The Young Victoria

Fashion Icon, I <3 Emily Blunt, Costumes
La Danse

Give me dancers, documentary, and costumes, and I’m in.
Nine

Musical, Italians, nine fabulous women, Daniel Day-Lewis: sign me up.

One of my first blogs on WordPress was about a visit of Queen Victoria to Rotterdam on May 4, this year. (http://wp.me/punIp-2G) Today I was driving home, when I noticed the skyline had changed again. Queen Victoria was back. I noticed her first visit in 2009 and I noticed her last visit this year. Check the itenary in my blog of May 5 if you don’t believe me. Although these ships pay regular visits to Rotterdam, I still feel wonder-struck and a sense of pride every time I see these floating condominiums parked on the Maas in front of the Erasmus bridge.

I am in the midst of reading an interview conducted by the Pall Mall Gazette on Jan 9, 1884 (the magazine is now defunct) with General Charles Gordon and I was amazed with the depth of information it contained. I never knew that Darfur was once an independent Kingdom ruled by a Sultan and that the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium had a stranglehold over the Sudan which was only broken by the rebellion of Mohammed Ahmad (the Mahdi) and the destruction of the Khartoum garrison in 1885.

This will dash cold water on the assertions of the Bashir Administration that Sudan had always been an undivided country, populated by Arabs, practicing Islam and exhorting the virtues of Sharia law. A referendum is due very soon in 2010 on the status of Darfur and the Southern regions (engineered by the SPLM) and I am more than confident that these new facts would further their aspirations.

The fact that Sudan was once a Colony of Egypt and Britain seems to explain the animosity that exists between the neighbors. The assassins who tried to kill Hosni Mubarak were granted asylum in Khartoum and during the recent World cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria, the Sudanese were rooting for the Maghreb nation, Algeria than for their African neighbor.

In the interview, Chinese Gordon exuded the aura and personae of a well educated chap versed in military tactics, politics and understanding of the religion of Islam. He came across as an old fashioned fellow who believed in the virtues of Empire and the Sovereign (although he chose not to evacuate Khartoum despite remonstrations from Queen Victoria).He saw retreat as an act of cowardice and treachery.

These are his words. “Whatever you may decide about evacuation, you cannot evacuate because your army cannot be moved. You must either surrender absolutely to the Mahdi or defend Khartoum at all hazards. The latter is the only course which might be entertained. There is no serious difficulty about it. The Mahdi’s forces will fall to pieces of themselves”.

He was wrong on that count and Historians are still at odds on why he chose a doomed cause of action. Did he believe that the Muslim fanatics would buckle and flee rather give battle and die in the service of Allah? Or was expecting some divine providence from God and his Queen?

Gordon’s suicidal stance against the Mahdist forces ranks in the annals of Romantic History along the battle of the little Bighorn (known as Custer’s last stand) and the charge of the light Brigades( the battle of Balaklava during the Crimean war between 1853-1856) Custer was to suffer a similar fate to Gordon’s. He had his ears boxed and was given an ignominious burial by the Sioux Indians.

Gordon dismissed the Mahdi as an irrelevance and a puppet of one Ilyas, Zebehr’s father in law and the owner of one of the largest slave houses in Obeid.These are his words on the Mahdi. “I am convinced that it is an entire mistake to regard the Mahdi as in any sense, a religious leader. He personifies popular discontent. All the Sudanese are potential Mahdis just as all Egyptians are potential Arabs”.

In retrospect, Gordon was wrong to have underestimated his adversary and this was to cost him dearly. The only accurate description he made of the Mahdi was that he was a rising sun. In the newspaper interview, Gordon does not hide his compassion for the ordinary Sudanese whom he described as very ‘nice people’ who had been subjugated by the Turks and Circassians.

Gordon was not a reformer and was a supporter of slavery. He spoke out against the principle of emancipation which he called a form of confiscation. Immediate emancipation was denounced in 1833 as confiscation in England and was no less confiscation in Sudan (a strange stance considering the fact that the Nubia was a region for obtaining slaves for the Turks and Arabs).

He pledged to reform the prisons and abolish abuses. The Courts were to be mixed tribunals (staffed by European judges).Police Inspectors were to be appointed from the local pool of constabulary and the practice of Bashi-Bazouk was to be abolished.

He blamed Egypt for the problems in the Sudan. According to him, the great evil was not at Khartoum but at Cairo. It was the weakness of Cairo which produced disaster in the Sudan. He asked for the elevation of Nubar to the premiership of Egypt and described him as the ablest of the Egyptian ministers.

Gordon’s actions came to naught. His appointment as the Governor of the Sudan by Lord Cromer (Sir Evelyn Baring) did not quell the rebellion of the Mahdi.Gordon was killed at dawn resisting the warriors of the Mahdi. Mohammed Ahmad had given strict instructions that Gordon was not to be harmed. However, his orders were disregarded by three Khalifas who murdered him on the steps of a stairway of the palace.

His head was cut off and transfixed between the branches of a tree…..”Where all who passed it could look in disdain, children could throw stones at it and then hawks could sweep and circle above”. (A punishment reserved for common criminals who had broken the laws of the Koran and the prophet).
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Pasha Gordon’s demise was lamented by the British newspapers who castigated the Ministry of Defense and Whitehall for not evacuating Gordon in time and hinted at a plot to get rid of Queen Victoria’s favorite general who had captured the imagination of the public.

When the reinforcement forces arrived in Khartoum they could not recover Gordon’s body and had to retreat to Egypt. Mohammed Ahmad lived for a further five months before succumbing to the disease of Typhus. He was succeeded by an apprentice, Abdullah ibn Mohammed as Khalifa who would rule the Mahdiyya (Mahdi’s empire) until his defeat by the British in 1898.

Gordon was immortalized in films and arts of works. Eton College had a statue erected in his honor and the British Air force had a squadron, (Gordon bombers) named after him. He was eulogized by the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Several buildings were named after him at home and abroad. Gordon never married, (although he left behind two sisters and copious works of literature).

Gordon was an evangelical Christian. He was eccentric in many of his beliefs (like Lawrence of Arabia).The earth was not round and the theory of the Resurrection of the soul held a morbid fascination for him.

When the history of the Sudan is written, the names of Gordon and the Mahdi will play prominent parts. Both men were patriots who loved their countries separately and were ready to die for ideologies which meant so much to them.

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Reynard

THE stacks of the National Sporting Library continue to yield colorful tales from the hunt field. Today we have anecdotes from two familiar hunting characters known for their color: Hugh Cecil Lowther, the fifth Earl of Lonsdale who was known as “the Yellow Earl,” and the red fox, also known as Reynard.

The Yellow Earl

Hugh Lowther unexpectedly inherited his title as Earl of Lonsdale, and all the riches and lands that came with it, after his older brother St. George died in 1882. At age 25, he had free rein to indulge his love of horses and hunting, and he did, in very fine style, as recounted in Douglas Sutherland’s hugely entertaining biography, The Yellow Earl:

“His hunters had to submit to  … rigorous standards: not less than 16 hands, 6 feet round at the girth, and 8 3/4 inches of bone.

“Soon the lavish stabling behind Carlton House Terrace was filled to overflowing and additional accommodation had to be rented in the vast Police stables at Scotland Yard. Barleythorpe, the luxurious twenty-bedroomed hunting-box which Hugh had inherited in Rutland, vied with Squire Abingdon’s stables both in the numbers and the quality of horses he kept there. It was not long, however, before he discovered new and even more extravagant ways of impressing himself on a startled Society. In the days when the fashion for liveried servants and dandified dressing had largely fallen out of vogue, Hugh Lonsdale set a standard of colorful perfection with his turn-outs, which, almost overnight, became one of the sights in London. All the Lonsdale servants were dressed in canary-yellow jackets with dark-blue facings, white beaver hats and white buckskin breeches. …

“His six-inch cigars were specially made to his order, and christened by a gratified toacconist ‘Lonsdales.’ The cigar became almost as much his trademark as the perfect white gardenias which he wore in his buttonhole, and which were sent to him daily regardless of cost wherever he might be.”

