” Lord Tyrwhitt encourages his wife with a serious and steady gaze as he squeezes her fingers whilst her cough gets heavier and stronger.
“At the seaside health resort you see some gay old…” Nigel begins the first line of the next stanza of the song, but his voice falls away quickly and his fingers pause over the piano keys as he, Arabella, Lettice and Leslie all suddenly become aware of Lady Isobel’s coughing fit.
“Mummy!” gasps Arabella in horror, dropping the page of the music sheet and leaving Leslie’s and Nigel’s sides as she drops to her knees on the carpet before her mother. “Mummy!”
“It’s just another of your mother’s coughing fits, Bella my dear.” her father assures her. “Just give her a minute and she’ll be right as rain again.”
“Here Father, give her this!” Nigel hands a quickly poured glass of water to his father, which he gives to his wife.
Taking it gratefully in her shaking hand, Isobel takes a few gulps and sits back in her seat on the sofa, wheezing and still coughing, but less severely. She presses her free slender bejewelled hand to the beaded chest of her dress and gasps for air.
“Stand back everyone,” Leslie says urgently, gently pulling his fiancée away from the feet of her mother, backing away with Nigel and Lettice. “Let’s give Auntie Isobel some air.”
After a few tense moments, Lady Isobel has enough air in her lungs to wheeze weakly, “You’ll have to… get used… to calling me your mother-in-law… Leslie dear. People will… think it odd that… your aunt is… also your… mother-in-law.”
The party release a combined held breath and laugh with a mixture of nervous and relieved chuckles and titters at her remark.
“I told you she would be alright,” Lord Tyrwhitt says, smiling at his wife.
“I am,” she concurs, taking a larger mouthful of water. “But I think it is my signal to retire for the evening.” She swallows a few times. “I’m sorry to spoil the frivolity, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh don’t be sorry, Mummy.” Arabella says, coming forward again and kneeling before her mother.
“You’re a good girl, Bella,” she pats her daughter’s hand with her own as the young girl’s rests on her knee. “You’ll make Leslie a very fine wife.”
“And don’t we know it,” Lady Sadie says with a rare broad smile. “If we don’t hear it enough from Leslie when we are at Glynes,” She looks to her son, who blushes at the remark. “Then we hear of your virtues from his father. You’ve won the hearts of the two most important men on the Glynes estate, my dear.” She reaches out and caresses Isobella’s chin lovingly with her fingers, gazing at her future daughter-in-law with genuine affection. “And mine.”
Lettice feels as though she has just been stung by a hot poker as she witnesses the gaze and gentle touch her mother lavishes upon her future daughter-in-law: such affection never bestowed upon her. Whilst she doesn’t resent Arabella, for she is a genuinely kind person and Lettice firmly believes her mother’s words that she will make a good wife for Leslie, it still hurts her that Arabella should be granted the approval she has so sorely sought from her mother throughout all her life.
“Now,” Lady Isobel announces. “Before I retire, I should very much like to hear you sing, dear Lettice. You have such a pretty voice, and I should like to hear something a little less irreverent played on your father’s beloved Bechstein, Nigel.”
“Yes Mummy!” Nigel laughs good naturedly.
“Come on Bella,” Lettice says, reaching out her hand to her friend. “Come help me pick out something that your mother will like.”
Whilst the two girls return to the piles of sheet music, Nigel to the piano and Leslie by his side, Lady Sadie and Lord Tyrwhitt look on with concern at Lady Isobel as she settles back into the pile of cushions at her back.
“It’s just a result of the radiotherapy******* Sadie, nothing to worry about.” Lady Isobel says with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“Is it helping with the cancer?” she asks.
“Who knows?” the other woman shrugs and lifts her hands, the sequined lace shawl falling from about her shoulders as she does so. “It makes me feel sick enough, and don’t they say that things you don’t like are good for you?” Looking over at her children and those of Lady Sadie, she continues, “I’d just like to live long enough to see Arabella, and Nigel married. I’m just thankful Lettice has offered to help Arabella shop for her trousseau up in London. I’m not well enough to make the journey up to town.”
“I don’t know if I’d be too happy that my youngest is helping her shop. Goodness knows what her trousseau will look like.” Lady Sadie remarks disparagingly.
“Something modern and young, I should imagine Sadie dear,” Lady Isobel replies. “Just as it should be.”
“Here we are!” Lettice announces as Arabella takes a book of music with a prettily decorated cover over to her brother at the piano. “Something a little less irreverent for Uncle Sherbourne’s piano and Aunt Isobel’s ears.”
