I'm Back

I can't believe I have been away from blogging for over a week, so apologies for the post drought and not visiting, I am hoping to catch up with you all within the next few days.   I have to confess I have been away gallivanting, sans laptop, which is just as well as I have had no time for anything except pleasure!

 The Stray, complete with Victorian Promenade Shelter, Harrogate

 I went back home to dear old Blighty, where I spent a wonderful few days back in my home town, Harrogate, Yorkshire, catching up with family and friends, whilst there, I did lot's of wining and dining I was particularly impressed with Harrogate's newest restaurant Le Bistrot Pierre, which has great food and a fabulous ambience, I gather they have a few restaurants in various UK towns, check out the link, and if you find yourself  in any of the locations, where they have an establishment; Go!

I took my Mother down to London for a couple of days, my gorgeous and fabulous Brother treated us to a stay at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, my Brother always stays in this hotel when he is in London on business. 

The Views Of Kensington Gardens And Beyond From My Room

Wow, what a fabulous Hotel, not so pretty on the outside but the inside, more than makes up for it, it is a family owned hotel and it shows, most of the staff have been there for years and they make you feel like Royalty, nothing is too much trouble, I think it is one of the friendliest and most comfortable hotels I have ever stayed in and if you can secure a room overlooking Kensington Gardens, you will be privy to one of the finest views in London.  Major foodies had  informed me that they have one of the best Chinese restaurants in London; Min Jiang, I have now sampled it and can vouch for it, some of the greatest Chinese food I have ever tasted, with the emphasis on fresh. The restaurant is on the tenth floor of the hotel, so whilst you are tasting heaven you also have an awe inspiring panoramic view of London.

 Min Jiang Restaurant

Another excellent restaurant which has fabulous views over London is Babylon, just over the road, from the Royal Garden, on Derry Street.

I did cram a lot of things into my trip, I took my Mother to the V&A to see the Grace Kelly exhibit, I had heard a few negative reports, on this, not enough dresses, where was the wedding dress etc. Personally I thought it was very well done and so did my Mother, I also have to mention that my Mother cannot function properly in the morning without the aid of great coffee, we walked from the hotel to the V&A, on route there were no cafes, so we stopped off at The Royal Albert Hall's Cafe Consort for breakfast which was extremely good value for money with charming staff serving...wonderful.

 My Mother, after coffee, proving age is only a number (she is 75, sorry Mum!)

The only disappointment of the trip, was me, hotfooting it over to see the Leighton House Museum, which was at the other end of Kensington High Street, a brisk twenty minute walk from the hotel; closed on Tuesdays!  Never mind, my fault for not checking, will go on my next trip, I consoled myself by photographing the blue plaque.

 This Is A Typical Holland Park Property, It Was so Pretty, I Could Not Resist Photographing It.

Well here endeth my little jaunt, I must say I left a warm sunny Britain and arrived in cold and rainy France, apparently it has been awful here for two weeks, rainy, murky and cold... the grass is not always greener......

Renée Perle

 

Renée Perle, was a Romanian Jewish girl who moved to Paris.  She became a fashion model and in 1930 she met famous French Photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) who is considered to be one of the leading photographers of the twentieth century (and my personal favourite). Renée became his muse and lived with Lartigue as his girlfriend.

As you can see from the photographs Renée had a great sense of style. Lartigues fabulous photographs of her capture the essence of 'The Jazz Age' and at the same time they are so classical that they have a timeless quality to them.  These photographs continue to inspire fashion designers and stylists today.

Renée passed away in the South of France in 1977.

From Jacques Henri Lartigues Diary, Paris, March 7, 1930.

“Half past five at the Embassy. I wait for my “parasol” from last night. I need a whisky. I’m very shy deep down, and ready to be furious if she doesn’t show up. It’s my curiosity that would be most disappointed…

Five thirty-five. There she is! Can it really be her? Ravishing, tall, slim, with a small mouth and full lips, and dark porcelain eyes. She casts aside her fur coat in a gust of warm perfume. We’re going to dance. Mexican? Cuban? Her very small head sits on a very long neck. She is tall; her mouth is at the level of my chin. When we dance my mouth is not far from her mouth. Her hair brushes against both.

“Romanian. My name is Renée P… I was a model at Doeuillet…” Delicious. She takes off her gloves. Long, little girl’s hands. Something in my mind starts dancing at the thought that one day perhaps she would agree to paint the nails of those hands…”

John Galliano calls Renée Perle, the inspiration behind his fall show (2007), "a kittenish Parisian coquette." Jacques Henri Lartigue, who immortalized her in his pictures, had another term: angel. The revered photographer met his muse in 1930 on the Rue de la Pompe. He thought she was Mexican, but he guessed wrong; Perle was Romanian, and a model once employed by the French dressmaker Doeuillet. "She is beautiful," Lartigue told his diary. "The small mouth with the full painted lips! The ebony black eyes. From under her fur coat comes a warmth of perfume. The head looks petite on her long neck." The pair spent two years together, cavorting as if on eternal vacation in Cannes, Juan-les-Pins, and Biarritz, with Lartigue's camera always at the ready. In the "shadowless heaven" of his photographs, glamorous women, including his first and second wives, Bibi and Florette, abound, but Perle's lacquered hair, slender silhouette, modern T-shirts, armfuls of bangles, and talonlike nails shone the brightest. "Around her," Lartigue wrote, "I see a halo of magic."
—Laird Borrelli

 There are plenty of books chronicling Lartigue's work.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I am still here, I have had an enforced blogging break due to household duties, another lot of Summer guests arrived yesterday and all week I have been frantically cleaning, ironing, gardening etc.. MG decided to replace the skirting boards in the guest kitchen, so he was trying to do that whilst running his business.  Yesterday was swelteringly hot MG strimmed and I mowed the lawn which was hard work in the heat we both had to take lot's of breaks for iced tea, then a general garden clean up before the guests arrived, job done... we were both exhausted.

 Photograph of moi, toiling with the mower

 MG went off to Belle Meres in Provence this morning as tomorrow she is moving into her new abode so he has gone armed with his tool box, ready to hang pictures, move furniture, lift heavy objects and do anything else you can think of to assist the moving in process. Crusoe and I are home alone and the weather has turned thundery; grey skies and constant drizzle, we are both feeling a bit flat.

I think I am going to cheer myself up by assuming the recovery position on the sofa to watch something feelgood, I will give Crusoe a pigs ear to nibble on, so that should sort him out.

Tomorrow, I am going to be busy again, I am off to the UK on Wednesday for a week, so I will have to start preparing, I am really looking forward to it, a few days in Yorkshire to visit friends and family, then I am taking my Mother off to London for two day's for a much needed city hit, The Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A, A visit to Leighton House Museum, Afternoon tea at The Wolsely and a trip to Liberty's are all on the agenda.

Crusoe is also going on a short break.  MG does not return until Friday, so he is going to stay with Mattie and Douglas his bosom border Collie buddies, their owners, close friends of ours, are into very long walks, so he will have lot's of fun.

I leave you with the spoils of all our hard work in the garden.

Clematis Jackmanii Superba

Flowers in bloom in front of the Gazebo

Closer

Even Closer

The Elderflower tree in blossom, It smells sublime, I have not even had time to make Elderflower Cordial, which I normally make every year it is delicious and tastes of late Spring

Picture and recipe for Elderflower Cordial Here

Hope you all have a fabulous week.