The Yellow Earl’s carriages also were a bright yellow. His personal life was equally flashy. Lonsdale had affairs with the actress Lily Langtry and the married stage actress Violet Cameron; the latter situation was deemed scandalous enough that Queen Victoria made it known that Lord Lonsdale should leave England. He went to Canada and embarked on “a 3,000-mile trek across the frozen wastes.” He initially took four springer spaniels and his valet with him, but, fortunately for the spaniels and the servant, Lonsdale sent them back home again when he realized how daunting the Canadian tundra is.

Showy though he was, Lonsdale was an excellent horseman and an expert hound man who held Masterships at the Quorn, Cottesmore, and Woodland Pytchley.

Of his riding:

“Once when he was out hunting with the Quorn he was taking a line of country he had not followed for some time,” reports Sutherland. “Putting his horse at a post-and-rail fence with a shallow ditch at the other side, he was not aware until he was too far committed that another fence, topped with a strand of wire, had been erected a yard on the far side of the dutch. Collecting his horse he cleared the entire obstacle. When it was measured afterwards, the length of the jump was found to be 32 feet.”

Lord Lonsdale's 32-foot jump

Lord Lonsdale had a lot to say about hounds, too, and he was not afraid to advise huntsmen. In 1908, he wrote to the Cottesmore huntsman, Gillson, after the man had been there a year, offering him some tips on relating to the hounds:

“… I should like to see you a little more demonstrative and to converse to your hounds on the way to covert. Noe that you are a professional receiving a salary for hunting them, but that you are glad and pleased and delighted to see them, talking to them as you go to the meet, and showing each one that you take a personal interest in him or her. Speak to them, whistle to them, and let them understand every word and sign. If you are at exercise canter along and stop short, giving some sign by mouth or whistle, and make friends of them  and get off and pat them when they are doing what you want–more can be done this way than in any other, and if you do it continually no whips are needed–pointers, sheep-dogs, retrievers–all animals–are the same–they are all amenable to sound, providing that it is always the same sound or signal. …

“You must talk to your hounds with your mouth inclined towards them, not the back of your head, for your speed through the air reduces the sound by half, so please remember my wish when casting: always wait before cantering away, until your hounds realize that you are about to be off; convey some private signal that they will understand.”

The Red Fox

Much has been written about the wiles of the red fox, and the 19th century sporting writer “Cecil” has some of the best accounts I’ve heard. Two favorites:

“His lordship was informed that that a fox had been seen constantly in a field of turnips on Hatch Warren Farm, and was induced to go in search of him; the hounds had spread all over the field without touching upon him. Not being accustomed to find foxes in such situations, very probably they did not draw well. As the land seemed alive with partridges, it did not appear likely that the fox was there; and Lord Gifford was in the act of taking his horn out of the case to call the hounds away, when the fox jumped up within fifty yards of the spot; a singular instance of concord between the fox and the feathered tribe. …

“I have often known known hounds to run their fox to a certain point with a good scent, and lose him instantaneously, as if he had vanished into ethereal space. On those occasions, it is evident they must have gained some unaccountable place of safety, to which the hounds had not the power of scenting them. I remember hearing of an event which occurred with the justly celebrated Mr. Meynell’s hounds, which shows the great patience, perseverance, talent, and keen-sightedness for which he was so eminently distinguished, and also what extraordinary places foxes will sometimes seek for refuge.

“They were drawing a gorse covert, when a single hound, that could be relied upon, spoke. ‘That will do,’ exclaimed Mr. Meynell; but the hounds could make nothing of it. They were drawn round again to the place where the single hound had spoken; but they could not roust him out. Still persevering, I believe upwards of two hours, the field became impatient, and the greater portion went home. At length, holding a consultation with Raven, his huntsman, he inquired the exact spot where the hound spoke, which was close to a bush that he pointed to.

“‘Then get off and examine it,’ said Mr. Meynell. It was a low bush or stump of a tree which leaned over the gorse, and in which was an old magpie’s nest, where the fox had rolled himself up and was peeping over the side of the best at the proceedings below.”

I just saw the movie, and I very much  recommend it. A great blend of theatre-esque scenes, music, and storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So it’s wedding season and I’m making a dress. More on that later. I’m thinking about weddings and traditions. I’ve seen so many brides, and grooms for that matter, subscribe to ideas that they don’t necessarily know about/believe in just because it’s traditional. I want to take a minute to examine those individual things, but also the idea of wedding traditions as a whole.

QUEEN VICTORIA: 1840

It started with Queen Victoria in 1840. She wore a simple white dress. This was different from monarchs in the past who had gotten married in the most lavish clothes available. She wore orange blossoms in her hair, and had a veil. She was known for her quick wit and modesty, and this dress represented that.

Weddings used to be more of a ceremony, the things that the couple participated in were metaphors for their journey into the commitment of marriage.

Something old/new/borrowed/blue. This comes from a Victorian rhyme. It represents the tie to her old life with her family, the tie to her new life with her husband, the borrowed thing from a happily married woman to give hope to the new bride, and something blue for properity and fidelity. I love this one, I think that clothing and color symbolism is cool and we don’t do it enough anymore.

Garter. By far the silliest tradition. Victorian tradition said the bridal party snuck in and pitched this onto the grooms nose in their marriage bed on their wedding night. Making your target ensured that you would be the next to marry. FUNNY and cute.

The veil. By far the creepiest tradition. The lifting of the veil is a symbolic breaking of the hymen. EWWW! Anyway, veils were historically,  espcially in the 1840s, used to conceal the bride or any woman from light as it was popular to be pale. If you were tan it mean that you were too poor and had to work. It kind of highlights virginity and purity and the color white.

White dresses. Queen Victoria did it first, but for years before that brides wore blue and yellow and even red. If you look up color symbolism, all of these colors historically symbolize different things. Historically brides wore there best dress for their weddings. Some people had dresses made, but not many people had the wealth to do that.

The headpiece/tiara. Monarchs were the first celebrities to get married. I think people copied them, seeing as a crown was a regular part of thier wardrobe. Modern brides want to be queen/princess for a day. I love the use of orange blossoms, that basically continued into the 1970s.  The language of flowers says that orange blossoms represent purity, chastity, eternal love, and fruitfulness. Although these meaning were codified by the Victorians, this practice started in China. Someone even said that gathering orange blossoms meant you were looking for a wife. I love the language of flowers because one, it incorporates living things into clothing and, two,  is another lovely example of symbolism in clothing.

Throwing rice. Rice is a lifegiving seed. It’s an ancient tradition that symbolizes fertility. We throw it to wish the couple happiness and success. I understand the ecological repercussions of throwing rice. I like blowing bubbles instead. I love the physical manifestation of a wish for success though.

The Kiss. Kissing is great. I think not many people think about the meaning. It’s a Roman tradition at weddings, but first appears in Greek literature. Of course, a kiss “sealed” the commitment, but kisses originated as a way to show cultural refinement. It was not seen among the lower classes. It was not until later that the romantic kiss evolved. I like to think about all the different kinds of kisses, from displays of filial love, to shows of peace. Anyway, kissing it great.

The sharing of the first piece of wedding cake. Also a roman tradition. The wheat used to bake the cake represented fertility. Food is good. I like the idea of using a traditional mixture more than the modern, “choose your favorite flavor” approach.