There are conspiratorial whispers at the piano between brother and sister as Lettice comes to stand beside Nigel, resting her hand lightly on the piano’s surface before he begins playing the opening to ‘I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls’********.
With her beautiful singing voice, Lettice begins the opening stanza of the song.
“I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls
With vassals and serfs at my side.
And of all who assembled within those walls,
That I was the hope and the pride.
I had riches all too great to count,
And a high ancestral name.”
As she sings, Arabella nestles back into Leslie’s arms, Lord Tyrwhitt cradles his glass of wine without drinking it and Lady Sadie leans forward in her seat, proud of her daughter’s musical accomplishment, although she would never admit it to her.
Shrewdly observing Nigel’s occasional gaze at Lettice as he plays and she sings, Lady Isobel leans forward and whispers discreetly to Lady Sadie, “I don’t suppose there is any chance that your Lettice might take a shine to our Nigel?”
“If that ship was to sail, it would have happened long before now, Isobel, and well you know it.” Lady Sadie turns to her friend, a consoling look in her eyes, “I’m sorry my dear, but as you saw at the Hunt Ball, Lettice seems to have turned her attentions to the Duke of Walmsford’s eldest, Selwyn Spencely, and I’m not unhappy about that.” Turning back to her daughter, her mouth twists with disapproval. “Even if she insists on managing her romantic attentions herself, rather than leaving it to me. Marriages are made by mothers, you silly girl.”
“Yes,” sighs Lady Isobel heavily. “I did notice where here attentions went that night. I’m pleased for you Sadie, and hope that it all works out. Imagine your youngest one day, a duchess. I on the other hand, would just like to see Nigel settled to some nice young lady of any respectable rank or station before I die.”
“And you will, Isobel. I’m sure of it. Perhaps another Season in London might help now that the Season is back in full swing after the war.”
The two women turn back as Lettice as she finishes the song.
“But I also dreamt which charmed me most
That you loved me still the same
That you loved me
You loved me still the same,
That you loved me
You loved me still the same.”
*Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading centres for this type of music and an essential port of call for many of the classical music world's leading stars. With near-perfect acoustic, the Hall quickly became celebrated across Europe and featured many of the great artists of the 20th century. Today, the Hall promotes 550 concerts a year and broadcasts a weekly concert on BBC Radio 3. The Hall also promotes an extensive education programme throughout London and beyond and has a huge digital broadcasting arm, which includes the Wigmore Hall Live Label and many live streams of concerts.
**C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG (also known as Bechstein), is a German manufacturer of pianos, established in 1853 by Carl Bechstein (1826 – 1900).
***The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London.
****’It's a Bit of a Ruin That Cromwell Knocked About a Bit’ is a song written by Harry Bedford and Terry Sullivan sung by the famous British music hall performer Marie Lloyd in the early 1900s.
*****Established by lawyers and philanthropist Felix Slade in 1868, Slade School of Fine Art is the art school of University College London and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the United Kingdom’s top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as a department of University College London's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Two of its most important periods were immediately before, and immediately after, the turn of the twentieth century. It had such students as Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and Stanley Spencer.
******’They All Walk the Wibbly Wobbly Walk’ is a song written by Paul Pelham and J. P. Long sung by the famous British music hall performer Mark Sheridan in 1912. It was a song often sung during the Great War, and associated by the British general public with the survivors of the conflict who trembled due to shell shock or had misshapen walks thanks to injuries inflicted upon them.
*******By the 1920s radiotherapy was well developed with the use of X-rays and radium. There was an increasing realisation of the importance of accurately measuring the dose of radiation and this was hampered by the lack of good apparatus. The science of radiobiology was still in its infancy and increasing knowledge of the biology of cancer and the effects of radiation on normal and pathological tissues made an enormous difference to treatment. Treatment planning began in this period with the use of multiple external beams. The X-ray tubes were also developing with replacement of the earlier gas tubes with the modern Coolidge hot-cathode vacuum tubes. The voltage that the tubes operated at also increased and it became possible to practice ‘deep X-ray treatment’ at 250 kV. Sir Stanford Cade published his influential book “Treatment of Cancer by Radium” in 1928 and this was one of the last major books on radiotherapy that was written by a surgeon.
********"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", or "The Gipsy Girl's Dream", is a popular aria from The Bohemian Girl, an 1843 opera by Michael William Balfe, with lyrics by Alfred Bunn. It is sung in the opera by the character Arline, who is in love with Thaddeus, a Polish nobleman and political exile. It became a stalwart in the repertoire of young Victorian and Edwardian girls who often learned to play the piece on the piano and to sing it, if they had the aptitude for the latter.
