“…it is the most stunning new ‘go-to’ to be seen in any city.” Architectural Review, May 1977 Forty years ago, the style and construction of Paris’ Pompidou Centre marked a revolutionary change in the design of public buildings. Loved and loathed in equal numbers by the public and the established order, it’s hard now to…
Category: Europe
The art of drawing revealed
Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad. Salvador Dali This upcoming exhibition from London’s National Portrait Gallery, The Encounter: Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt – immediately caught my eye. As an evergreen art student, this took me right back to my Fine Art…
Anthony Trollope and the post box
Posting a letter the other day, I found myself pondering the concept of the pillar or post box and wondering about its origins. I love a good functional design and the pillar box is perfect for its job – safe, secure, easy to post and to retrieve mail, able to withstand the elements – a design…
The Ivy – A Century of Style
One of London’s most interesting and vibrant restaurants, the venerable Ivy, turns 100 this year. Having undergone a complete re-invention in 2015, who would have thoughts that today’s go-to restaurant for cinematic and theatrical royalty had somewhat humble beginnings. What is now The Ivy started life after the Great War as a simple Italian…
Why is Piccadilly Circus so named?
As the historic lights on Piccadilly Circus go dark this January for the longest amount of time since World War II, I find myself musing on the name Piccadilly Circus and why it became synonymous with advertising hoardings. My first query is easily answered – thanks to Wikipedia. The word Piccadilly was originally linked in 1626…
Why are Guylian chocolates shaped like seashells?
This past Christmas, I gave away packets of Guylian chocolates as little “tree presents” to friends and – for the first time ever – tried a box for myself. Instantly turning into a Guylian fan, I found myself wondering about the origin of the brand and just why their delicious chocolates are shaped into seashells…
Rediscovering Annick Goutal, an old favourite
Annick Goutal fragrances were all the rage when I started working in the hotel industry, blah blah years ago. They were happily everywhere in fact especially in France for this perfume house is “La Belle France” personified. Then they seemed to fade a little from my view to be replaced by globalisation and its ubiquitous amenities. So…
London’s largest Royal Park
It’s taken me half of my life to finally visit Richmond Park, London’s largest Royal Park in fact. Perhaps its only now that I tend to go for long walks with faithful Hound in tow that I have come to appreciate the beauty of nature – and it doesn’t come better than this beautiful park….
Why is a stamp called a stamp?
As followers of this blog will know, I do love everything miniature so it should come as no great surprise to learn that I collect stamps, or to be precise, am an enthusiastic amateur collector of British stamps. Thanks to eBay, I am reliving my childhood interests and discovering the very early British stamps but this has left…
Inspired by the Malvern Hills
I first set eyes on Wales’ dark and brooding mountain range whilst visiting the new owners of the Cottage in the Wood, a small hotel and restaurant in the Malvern Hills with stunning views over the surrounding countryside. These views inspired Tolkien I was told and I could well believe it. The Black Mountains being…
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