Wedding rings on left hand ring finger. There two possible origins: ancient Egypt or 17th century Europe. I like the Egyptian one better. They believed that the vein of love ran from the ring finger to the heart. DONE. That’s good enough for me. Actually, the 17th century Europe one explains the practice. Traditionally the groom would slide a ring partway up the brides thumb, index, and middle fingers as the priest said “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Since the ring finger was the next available finger, that’s where they put it.

I think that brides should look pure, but in an age where most brides have premarital sex, it’s not necessarily about actually chastity. Brides should look the best they will ever look on their day, and not too sexy, not because they are supposed to look virginal, but just because I don’t think a wedding is an especially sexy occasion. It represents a time to cement simple romantic love. Grooms also need to have more stake in their weddings. Grooms should look handsome and timeless. Emphasis on timeless, wedding pictures should be beautiful forever. You should not be able to tell when the couple was married by their photo. Don’t you just love those 80s photos when brides thought that those giant circular beaded headdresses with the trailing veils were cute?

Wedding superstitions are cool too. Apparently it’s bad luck for a bride to sign her married name before hand. It’s also supposed to be good luck for a bride to cry on her wedding day. In other countries I’ve heard this is actually a traditional part.

Le Meurice Hotel

Polyphenols and a Palace Hotel make for a remarkable therapeutic cocktail in Paris, France
Copyright © 2007 May Georgina DeLory A place to inspire the soul, rest awhile, and emerge anew; Le Meurice, since 1835, is just such a place — a palace hotel in the finest tradition on the rue de Rivoli and Tuileries Gardens. Recently, Le Meurice announced the winner of its first Contemporary Art Prize. Zoulikha Bouabdellah, born in Paris and who is represented by gallery LA B.A.N.K., was announced as the finalist in the 2008/2009 non-profit competition to allow for an up-and-coming French artist to continue creating art. The 2009/2010 winner is Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil, represented by gallery In Situ.  Winners jointly receive the Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art: € 10,000 for the artist and € 10,000 for his or her gallery. Le Meurice is between the Place de la Concorde and the Grand Louvre, fronting the famous Jardin des Tuileries. From Le Meurice, it is a short stroll to the Opera Garnier and the shopping areas of rue de la Paix and rue Saint-Honore where Hermes, Dior, Versace, Guy Laroche, Lanvin and Yves Saint-Laurent are displayed. The 1930s saw Coco Chanel give countless receptions at Le Meurice.  Charles Jouffre inspired private guest rooms Queen Victoria made Le Meurice her digs as did the Dukes and Duchesses of Windsor, Kent, York, and Marlborough. US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stayed at Le Meurice; Russian composer Tchaikovsky was a guest after giving a concert. The King of Spain, Alphonse XIII, booked rooms at Le Meurice immediately after the completed 1905 – 1907 renovation that cost 8 million francs and offered individual private baths. The King brought with him his own furniture.  Le Meurice saw guests such as writers Rudyard Kipling and Walter Lippmann; and more recently renowned singer and actress Liza Minnelli and opera star Placido Domingo. As well, Orson Welles, writer, director and star of the 1941 feature film Citizen Kane, and Hollywood stars Ginger Rogers, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Eddie Fisher were devotees of the hotel. Surrealist painter Salvador Dali asked hotel staff to collect flies for him across from the hotel in the Tuileries Gardens at a cost of five francs per fly. Today, Le Meurice enjoys a vast cross-section of guests to reflect an international persona, from rock stars and industry kingpins to film actors and actresses. Le Meurice Foyer Le Meurice Restaurant Le Meurice is designated “palace” accommodation due to its architectural, cultural, and historical heritage. 1771 beginnings as a coach inn were modest, serving exhausted upper class British travelers in Calais on their way to Paris after crossing the Straits of Dover. A forward thinking postmaster, Charles-Augustin Meurice, used his coach inn for guests and arranged rides to Paris aboard his unique 36-hour coach service. He built a second inn in Paris in 1817 shortly before his death in 1820. In 1835 Le Meurice began anew in its present location overlooking the historic Tuileries Gardens.   By the 19th century British upper crust knew the hotel by the nickname “City of London” because the vast majority of Le Meurice staff spoke English and understood keenly the English love of brown beer, cognac and fellow countrymen nearby willing to listen to a story or two. Soon the hotel on rue de Rivoli overlooking acres of lovely formal gardens ideal for a leisurely morning or late afternoon stroll became known as the hotel of kings and queens due to the large number of royalty staying at the hotel. The hotel’s clientel has not changed much to this day, hosting the crème de la crème on all fronts of society.  Dogs get the Royal treatment too! A walk in the Tuileries Garden The first time I saw Paris I knew I was home. Why, I haven’t the foggiest idea. I suppose, in the beginning, it is the same for most visitors to the city of eternal light: magnificent buildings, museums, an exhilarating night-life that makes one want to kick up heels and never leave the city; and of course the many fresh flower stalls scattered throughout the city add to Paris’s colour, romance, glamour and earthiness. Use the Le Meurice bikeI had already seen the Eiffel Tower from its base having sailed the River Seine at full moon with my daughter. It's late September and our lazy afternoon stroll about the Tuileries Gardens, which amounted to a mere fraction of the more than 280,000 square metres (25 hectares), is well worth our time. The Tuileries run from the Louvre to Place de la concorde and were designed in 1564 for French royalty. Today, the gardens are public. The Eiffel Tower is seen in the distance, is less imposing, more friendly this way, as if to welcome the idea that its rising structure may be climbed at will by anyone truly in love with her. In warm months here at the Tuileries there are toy boats to rent and sail across a large garden pond to the excitement of children. Le Meurice caters to children The Tuileries Garden is designed to run parallel to the River Seine. Catherine de Medicis — after the death in 1559 of her father, Henry 11 of France, had the Tuileries Palace erected in 1564 after several tile factories on the site were demolished to make way for the palace. The palace had been under attack many times. In 1871 the Tuileries Palace was set on fire for the last time burning to the ground all but its exterior stone walls. Over the years various statues have been removed or destroyed but today statues by Coustou, Coysevox, Carpeaux, and Rodin as well as modern sculptors like Max Ernst, and Giacometti may be enjoyed in the gardens. After visiting the Tuileries Gardens we crossed the wide street to Le Meurice for my spa appointment with Caudalie Spa which would be followed by English Afternoon Tea within the hotel. Caudalie is a spa and fitness centre on the hotel mezzanine level that uses exclusively Caudalie treatments, products created by Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas, and trained masseuses from Les Sources de Caudalie in France. Caudalie is the world’s first “vinotherapie” spa, a spa that uses grape-seed extract serum with powerful antioxidant properties of oligomeric proanthocyanidins. I was looking forward to my treatment as I had a great deal of pain in one knee due to an accident. Paris may be a city of Light; but it is also a city that begs to be walked, and walked, and walked. And we did just this. Walk. So, off to the spa in hopes to make things right. Crushed grape-seed extract has antioxidants and polyphenols that block cell degenerating free radicals. Warm spring water taken from a depth of 540 meters is rich in minerals and is used in the treatments. The grape seeds have no scent and are as soft as the finest silk. Honey is mixed along with the seeds and this warm paste is spread gently over the nude body with relaxing massage strokes. A heated blanket is then wrapped around the client from chin to toe for twenty or so minutes. I found this an odd sensation: all bundled up like one giant white sausage. I almost refused this part of the treatment citing a near anxiety attack. There’s a lot to be said for just pushing onward through one’s fears. Spa Valmont, Le Meurice Swiss Treatments Left alone and in the dark in the treatment room and wondering how all this French pampering was going to play out in these old bones, I closed my eyes and thought of the meal I would not get to eat this time ‘round in Paris on the second level of the Eiffel Tower: No reservation had been secured three months in advance of our visit to Paris. I pacified myself with the knowledge that I myself along with my daughter would soon be upstairs of Le Meurice savouring fancy sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, exquisite jams, exotic teas with antioxidant qualities high in vitamin C we’d been informed, and a multitude of French pastry in a palace restaurant garden setting. In place of tea one could have champagne.  