Cluttered with books and with art on the walls, Garstanton Park’s library cum music room with its typical English country house furnishings is different from what you might think, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures from my collection, including pieces from my own childhood.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
The majority of the books that you see lining the shelves of the library cum music room are 1:12 size miniatures made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. Ken Blythe was famous in miniature collectors’ circles mostly for the miniature books that he made: all being authentically replicated 1:12 scale miniatures of real volumes. I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection. However, he did not make books exclusively. He also made other small pieces like the sheet music you see scattered on the carpeted floor and across the arm and seat of the armchair closest to the camera. The book that rests upright against the armchair is a book of romantic ballads published in 1805. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make these miniature artisan pieces. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago and through his estate courtesy of the generosity of his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.
The grand piano and matching stool appearing in the midground is a 1:12 miniature piece I have had since I was a teenager. It is covered in family photos, all of which are all real photos, produced to high standards in 1:12 size on photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire. The frames are from various suppliers, but all are metal. The very lifelike daffodils are made of polymer clay they are moulded on wires to allow them to be shaped at will and put into individually formed floral arrangements. They are made by a 1:12 miniature specialist in Germany. The empty champagne and wine glasses all of which are made of hand blown glass were made by Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. The full glasses of champagne and red wine were made by Karen Lady Bug Miniatures in England.
The soda siphons on the silver tray to the left of the photo were made by Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering, whilst the container of ice and tongs is made by M.W. Reutter Porzellanfabrik in Germany, who specialise in making high quality porcelain miniatures. The silver champagne bucket is made by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces. The bottle of Deutz and Geldermann champagne. It is an artisan miniatures and made of glass and has real foil wrapped around its neck. It was made by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire.
The chairs and sofa in the library cum music room are made by the high-quality miniature furniture manufacturer, Bespaq. The ebonised ornate occasional table I acquired Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom as I did the table in the foreground on which the drinks tray stands.
The carpet beneath the furniture is hand made by Mackay and Gerrish in Sydney, Australia.
In the background you can see the book lined shelves as well as a Renaissance portrait of a young nobleman in a gold frame from Marie Makes in the United Kingdom, and a hand painted blue and white ginger jar from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom which stands on a Bespaq plant stand.
The gold flocked Edwardian wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
It was a warm day - IF you were out of the wind. So this young Red-Billed Gull was very shrewd as it snuggled down on the nice warm stones!
Normal "Transmission" has been interrupted over recent days because I was in Wellington Hospital to have some fluid drained from around the lungs. (I didn't know it was even there!). The doctor carrying out the procedure thought there might be around half a litre; in the end, nearly three and a half litres were drained...!
I'm fine, but feeling a bit washed out, so if I don't leave a Comment beneath your photo, please be patient; normal transmission will resume within a few days!
In the meantime, thank you for your very kind and encouraging comments beneath my photos...! Your support is always greatly appreciated...!
Every spirit makes its house, and we can give a shrewd guess from the house to the inhabitant.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Painted Hall is a true masterpiece, boasting one of the most spectacular Baroque interiors in Europe. The extraordinary ceiling and wall decorations were conceived and executed by British artist Sir James Thornhill.
The epic painting scheme, known as ‘Britain’s Sistine Chapel’ took nineteen years from the start of the commission to its completion in 1726. By turns extravagant, playful, thoughtful, naïve and politically shrewd, Thornhill’s scheme earned him a knighthood and payment of £6,685.
The grandeur of Thornhill's composition, which covers 40,000 square feet, reflects the importance of the new Royal Hospital’s main Hall. Originally intended as a grand dining room for the naval pensioners, it soon became a ceremonial space open to paying visitors and reserved for special functions. Perhaps the most significant of which was the lying-in-state of Lord Nelson in January 1806, drawing large crowds to view the hero’s body. The exact spot where the coffin lay is marked by a plaque on the floor.
For a hundred years from 1824 the Hall was given over to the first National Gallery of Naval Art, before becoming home to the Royal Naval College in 1869 after the last Greenwich Pensioners left the site. From 1937 to 1997 the Painted Hall functioned as a dining space for trainee officers of the Royal Navy.
In 2019, after an £8.5m restoration project to clean and conserve the magnificent 17th Century paintings, the Painted Hall was reopened to the public.
www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/things-to-do/the-painted-hall-p...
