Literature
Sherlock – Moffat is Savvy & Being Brainy Sexy in Belgravia
Awesome! Writer Steven Moffat has surely outdone himself with the first story in the second series of Sherlock “A Scandal in Belgravia” featuring the enigmatic and erudite Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr Watson.
Reading, TV and Music Choices for Festive Season 2011/2012
Riveting reading, considered DVD watching and beautiful music listening are all great can-do activities for the festive holiday season, as are long walks each day. This is the time of year we all need to recharge not only our body batteries, but also refresh our mind, spirit and soul.
Notebooks by Betty Churcher – My Favourite Book 2011
Having been an avid, voracious reader of all types of texts since I was a very small child today, in reality, it takes a lot to get me excited about a book. I have read many of the classics, lots of classic novels, masses of thriller fiction works and non-fiction works, including autobiographies, biographies, books [...]
The Cello – The Nature of Sound and an Art of Sophistication
Along with my passion for early music is an enjoyment and love of music written for the violencello. Often shortened to Cello. I would ride through storm and tempest to attend performances by Steven Isserlis and Peter Wispelway or the acclaimed 2Cellos, Croatian musicians Luke Sulic and Stjepan Hauser.
Sherlock – Shrewd, Sexy, Savvy and very definitely New Age
The filming of the second series of Sherlock has just been completed in England. Re-invented by Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis of Dr Who fame when traveling, most appropriately on a train, Holmes and Watson were resurrected as living, breathing, modern men just as they were originally. For fans of the shrewd, sexy savvy reincarnation of one of fiction’s most enduring characters this is the good news they have been waiting to hear.
Kahlil Gibran Prophet, Artist & Man of Words for all Seasons
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is one of those rare geniuses in history, who may have slipped entirely through the cracks of our civilization, had it not been for those that surrounded him surmounting many challenges so they could provide the level of support that he needed to shine. They did it without seeking a reward.
Love Jewellery from Cupid to Cartier
When people today talk about jewels, jewellery, gemmology and gems it is clear the vocabulary has become confused. Gemstones are treasured minerals found in the earth. ‘Gems’ are the objects fashioned from them. Jewels are gem ready for mounting into jewellery and other objects of art. And, jewellery – it is the finished product that if its designer from Cupid to Cartier has succeeded, adorns its wearer well.
The Lady and the Unicorn and ‘Millefleurs’ Style Tapestries
In the late medieval period of the fifteenth century the now famous millefleurs tapestries first appear characterized by their backgrounds made of hundreds of tiny flowers. The most well known in this style are known as La Dame á la Licorne, or the Lady & the Unicorn. A group of six tapestries they are woven from a combination of woolen, silk and gold thread and have exercised an almost universal fascination on all those who have encountered them for hundreds of years.
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Harmony of Courtly Love
From the 11th to the 13th century in England and Europe expressing personal feelings in relation to the beauty and bountiful joys of women became the province of troubadours, who were both composers and performers of lyrical poetry set to romantic music. They roved about the countryside visiting castles and their communities to deliver the latest ditties going about in song. The themes they favoured the most were those of chivalry and courtly love.
Alan Bennett Playwright – a Class Act like No Other
‘You are a rent boy. I am a poet. Over the wall lives the Dean of Christ Church. We all have our parts to play’ It seems to me that it is always a perfect time of year for an Alan Bennett celebration. England’s local hero highly acclaimed author and playwright Alan Bennett (1934 – [...]
Reading Aloud Rocks – Benefiting Children by Sharing the Joy
A book for everyone for Christmas is surely the way to go. And, if you read it aloud to children you can be sure that you are providing many benefits, including sharing the joy around.
Arts & Crafts Movement – William Morris the Art that is Life
In England, during the second half of the nineteenth century, painter, writer, textile designer and social activist William Morris (1834-1896) became the spiritual leader of a revival in arts and crafts that encompassed all the visual arts, including architecture and interiors.
Three Wise Men – Achieving Celebrity Status
January 6 the climax of the Christian Twelve Days of Christmas celebrates The Epiphany when three wise men brought gifts of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh to the baby Jesus. But why?
Horace Walpole’s Legacy at Strawberry Hill nearby the Thames
At the time of Jane Austen’s birth on the sixteenth day of December 1775, Horace Walpole, 4th Earl Orford (1717- 1797) was using decorative ornament inspired by a literary and pictorial interest in Gothic architecture at Strawberry Hill, his villa nearby the Thames at Twickenham in the London borough of Richmond.
A ‘Compleat’ Gentleman, more than a leader of style
In London much of the development in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century was in the hands of aristocratic landowners. But were they ‘compleat’ gentlemen?
Kafka’s Letters of Consequence & Culture at Oxford in Autumn
The Bodleian Libraries at Oxford in England have announced the newly acquired letters of renowned Czech author Franz Kafka (1883 – 1924) to his favourite sister Ottla, who died in the death camp at Auschwitz during World War II, are on public display for the first time.
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