As we were not staying overnight in the hotel we would not enjoy breakfast. Yannick Alleno, and Ladurée, world renowned Parisian cafe and pastry shop, put their heads together to come up with the ultimate Parisian all-chocolate breakfast: the Choc’Alleno. Le Meurice adores children When my therapist returned to the treatment room to see how I was doing I let out a low murmur to signify that I was absolutely perfect. On the therapist’s second round it was time for me to use the private shower in the treatment room to wash off the honey and grape seeds. Next a glorious massage is performed. Finally I was instructed to get up from the treatment table. I recall the ease with which I moved didn’t register immediately— not until I began to get dressed and found that I didn’t need to calculate each and every movement executed to ward off pain. My movements now were carefree. The spa is both elegant and restful designed in marble, wood, stone and glass, serving both men and women with separate change rooms with sauna, steam, showers and toilets. The spa is intimate, serving up to six clients. Lots of sample-size Caudalie products in the ladies bathroom to enjoy pre/post spa treatments. Dense with luxurious detail are the spa robes and individual spa slippers. Hint: come early for your treatment and enjoy the sauna and Jacuzzi to your heart’s content. There’s an Anti-ageing facial treatment using an exclusive Claudalie polyphenol serum that combines ultrasound, electro stimulation, and galvanic current. There’s a weight loss treatment, too; but I myself did not have time for more than the one massage. Quite new I learned is a molecule from vine stalks called Viniferine for anti-dark spot and skin correcting action. There is an entire skin and bodyline. Claudalie’s main spa is in Bordeaux. There are a few other locations — Spain and New York City. Pastry Chef, Camille Lesecq Le Dali Restaurant Le Meurice in 2000 was restored to its original status as a classic French Palace with the completion of an extensive two-year renovation. It’s main dining room, le Meurice, presided over by Chef Yannick Alleno whose restaurant was in 2007 presented the Michelin Guide’s highest honour for a third star, is a place to fully unwind and enjoy French gastronomy at its finest in a splendid Louis XVI environment. There are only a handful of Paris restaurants with Three Michelin Stars.  Second to the Michelin guide is the French gastronomic guide Gault and Millau created in 1969 by Henri Gault and Christian Millau. In contrast to the Michelin guide, Gault and Millau award Hats with one-to-five and five being tops. In 2009 Le Meurice restaurant received five hats from Gault and Millau, and the trendy Le Dali restaurant was awarded three hats. Ara Starck painted the 145 square meters ceiling on Le Dali. Camille Lesecq, head pastry chef, recently created a Detox Macaron as part of Afternoon Tea served in Le Dali March through summer from 3:30 to 6:30 – a green tea and candied pink grapefruit cream delight. Oscetra Royal Caviar is served with condiments. Le Bar 228 is a throw back on the Gentleman’s private club.  But don’t be fooled, Le Meurice is anything but stuffy and out of style. Live jazz is played 7:PM to Midnight. Those who know Paris well say that the best Club sandwiches are to found in Le Meurice. Fifty whiskies and malts are served. Anything hard to get is found here. Cocktails are a good idea.  Ask for the Starcky or The 228 among other fascinating concoctions. The main dining room, Le Meurice, is to the right behind magnificent closed doors once immediately inside the hotel’s front entrance. We arrived too early for dinner; but this didn’t keep us from admiring the Louis XVI period chandeliers that I took to be Baccarat crystal. Tall and narrow windows from inside the opulent dining room overlook the Tuileries Gardens. Window treatments are formal, heavy drapery in floral patterns of the softest shades of gold, salmon, yellow, and green. Landscape paintings on the walls and a ceiling painted with blue sky and delicate angels add to the room’s quiet elegance. Antique bevelled mirrors, ornate gilding, and marble fireplace accent the intimate space holding perhaps ten round dining tables and chairs with oval backs and straight legs looking very much like miniature columns of ancient Rome. At first I thought the mosaic pattern on the floor was of fine wool carpet. Once I stepped into the room my soft-soled shoes told me the floor was tile. Carpet had hidden the tile’s initial true beauty until recently.  The patterns on the floor precisely mimic those of the china commissioned by Limoges for the Meurice. I couldn’t help but think of Greta Garbo playing mistress to Charles Boyer’s Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1937 Hollywood film “Conquest”.  In late 2008 Le Meurice General Manager Franka Holtmann asked Charles Jouffre, a man responsible for creating drapes and sumptuous hangings in the Grand Foyer at the Opera Garnier, to imagine the hotel’s guest rooms a touch warmer in tone and feel –home à la française. To date, Le Meurice has won many awards, including the 2009 Conde Nast Traveller US - Gold List/World’s Best Places to Stay (2nd. place in Europe); and placed in Travel + Leisure - Top 50 Hotels in the World.  Fortune Magazine placed Le Meurice  sixth in the world  and the only hotel in France for the 2008 The Ten Best Business Hotels. View from Belle Etoile Royal Suite Rushed for time, we still want to see Paris from the hotel’s rooftop terrace. On our way up in the hotel elevator I thought the city view would be fascinating; I wasn’t prepared for my senses to become momentarily startled by the historical significance of what lay before us. As soon as we reach Le Meurice’s rooftop Belle Etoile Royal Suite terrace the city is presented in a breathtaking 360-degree advantage to reaffirm Paris’s standing as a city of international acclaim. And in the near distance is the city’s moniker: Eiffel Tower. Note: My visit to Le Meurice was in 2007; it was a private holiday and my first visit to France. Le Meurice restaurants restyled in January 2008 by Philippe Starck, and in 2009 Charles Jouffre designed a eighteenth-century home  feel to the guest rooms. Le Meurice as of 1 January 2008 is graced with Valmont Spa for Le Meurice. Valmont is of Swiss origin with 33 spas spanning the world. Valmont has over twenty years’ experience in thalassotherapie treatments. The Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa moved after many years from Le Meurice in Paris to the newly renovated The Plaza Hotel in New York City, a Fairmont managed hotel. Reservations, please telephone 1-888-850-0909.  Or visit: http://www.theplaza.com/  The Caudalie Vinothérapie® Spa at The Plaza:  1 W. 58th Street, fourth floor, at Fifth Avenue. Grand Cru Chateau Smith Haut is served by the glass at Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa at The Plaza. Spa appointments please telephone at 212-265-3182  FYI: We left our cruise on the River Seine by Les Bateaux http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/  until the evening before we left Paris. We always seemed to be on the other side of Paris when the idea struck us that we should not leave the cruise until our last day in Paris. If you have seen the Hollywood feature film An American in Paris directed by Vincent Minnelli (husband to Judy Garland) with dance numbers by Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron you’ll know why no one should miss a cruise on the River Seine. Or an ice cream cone from a Paris street vendor. Discover the French Genius for the art of living at Le Meurice! Here are but a few reasons why you will not be disappointed: ♥ Family friendly hotel with a majority of guaranteed connecting rooms and VIP amenities for children (passport, Pistache).♥ The Spa Valmont offers the most avant-garde range of cosmetics: active molecules, Valmont guarantees the refinement and extreme effectiveness of beauty care. ♥ Christophe Robin, celebrity and lifestyle Guru Colorist and Hairdresser creates a unique colour palate just for you.  Le Meurice reservations available through The Leading Hotels of the World© Telephone (800) 223-6800 http://www.lemeurice.com/ J’ai publié 5 photos sur Facebook, dans l’album Discover our 2009 Christmas & New Year’s Eve Program! http://bit.ly/qyhaR http://www.meuricehotel.fr/shopping  http://www.dorchestercollection.com/ www.airtransat.com http://www.airfrance.com/ http://www.raileurope.ca/index.html www.bateauxparisiens.com  Dinner Cruise on River Seine www.chateauversailles.fr   The Hall Of Mirrors At Versailles serves as interior design inspiration www.museums-of-paris.com The Paris Swer Museum is one of the 50 most-visited sites in Paris ( Musee Des Egouts De Paris) www.operadeparis.fr  Palais Garnier & Opera Bastille http://www.france-excellence.ca/en/  What is your Paris Style? Take the test! Private and affordable city walking tours by Muguet Becharat (she speaks fluent English, French and several other languages). We learned so many secrets of the city from Muguet. http://www.parissweetparis.com/ Le Meurice’s emblem… a pair of Greyhounds due to a rescued Greyhound found during hotel renovations completed in 1907. Complementary dog walking in Tuileries Garden for Le Meurice guests. Six specially designed guest rooms for wheelchair access.