Bill Wyman left the band The Rolling Stones 1993.
The book "Stone Alone" is a meticulous, shrewd and humorous look at the complex personalities of the Stones and the role they played in the startling cultural revolution of the times.
He closes his eyes and begs but opens them a bit slyly to see how much one gives him..he knows I know so he gives me a silent nod once in a while..he is a small time entrepreneur his business is begging.
Dear Friends, reproach me not for what I do,
Nor counsel me, nor pity me; nor say
That I am wearing half my life away
For bubble-work that only fools pursue.
And if my bubbles be too small for you,
Blow bigger then your own: the games we play
To fill the frittered minutes of a day,
Good glasses are to read the spirit through.
And whoso reads may get him some shrewd skill;
And some unprofitable scorn resign,
To praise the very thing that he deplores;
So, friends (dear friends), remember, if you will,
The shame I win for singing is all mine,
The gold I miss for dreaming is all yours.
~"Dear Friends", by Edwin Arlington Robinson
I am posting this because Irma said she'd post an image of herself, if I in turn posted one of me. So I thought: what better image to post, than the one of me wearing Irma's hat, the day she accidentally left it with me and flew back to Massachuetts? Of course, I shipped it back to her, but not before the Hasselblad and I had a short portrait session.
On a side note, I once read an entire book of poetry by Robinson, and found it fascinating that he believed so strongly in rhyming (no free verse, thank you very much!) and, indeed, the rhyming schemes he used were often times quite astounding, such as that used in Eros Turannos, which is one of my favorites by that poet. So, kudos to Mr. Robinson.
On avait mis les morts à table
On faisait des châteaux de sable
On prenait les loups pour des chiens.
Tout changeait de pôle et d'épaule
La pièce était-elle ou non drôle
Moi, si j'y tenais mal mon rôle
C'était de n'y comprendre rien.
Louis Aragon
BIBLICAL CONTEXT: Psalm 18:25-29 NIV
(from biblegateway.com)
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
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5 MORE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)
2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)
Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!
I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough
just to lie before you like a thing,
shrewd and secretive.
I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will,
as it goes toward action,
and in the silent, sometimes hardly moving times
when something is coming near,
I want to be with those who know secret things
or else alone.
I want to be a mirror for your whole body,
and I never want to be blind, or to be too old
to hold up your old and swaying picture.
I want to unfold.
I don’t want to stay folded anywhere,
because where I am folded, there I am a lie.
And I want my grasp of things
true before you. I want to describe myself
like a painting that I looked at
closely for a long time,
like a saying that I finally understood,
like the pitcher I use every day, like the face of my mother,
like a ship that took me safely
through the wildest storm of all."
~ from Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke
Location: Home
Mindwalker Beach
Playing with the new Firestorm Viewer 64-bit Beta
Featuring Artemis my Virtual Kennel Club Bloodhound (VKC),
Castaway Dune by StudioSkye
Wearing: Glam Affair, Truth, Pixicat, Fashionably Dead, SLink, Maitreya
11/365: Red Riding Hood
Matthew 10:16 - "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
This is a bit of an oddity. Movies are still shot on 65mm film (e.g., "Oppenheimer"), so it is strange to see this camera sharing space with otherwise obsolete cameras from long ago.
I have seen production and set stills of movies shot with this kind of 65mm camera, though they were non-reflexed. Films like "Grand Prix" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" used these smaller cameras for tight spaces, hand-held work, and anything else that didn't require live sound recording. (The motor makes an obvious noise that can be picked up by the sound recordist.) These cameras also use only 400 ft. magazines, which at best get just under four minutes of film shot.
As you can see, this 65mm camera was modified for reflex viewing -- seeing through the lens to film, a definite advantage to those who never had to shoot a movie of any gauge or take a still that didn't have reflex viewing.
Panavision came into prominence in the late 1950s. It's co-founder, Robert Gottschalk, was an engineering genius. The humble beginnings consisted of his manufacturing projection lenses that corrected an aberration known as "anamorphic mumps," where actors seen in closeups had fuller looking jowls than normal. This was the fault of the inferior Bausch and Lomb lenses that were used for over ten years for their "Cinemascope" process. Gottschalk's lenses fixed that. It wasn't long after that where Panavision came up with anamorphic lenses for cameras that were such high quality they blew the Bausch and Lomb Cinemascope lenses out of the water.
It wasn't long after that where Panavision competed with Todd-AO and created spherical lenses for 65mm cinematography. Soon the cameras followed, taking their cue from the intricate Mitchell cameras used for Todd-AO photography.