Photo credits: Le Meurice; Peter Hebeisen; May Georgina DeLory/Belle Etoile Royal Suite

Yet another movie I watched on the aeroplane.

The Young Victoria is the true story about Queen Victoria and how she grew up with a royal power-struggle, and how she mostly managed to make her own decisions when she was young.

I liked it. It was sweet, in a way. Queen Vic in the movie was pretty average for a movie-type 19th-century girl. You know, happy, wanted to make a change, believed in herself, sweet, pretty, and all the rest. And then, towards the end, she kind of hardens up. She becomes an adult. It’s really a coming-of-age film, but for the Queen of England.

Queen Vic falls in love and gets married, but then gets cross with her new husband, Prince Albert, because he keeps making the Queen’s decisions. She makes up her mind that she will be her own person. She will not be a Queen led by her consort, but a Queen who stands with her consort. And from the stories I’ve heard about old Vic and Albert’s relationship since I saw the movie, they did stand together, and they did love each other very much. But everything gets cleared up with the public concerning the Prince when he throws himself in front of his wife and takes a bullet in the arm intended for her. He heals up fine, and then sweet young Vicky gets knocked up! It’s very sweet. Her family “congratulates” her, with light cheek-kisses and such. It’s a bit weird watching that scene, because my vision of telling my family I’m pregnant (hey, it could happen) is one where my mum squeals and throws her arms around me. Not at all like the Queen telling her mother that she is “with child”, and said mother kissing her on the forehead. It’s a bit odd.

I like in this movie that it’s very straight-forward. There’s no messing about. They get the story down, and then work in the niggly bits, not the other way around. It’s very simple. I also like how Prince Albert and Queen Victoria’s relationship is very real for true love. Not everything was perfect, but there was nothing that a bit of talking through couldn’t solve.

I give this 4/5. Very nice and simple, and an actually well-made movie. Good to check out, if you haven’t already seen it.

Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

No es el barco de turismo más grande que haya hecho escala hasta ahora en el puerto de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, pero sí es uno de los más representativos. El crucero británico Queen Victoria mostró durante su estancia el pasado 28 de noviembre la gracia y la elegancia de su construcción, que enorgullece a su compañía armadora, la célebre Cunard Cruises, vinculada con el puerto tinerfeño desde finales del siglo XIX; así como al país cuyo pabellón enarbola, y el astillero y el país donde ha sido construido, Italia, convertido, junto con Finlandia, Francia y Alemania en uno de los grandes protagonistas del sector a nivel mundial.

Durante muchos años, la construcción naval británica fue un claro referente; sin embargo, en las últimas décadas,  otros países han recogido el testigo y nos sorprenden cada vez que sale un nuevo barco. A pesar de su capacidad técnica, España, lamentablemente, ha tenido una escasa contribución y permanece ajena a este mercado industrial de alto valor añadido y hemos de conformarnos con buques de pasajeros nada despreciables, como los nuevos ferries de Naviera Armas o el Grupo Balearia.

Nuestro buen amigo Julio A. Rodríguez Hermosilla -gran enamorado del puerto tinerfeño, de la mar y los barcos- nos envía esta foto del crucero británico Queen Victoria en su maniobra de salida del puerto tinerfeño, gesto que le agradecemos. En esta misma sección hemos profundizado en la historia, las características y el protagonismo del barco que nos ha vuelto a visitar, anotando, de ese modo, un nuevo acaecimiento en la historia inmediata del puerto tinerfeño. Ahí queda el testimonio de cuanto decimos.

El crucero británico "Queen Victoria", en la maniobra de salida del puerto tinerfeño

 Foto: Julio A. Rodríguez Hermosilla

Last year I took the girls to the Victorian evening in Maldon. If you have kids of any age, the chances are they would love this evening where everyone looks like they are in a Charles Dickens costume drama.

This year the evenings are Thursday 3rd of December and Thursday 10th December 2009. The high street is closed off to traffic and everything goes Victorian in no time at all.

There are those musical organ thingies (yes, I have such a way with words! ) morris dancing, stalls, carol singing in the churches and even a visit from Queen Victoria

A good place to visit is the old Norman church in the town centre (whose name totally escapes me). Here you can buy soup served up in huge copper pots by what looks like genuine Victorian serving girls. They also have a choir singing carols and it really does feel like Christmas.

There are also Donkey rides taking place somewhere, although I haven’t a clue where (one of my sources tell me it’s in the Plume Library but I think they are kidding me).  Punch and Judy shows also take place but I don’t know if these are the politically correct versions or not

Father Christmas will also be stopping by to hear what young girls and boys would like this year, providing they have been good of course… this takes place in Maldon Emporium.

It gets very cold, so wrap up warmly and of course if you are driving to Maldon, drive carefully around the lanes.

See ya there

Sarah

Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

De nuevo en el puerto tinerfeño la elegante estampa marinera del crucero británico Queen Victoria, que arribará esta mañana, a primera hora, procedente de Funchal en viaje a Las Palmas y Arrecife de Lanzarote, con una expedición de 1.919 pasajeros y 975 tripulantes al mando del capitán Paul Wright. La escala en el puerto de Santa Cruz de La Palma, prevista para ayer, viernes, fue suspendida por causas técnicas. Antes de que finalice el año, este buque tiene prevista otra escala en el puerto tinerfeño, el día 28 de diciembre, y en Santa Cruz de La Palma al día siguiente. De la consignación se ocupa Hamilton y Cía.

El crucero Queen Victoria es el segundo buque más grande de la flota de Cunard, precedido por el famoso Queen Mary 2, que estuvo en Santa Cruz de Tenerife en su crucero inaugural por el Atlántico. Supera en tonelaje, incluso, a los míticos Queen Mary y Queen Elizabeth y, por supuesto, también al aquí siempre bien recordado Queen Elizabeth 2, a quien relevó el buque que hoy nos visita, tras la venta de éste a la sociedad Dubai World para emplearlo como hotel flotante y museo en la famosa Palm Jameirah.

El proyecto del buque Queen Victoria pertenece a la clase Vista, modelo utilizado por otras compañías del grupo naviero al que también pertenece Cunard, con los que comparten muchas de las características exteriores e interiores. Holland American Line tiene dos buques de la serie llamados Zuiderdaam y Maasdam; Carnival Cruises otros dos llamados Carnival Miracle y Carnival Spirit; P & O Cruises opera el buque Arcadia, que en origen iba a ser el Queen Victoria; y Costa Cruises, otros dos: Costa Luminosa y Costa Deliziosa.

Ciertamente el aspecto exterior es agradable y bien proporcionado y, en el caso del Queen Victoria, todavía destaca más por los colores con los que está pintado: casco negro y superestructura blanca, coronada por su emblemática chimenea roja y negra, conocida en todos los puertos del mundo. La diferencia, obviamente, está en su interior: el lujo en los decorados de sus salones está muy por encima de la decoración de los cruceros de su misma clase y de otros contemporáneos; la calidad en el servicio, las comidas en los distintos restaurantes a la carta y en el “self service” en la cubierta Lido y, en resumen, la tradición y la herencia de Cunard, marcan una clara y notable diferencia.

La mayoría de los salones y áreas de uso público del Queen Victoria evocan el gusto de sus predecesores, caso del Queens Room, un magnífico salón con balcones para bailes y recepciones; el teatro Royal Court, distribuido en tres cubiertas y The Grills, una serie de restaurantes de lujo y alto nivel.  Las suites y las cabinas tienen un estilo único, espaciosas, muy cómodas y con un servicio de 24 horas de primera línea, con independencia del precio pagado. Dispone de 127 suites, 718 camarotes y suites con balcón, 864 camarotes exteriores y 143 camarotes interiores.

La biblioteca, en dos niveles, con escalera de caracol interior, alberga más de 6.000 volúmenes en diferentes lenguas. Un museo lleno de muchos recuerdos en el Hemispheres Club. Durante los días de mar, los pasajeros pueden disfrutar del Cunard Royal Spa Fitness Centre, sala de conferencias, centro de internet, el impresionante Grand Lobby, Britannia Restaurant, Golden Lion, Chart Room, Champagne Bar, la belleza del Queens Arcade, Todd English y Cafe Carinthia son sólo algunos ejemplos de la excelencia distribución y decoración interior de este buque con capacidad máxima para 2.014 pasajeros.

Construcción número 6.127 de los astilleros Fincantieri, en Porto Maguera (Italia), el contrato fue firmado en diciembre de 2004 y el 12 de mayo de 2006 se puso en grada el primer bloque de su quilla. Fue puesto a flote el 15 de enero de 2007, entregado a sus armadores el 24 de noviembre del citado año y bautizado, el 10 de diciembre siguiente, en el puerto de Southampton, por la duquesa de Cornwall, Camila Parker, en presencia de su esposo, el príncipe Carlos de Inglaterra. El buque rinde homenaje a la reina Victoria (1819-1901), personaje de grato recuerdo en la historia del Reino Unido y la Commonwealth.

De 90.049 toneladas de registro bruto (GT), son sus principales dimensiones 297 metros de eslora total, 32,20 de manga y 7,80 de calado. Está propulsado por seis motores Sulzer, acoplados a dos ejes que accionan hélices de paso variable, con una potencia de 63.360 kw y que le permite alcanzar una velocidad máxima de 23,7 nudos. Código IMO: 9320556.

Bonita imagen del crucero "Queen Victoria", en pruebas de mar

La elegancia del crucero "Queen Victoria", en el puerto tinerfeño

El crucero "Queen Victoria", visto de popa por la banda de babor

El gran lobby del buque, expresión del refinado gusto inglés

"Royal Arcade", uno de los centros neurálgicos del crucero

El teatro "Royal Court", situado a proa, se distribuye en tres cubiertas

Fotos: Cunard Cruises. Las del buque en el puerto de Santa Cruz de Tenerife han sido cedidas por Julio A. Rodríguez Hermosilla

If you shuffle through the autumn leaves in St James’s Park and take a turn around the current exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, you will find much to feed the eye, and boggle the mind.
The Conversation Piece: Scenes from Fashionable Life is a journey through time. It opens windows on the various ways the rich found to waste their days, but is truly gripped by a more perplexing lifestyle question: how to be a monarch and resemble a human being.

The tour begins in 1632, with an embarrassing daub of Charles I and his queen. Their infant Charles II is about to tumble off a table, but his parents seem not to care. They have plonked their heir there, by crown, sceptre and an olive branch, to send a message. Namely, that the royal family is at peace with its subjects. Sadly, history proved otherwise.

35 paintings and two centuries later, the tour ends with another public family faking a private life. In one, doll-like Queen Victoria simpers at Albert, who has brought her corpses, fresh from a day’s shooting. Sir Edwin Landseer’s brush springs to life depicting their begging dogs, but the waxen couple see only each other. Meanwhile, their toddler daughter fondles a dead kingfisher. With such macabre propaganda, sold in prints, Victoria claimed her people’s hearts.

These two images seem consistent, but if this exhibition were a conversation, it would be a quarrel. (No raised voices, mind; this is Buckingham palace.) Two topics are in dispute. First, what is a ‘conversation piece’? Second, how can royalty, of all people, be trendy? And these questions are beside the real point of the show, a dazzling clutch of canvases by Johan Zoffany.

Where to start? With chipper Fleet Street optician, John Cuff, basking in golden light among the widgets of his trade? Or Queen Charlotte, wan wife of loopy George III, immobilised in her corset as two sons scamper in fancy dress. Tellingly, she touches neither, only her gigantic hound. I began wondering about our current monarch’s affections – corgis versus offspring.

The showstopper is 1777’s The Tribuna of the Uffizi, which celebrates of the Grand Tour. A hubbub of English aristocrats and homosexual collectors leer at naked Venus and Hercules in the octagonal room of the Uffizi gallery, jewel box of the Medicis’ art collection. Zoffany even smuggles in himself, flogging a Raphael to a duke. And the viewer knows not where to look. Each inch is pasted with perfect renderings, at postcard and stamp size, of Rubens, Titians, Holbeins.

This miraculous work has ironic shades. Sent to Italy by Queen Charlotte, Zoffany spent five years living it up in Italy, buying and selling art, while drawing a fat salary. If he hoped to compensate for the long absence with his virtuoso daring, he credited his patron with too much taste. Like most royals, Charlotte was concerned less with fashion than the image she projected. And she would not entertain such tourists, however grand – certainly not on the walls of her apartments. Thus Zoffany’s masterpiece ruined his career.

As a result, the royal collection has only seven works by Zoffany. Hence the broader scope of this exhibition, which tackles questions about the conversation piece, a style of painting that became fashionable in Britain in the 1730s, influenced by seventeenth-century Dutch family portraits (a mixed bunch are on display). Such works are concerned with conversation in its oldest sense, ’social interaction’. They show groups, at less than life-size, engaged in posh hobbies. So they are about wasting time elegantly – about being genteel, not regal.

Can you imagine a relaxing conversation with Queen Victoria? Exactly. But if this exhibition is not what it pretends, it is fun, and suggestive.

The history of the conversation piece echoes the history of conversation as an art, which was an idea born in conversazione, parties of wealthy Renaissance Italians. It evolved in seventeenth-century salons of aristocrats tired of Versailles. Then Dutch merchants aped French manners, then the conversation morphed again in England, with the boom in newspapers, coffee shops, and that mercurial beast, public opinion. If the art of conversation was a democratic force, the conversation piece celebrated the middle class, seizing power off those lumpen Hanoverian kings.

So instead of ‘conversation pieces’, this exhibition presents those Hanoverians, playing at gentlefolk, in vistas reminiscent of Hello! magazine. There are some fine Stubbs, merry-go-round horses, and panoramas of ladies tugging up stockings while high and low promenade along Pall Mall. But nothing more hilarious than puce George IV by his phaeton (the eighteenth-century Ferrari), of whom Thackeray sneered ‘he signalized his entrance into the world by a feat worthy of his future life. He invented a new shoebuckle.’

And say hello to the forgotten Prince of Wales, Frederick, at his cello. Had he survived, how cultured might the Windsors be? And on another wall, there is his secret society, ‘la table ronde’, of groupies in military garb, reading each other speeches. Do William and Harry declaim sonnets in Mahiki? I doubt it.

So go and look, and laugh.

As seen in The Lady magazine

Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

Dos nuevos cruceros de turismo se sumarán en la primera quincena del próximo mes de diciembre al historial de primeras escalas en el puerto de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Se trata de los buques Grand Princess y Louis Majesty, que arribarán los días 8 y 11 de diciembre, respectivamente. Este último, además, visitará también los restantes puertos insulares de la provincia tinerfeña: el día 10 estará en La Palma y el 12 en La Gomera y El Hierro.