By the 1960s, Panavision dominated the market. Robert Gottschalk almost single-handedly changed how movies would be shot, via their cameras and lenses. It was commonplace to see a movie poster that had "Panavision" in the lower corner, often next to "Technicolor," or "Color by Deluxe," or even "Metrocolor." When movies still had their main titles at the beginning of the film, it was also common to see "Filmed in Panavision" in the credits. This was a shrewd move by Gottschalk in his efforts to compete with 20th Century Fox and their Cinemascope and any other studio that still used "Cinemascope" in their titles (or posters) when filming in the 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio. Gottschalk went so far as to have a contractual agreement with every studio to not only have their name boldly in the credits, but when end titles were used more often, the name was seen in their trademarked logo (as you can see on the side, where the motor is located).
By 1973, the Panaflex hit the market, and it was also a game-changer. It was a light-weight camera that could shoot studio style, or be used for hand-held photography while recording live sound.
Sadly, Robert Gottschalk died tragically in 1982, just as he and Panavision were about to introduce the Panacam, a three-tube video camera that was supposed to (theoretically) revolutionize video production and single camera production for television, going beyond the usual news, sports and documentary use video cameras were relegated to.
As a result of Gottschalk's untimely death, he was never able to oversee the changes in video, namely digital video. One can only imagine the contributions he could have inspired his engineering team to move forward on, even perhaps working closely with the IMAX people in modifying their cameras and lenses much sooner, before shooting feature films in the IMAX format became part of the filmmaking landscape.
#science-fiction
www.machitmedia.com/character-portraits
Artist impression of Onyx, spouse of Methode da Silva, mother of ten Organet sons including invincible Ab’Is, Shrewd Cris-Titan and the great gate Sylpherion. Place of birth unknown but assumed to be in South America in the early 21st century. Abducted at birth and raised in a secret Mexican research center where she received her brain implant. Forged a link with a wormhole and left Earth at 6 years old. Returned during Wartech in 2043 where she joined with Methode da Silva and together they founded Orgalene.Or on planet Organon in the Alpha Centauri triple star system. Enhanced, Potentate considered one of the greatest individuals in the Milky Way galaxy. In the 22nd century became embroiled in the war of the star systems following the abduction of Emperor Macrolis and his imprisonment in her Palace on Organon. From the epic SciFi trilogy Macrolis by Mark Miller machitmedia.com.
She takes what she's lost
And turns it to gold,
For she's crafty and shrewd
And she's fearless and bold.
The East Asiatic Building is a historic building in Bangkok Bang Rak District. It sits on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, next to the historic Mandarin Oriental Hotel (that's the famous Author's Wing on the left) and adjacent to the Catholic Mission and Assumption Cathedral. The building was built in 1884 in Renaissance Revival style to designs by Annibale Rigotti, and served as the headquarters of the East Asiatic Company until 1995.
To understand why Bangkok was selected, one has to know its visionary founder Captain Hans Niels Andersen. In his youth, Hans received training as a carpenter at a ship-building yard and eventually traversed the globe as a ship’s carpenter. He arrived in Siam in 1873 and proved his worth to become first mate and then a master on the Siamese ship Thoon Kramom owned by the king. But Hans wasn’t just a sailor. He was also a shrewd businessman. In 1881, Hans bought the premises of the current Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok and built the first luxury hotel in Siam. In 1897, his vision to create a shipping line between Denmark, Thailand, and East Asia materialized in the form of the East Asiatic Company.
The building is well-conserved, and received the ASA Architectural Conservation Award in 1984. Nowadays, it is used as a commercial event space, administered by Charoenkrung Studio, and is often rented as a filming location. The building is generally closed to the public, but was opened to visitors in November 2018 when it was one of the venues for the Bangkok Art Biennale.
...IMAGINE TO BE HERE....
the most important Italian Gothic Cathedral for YOU
FOR A MAGIC MERRY CHRISTMAS...
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Milan Cathedral
is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity (Santa Maria Nascente), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the largest church in Italy (the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City) and the fifth largest in the world.
Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum. The first cathedral, the "new basilica" (basilica nova) dedicated to St Thecla, was completed by 355. It seems to share, on a slightly smaller scale, the plan of the contemporaneous church recently rediscovered beneath Tower Hill in London. An adjoining basilica was erected in 836. The old octagonal baptistery, the Battistero Paleocristiano, dates to 335 and still can be visited under the Milan Cathedral. When a fire damaged the cathedral and basilica in 1075, they were rebuilt as the Duomo.