Por lo que se refiere a otras escalas a cargo de Hamilton y Cía. previstas en lo que resta de año, hemos de citar la presencia del crucero británico Queen Victoria, los días 27 y 28 de noviembre, en Santa Cruz de La Palma y Santa Cruz de Tenerife, y 29 y 29 de diciembre, en Santa Cruz de Tenerife y Santa Cruz de La Palma, respectivamente.

Otros dos cruceros británicos, Arcadia y Oriana, estarán en el puerto tinerfeño los días 2 y 23 de diciembre, mientras que el primero de ellos también tiene prevista una escala en el puerto palmero el 30 de noviembre. Por último, el crucero Island Escape estará de nuevo en Santa Cruz de Tenerife los días 27 de noviembre y 4, 11, 18 y 31 de diciembre, y en el puerto de Santa Cruz de La Palma, los días 29 de noviembre, y 6, 13 y 20 de diciembre.  

El megacrucero "Grand Princess" arribará el 8 de diciembre

Foto: Adolfo Ortigueira Gil (Barcelona)

I dont remember this book being a “thriller.” I read it when I was 12 on vacation in Hawaii. The owners of the condo we stay at in Maui had The Lovely Bones and Lucky. I read both and ultimately I think I liked The Lovely Bones more, but honestly I cannot remember much of it now. My memory of Lucky is actually stronger, maybe it’s because it took place on the Syracuse University campus, and thats where my sister went to college.

It’s also interesting that Pete Jackson is directing this. I’m interested to see it just for that fact.

This looks amazing. I love Emily Blunt and I love period pieces. This is probably something I’m going to go see alone and romanticized about.

I saw Woody Harrelson on the View a few days ago. His liberal, hippiness is pretty awesome. He is completely against the war yet he does this movie, I think it shows hes an open minded person.

As promised, I will continue my ongoing SIDEWISE commentary. I will do my best to get caught up so I need only write commentary for page 15 (which will be posted here Thursday).

PAGES 6 & 7

Pages 6 and 7 are the in-your-face action pages. It was almost entirely artist Igor Norohna’s idea. You see, I was extremely busy when we began working on SIDEWISE, so I simply suggested “Hey, let’s have some action on these pages.” The end result is what you see: a stylized battle scene with the Queen’s robot army that showcases the abilities of their exo-suits. I simply went back and added dialogue after the pages were complete.

Well done, Igor. Take a bow.

PAGE 8

Page 8 was our last chance to hook readers and make ‘em hungry for more. It was also my intent to question the nature of reality. “And that’s exactly what it was.” In light of Adam’s previous statement, perhaps there’s more to this assertion than meets the eye?

Did you think Wells’ “Come with me if you wish to live” was a nod to the Terminator films? It was. A tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the greatest action flicks of all-times. Why not?

PAGE 9

This is one of my favorite pages. Igor really captured my vision of a “Teslafied” Buckingham Palace. The Tesla coil powered force field is especially important in the future, but I won’t give it away. Keep reading.

Page 9 is also particularly important because it introduces the Knights of Hanover: Dr. Fain, Sir Campion, Lord Tritton and Major Wilson. In case you didn’t notice, the Knights are manifestly strange.

More on that later.

PAGE 10

Introducing the monstrosity that was once Queen Victoria! I really wanted to impress readers with the strangeness of the Queen. Igor really nailed it.

This is also the first mention of Minister Moriarty. Is he the Moriarty from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, he is a major player in the story and–as we find out later–a bitter rival of Lord Tesla. Why? You’ll just have to continue reading to find out.

Th-Th-That’s All, Folks

I need to get back to work, but I’ll post commentary on the remaining pages in the next couple days. I would say tomorrow, but I’d hate to become so busy that I lie to you (again).

Please take a moment to check out Parts 1 and 2 of my interview with Rocket Llama. The conclusion of the interview should be posted this week. Be sure to check my tweets for a link as soon as I get it.

Thank you for your patience. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to read my little blog.

Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament

The decoration in the Houses of Parliament is colour-coded: the Queen’s space is blue, the Lords are red, the Commons are green. The Lords Chamber survived the Second World War, so it is older than the Commons.  This photo was taken facing the end with the throne, where the Queen sits to read her speech when she opens Parliament.  The little red curtain that runs along the bottom of the gallery balcony was put there at the request of Queen Victoria, who was tired of the peers being distracted from her speech by the sight of ladies’ ankles.

The combination of high-tech and heraldry is a little strange and it’s also strange to think that the effigies of the signatories of Magna Carta no longer look down on their descendants, many of whom lost the right to their seat in the Lords in 1999.  More recently (October 2009) the Law Lords have been evicted: they will no longer sit as peers in the House of Lords, instead continuing to hear appeals in Britain’s new Supreme Court.  This amounts to a crucial separation between judiciary and legislature, a reform of huge symbolic and constitutional significance, so it was pleasant to see it proceeding discreetly and without much of a fuss.  Since then I have been interested to discover that the Supreme Court is decorated with glass panels etched with lines from Magna Carta.  We caught a glimpse of a framed copy of that very document on the way to the Lords.  I don’t think though that it can have been one of the four surviving 1215 copies as it seems they are held elsewhere.

Next: the cosy Commons Chamber

The Victorian is an Icon classic piece set in gold tone. This ring features a bold 4 carat marquise cut stone hoisted by a chic and narrow shank style. Undoubtedly fit for a modern Victorian Queen. Classic and refined indeed.

www.SparkledGirl.com

Sir Charles Kabaddi-Aussierules was the first man in Britain to eat a piano.   His feat was so highly regarded that Queen Victoria herself invited him to the palace, with the intention of persuading him to dine on a harpsichord.  Suffice to say, it didn’t end well, but not for the reasons that you might think.

Some aliens or something and came and like kidnapped the Queen and like Sir Charles had a fight with their leader and went, all like, Will Smith on their asses and shit.  Probably.  I don’t really know, do I?  It was like 300 years ago or something.  But it was bound to be something like that, wasn’t it?  It’s well known that alien spacecraft were rife in Victorian London and it’s pretty likely that they would have gone straight for the head honcho.

Anyway, Sir Charles died at some point and is now sadly forgotten.

Feeding the pigeons in Victoria park

Originally uploaded by Che-burashka

A rumour went around that a man was spotted in Victoria Park masturbating. He was a proper throwback to the 70s, when flashers and peeps didn’t have the Internet to escape to. Word reached me first through our landlady, who was jogging one Sunday afternoon and saw the man through the corner of her eyes standing by some trees behind the pond, furiously jerking something in her direction. She slowed down just a second to see what it was (she thought he might be gesturing for help) when her mind caught up with her eyes and registered a long penis between his legs. She understandably kept running and reported the incident to her husband, who thought it was one of the funniest things he’d heard.

The second incident happened a week later when one of the Portuguese girls living in my building was coming back from the Pavillion Café with a croissant and coffee and noticed somebody following closely behind. She turned around thinking it was someone she knew and came face to face with a bearded man in a grey coat that reeked of stale sweat and had nervous jumpy eyes. She looked down and saw his hand furiously working up and down a long appendage. It startled her so much she dropped her coffee and croissant, gasping in fright. The movement startled the pervert too; he quickly slipped it back into his fly and walked away from her as she stared in shock. She later told her twin sister (a more cautious, shy type who shared the apartment with her and made a living as her dancing partner in cabarets) that his slack penis was so disproportionate and slick that she suspected it to be a sausage or a stuffed plastic appendage. The shy, cautious sister swore never to walk through Victoria Park again by herself.

I had minimum contact with the people who lived in my building but occasionally we would bump into each other in the hallways or at the local pub, one conversation leading to another until we were up to date with the flaws of the people running our lives and neighbourhood. The twin dancers from Portugal were the only ones that talked to me about their lives. They seemed to get no sense of sexual tension from our interaction and, therefore, weren’t threatened. They had tiny round faces and willowy black whiskers. Their bushy eyebrows were in a constant state of surprise and attention.

The myth of the masturbating pervert spread across the local talking points. How often did he expose himself in the park? Did he not have a job? Did he not have better things to do with his time? (Like auditioning to be in an erotic film?) Was he in search of a girlfriend? I walked through Victoria Park and kept my eyes out for him. I knew he didn’t expose himself to men – probably out of fear of getting a beating. I did wonder, though, if I’d catch him in full mode towards a female jogger or walker. I never saw any police patrolling the park and wondered how many people had called the authorities to complain about him. Maybe they all felt sorry for him and hoped the next person to come along would take the matter into their hands.

I thought of the pervert as I sat by myself on a bench in the park Friday morning. In less than twelve hours I wished to enter the nightclub and find David and Chase dancing to mindless pop music, their eyes ignoring the rest of the world. I couldn’t decide what to wear, what to say. I couldn’t decide if it was a bad idea to spend the little money I had left over on a mindless night of indulgence. Alcohol sapped your body and your wallet. And the detestable barman would be there too, creeping me out with his knowing looks and beautiful sculpted face.

I pulled out my pocket diary and a black bic pen; I drew the pond, the detestable pigeons, the swans’ ugly ducklings, the red leaves moatted on the water’s edge. I sat for a long time staring at the point in the sky where the clouds drifted away from the sun and my eyes weren’t in danger of getting cataracts. The winds hustled the trees and a faint hint of incense hung in the air. Ever since summer had ended my skin had begun to lose its colour. Soon I’d be back to my usual white skin, my phantasmagorical self a set closer to disappearing from London’s eyes. And so I drew what I saw around me in order to anchor myself in the moment. Black ink on bleached paper. The barest hint of rain in the drizzle that stroked me, travelled through the wind that blew across and through the pond’s fountain.

Someone told me once Queen Victoria asked for the park to be created because she was fed up with East End people travelling to Hyde Park during the weekends. Keeping the riff raff out. Now, with every day that passed, I heard the accents of posh young couples from the West End in search of their first property to own, or foreigners from continental Europe fluttering like butterflies all over fairy cake crumbs left behind on café tables. Victoria Park will one day be theirs now that they can’t find a roof around Hyde Park. While the mommies push prams to quiet their babies, dad and son check their blog on a laptop. And the sun washes out everything from everyone’s skins.

In the midst of this normality I conjure the pervert in his grey jacket and stuffed trousers: his sad, searching eyes; his beard with bits of food stuck to it; his dishevelled hair that has never seen a comb; his isolation and need to affirm his identity by pushing his sexuality onto others. He’s a broken tear in the park’s peace, the water’s sedate surface. If I could be his agony aunt, I’d tell him to go to Vauxhall and find some studs to make him company. They could jerk off in the basement of windowless buildings then breathe a sigh of relief when the sun rose and the night was over.

It’s really a perfect day and I know the club will be full. There’s a tension in the air, the weather about to break – the kind of mood that pushes people into betting shops, on the prowl for sex. And I’ll join the throng that pushes and shoves in the Tube, sweating our lives away under neon lights until we reach our destination, just so I can catch a glimpse of that perfect couple on the dance floor. If they show up. There are hundreds of nightclubs in London and they could be anywhere. They could have decided to stay at home and watch a film. They could have decided to climb over Victoria Park’s gates and spend the night lying on its grass, talking about strangers that watch them dance from the shadows. And the stars will circle briefly above their heads but never quite shine – London’s incessant airplanes and high-rises won’t let the light through.

I could easily live in Victoria Park if they offered me a job to take care of it. I’d tend the park so carefully – so gently – all its visitors would leave with a smile on their face. Until my dying day I’d pledge allegiance to the park. How to apply for a job in the park? I thought of asking for a job in the Pavillion Café but I get the feeling that the stubbly, organic coffee crowd don’t match me.

The benches aren’t comfortable enough to sleep on. I’ve considered taking a nap on them but I worry someone will come along and still my pocket diary and black bic pen. They’d be desperate to go for my wallet. People walk past me plugged into their personal soundtracks. They walk alone and stare at their feet. Counting one step after another. Not seeing the world. Not seeing potential danger. Not seeing the man behind the tree zip open his fly and pull out a long piece of glistened flesh. The soundtrack of their HMV lives protects them from the darkness of others. None of them could recognise my face.

I see the Portuguese twins in the distance, chatting to each other and carrying shopping bags. They are crossing the park without a worry in the world. They are now sharing a joke and don’t seem to notice my presence behind them as I follow them home. Geese fly over our heads, heading north. The trees shimmer and sway like an audience for the dancers; the girls acknowledge this by doing little jumps in their steps and tilting their heads to the sky. I’ll miss them when they return to Portugal. I’ll ask if they can send me postcards and keep me updated on their adventures. I imagine they’ll have a presence online somewhere, with pictures, videos and banalities documenting their day-to-day life. They’ll even have photos of London that will romanticise their time there and make it seem like the best years of their lives. Nobody will question the lack of boyfriends, the lack of sunshine in their bedroom, the lack of money. They’ll never be interrogated and they’ll never return. I must remember to sketch their faces next time I see them so they can be forever remembered in my mind. Afterwards, I’ll lie in bed holding my pocket diary across my chest, close my eyes and picture the two of them spinning to a Waltz. Then I’ll go into their symbiotic minds and we’ll talk about life for the next eight hours. I’ll take them flying if they wish. I’ll tell them everything will be alright and that they’ll be a great success back in Portugal.

By the time I get back to my bedsit, I barely have time to eat a sandwich and get ready for dancing.

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing Disney’s take on A Christmas Carol featuring Jimmy Carrey, Gary Oldman and my personal favorite, Colin Firth.  There are fine performances by all in the revisited tale by Charles Dickens.  The film is very dark almost to the degree that one would think that Tim Burton is behind this rather than Robert Zemekis.  The visual interpretation of the film is also altered with use  of marvelous 3D animation to present a new look at the Christmas holiday classic.

In the story there are number of Christmas celebrations albeit dinners or Christmas parties.  My hope was to get a good look at the spread of holiday food Brittish style.  My best insight into history of English dinner comes when Tiny Tim’s family wishes they had a turkey instead of a goose.  Gain some insight too, read the history of Traditional English Christmas below.- Crystal Johnson, MCCN Editor

History of English Christmas and its foods

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Emily Blunt, who memorably played an ambitious, carbs-averse fashionista in The Devil Wears Prada, has her first big starring role with The Young Victoria, which hits theaters next month. The movie, produced by Martin Scorsese, focuses on the year 1836, when the 18-year-old Victoria becomes queen. But far from being a dusty period piece, The Young Victoria promises to be…a lusty period piece. In his just-published Manhattan magazine cover story on Emily, James Kaminsky describes it this way:

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“It’s a startling portrait of the fifth queen of England as a recalcitrant, strangely contemporary and, yes, highly sexual young woman. A hot Victoria. ‘I was really surprised by the script, because my perception of her was of a grim old lady being wheeled around with a hanky on her head and a sour look on her face,’ says Blunt. ‘And here was this vibrant, stubborn, romantic girl. I had to play her.’”

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David Drebin photographed the Manhattan story on Emily, which you can view online. As you can see, it was quite a stretch for her to play someone who’s hot:

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A new video has been added to the CUNARD QUEENS Website: The ‘We are Cunard’ video which was filmed on Queen Victoria for the official Cunard blog by Alistair Greener.

The video  portrays crew and staff on QV. Perhaps you or someone you know is in the film? We’d like to put same names to faces.  If you do, please leave a comment.