Construction begins
In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the cathedral. Start of the construction coincided with the ascension to power in Milan of the archbishop's cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes, who had suffered under his tyrannical Visconti predecessor Barnabò. Before actual work began, three main buildings were demolished: the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of St. Stephen at the Spring, while the old church of Sta. Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry. Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population, and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo, together with his cousin the archbishop, collected large donations for the work-in-progress. The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Orsenigo initially planned to build the cathedral from brick in Lombard Gothic style.
Visconti had ambitions to follow the newest trends in European architecture. In 1389, a French chief engineer, Nicolas de Bonaventure, was appointed, adding to the church its Rayonnant Gothic, a French style not typical for Italy. He decided that the brick structure should be panelled with marble. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica del Duomo exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes. Ten years later another French architect, Jean Mignot, was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done, as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height. Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"), as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science"). In the following years Mignot's forecasts proved untrue, but they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques. Work proceeded quickly, and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480, for lack of money and ideas: the most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the apse (1470s), of which those extant portray St. John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth bay.
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo on the "Amadeo's Little Spire".
In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of 15 statues each, portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other characters of the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonized well with the general Gothic appearance of the church.
During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some bays of the nave and the transepts were still missing. In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which were to decorate the altar area (the program was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562, Marco d' Agrate's St. Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio candelabrum (12th century) were added.
The plan consists of a nave with four side-aisles, crossed by a transept and then followed by choir and apse. The height of the nave is about 45 meters, the highest Gothic vaults of a complete church (less than the 48 meters of Beauvais Cathedral, which was never completed).
The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. The roof of the cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork pinnacles and spires, set upon delicate flying buttresses.
The cathedral's five broad naves, divided by 40 pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the façade. Even the transepts have aisles. The nave columns are 24.5 metres (80 ft) high, and the apsidal windows are 20.7 x 8.5 metres (68 x 28 feet). The huge building is of brick construction, faced with marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter. Its maintenance and repairs are very complicated.
FORE MORE INFORMATIONS:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Cathedral
FOR THE PLACE:
wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.464119&lon=9.191753...
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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…
they are made with the eye, heart and head.”
[Henry Cartier Bresson]
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Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.
© All rights reserved
Very shrewd face.
At the Kaggadaspura Lake Habitat
This photo is published under the #SaveKaggadaspuraLake campaign.
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09-05-07 - Honeybees are shrewd and thrifty recyclers. This bee is recycling propolis. You can see she is putting it in her pollen baskets to carry into the hive.
"The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice." - Dickens, A Christmas Carol
"Humans! Humans Everywhere!" - Cat observing the human traffic outside the cafe in 'Longwood Gardens'.
Behind lichen-encrusted stones, this ancient plow seems to be sinking into the garden mulch below the forsythia blooms, as a couple of frog sculptures look on. Yes, it's all front yard decor, shrewdly poignant, but it succeeded in capturing my eye.
Very cool to see this juvenile catch a bug at night and ate it right in front of us. I always thought they were consumers of primary voles, shrewd, or birds.
We had a lovely burger & chips at The Hungry Man today & watched a little shrew walk by lots of people and in between their shoes, round handbags with everyone totally oblivious- then when I knelt down to photograph him, it drew quite a crowd- priceless!! :)
Traipsing through the small tropical island of Bangaram, I had given up hope of seeing any native form of habitation. There were occasional huts built around small rural project sites but they were all empty of life.
Just as I was about to turn around, I spied upon a woman of weary though shrewd countenance with a plateful of freshly salted fish. These were small and caught by a rod and a reel. A solitary fisherman stood on the shoreline catching a bounty from the sea.
Not much communication ensued bar a few preliminary gestures of not so significant facts.
Life in Laccadives stood still.
_DSC6145 nef bnw 2
Raptors are the hunting birds, which steal the lives of other birds, animals, reptiles, fish, etc.
Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Ospreys, Owls, Vultures, etc., belong to this group of very active, smart and shrewd birds.
This could be Shikra Juvenile (Accipiter badius), but am not sure about the ID of this lovely little raptor!
issuu.com/fashiontellersl/docs/fth_curse_of_the_tarot
The High Priestess is a profoundly instinctive lady brimming with riddle, shrewdness, and comprehension. This Mistress of Mystery guides you to explore your unconscious mind and listen to your inner voice to find the power within yourself. Will you find the light and goodwill or the evil and darkness that lurks within?
MODEL: BloodyMistress Serenity
PHOTOGRAPHER: Asia Rae