Something for the Weekend

BBC Panorama, broadcast April 1st 1957

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, try not to get caught out on Sunday Morning!

Still Mad For Mad Men

Just watched the first two episodes of Mad Men, It's as good as ever and I am simply mad for Megans wardrobe, especially this coral zig zag coat. I could not even go to to the loo or make a cup of tea during the ad breaks as on Sky Atlantic most of the adverts were original ads from the sixties, don't know whose idea this was but what a stroke of genius...roll on next Tuesday.

A Little Bird Story II

Indignant (and with all reason to be) Mrs Dove

I came home from grocery shopping the other week, I plonked my shopping basket on the kitchen table and MG shouted from the terrace "be careful of the eggs" I looked at the kitchen table and saw two perfect, off white, smooth, opaque and still warm perfect little eggs, Dove eggs to be precise, only narrowly missed from being splattered by my shopping basket.

 Spring is well and truly here in the Pyrenees and our resident Ring Collared Doves have been busy.  That is until MG wielded his chainsaw and lopped a few branches off a giant Bay tree, a squawking, very cross Dove flew out and a nest dropped into MG's hands with the two eggs inside. We tried to save the eggs, I made a new nest, out of a cardboard box, packing material and cotton wool, placed them on a bookshelf and directed the office desk lamp onto them... to no avail I am afraid.

  After this our Doves have once again been very busy flying about with twigs, they have now made a new nest, that just happens to be in the Neflier tree, which shades the terrace and is overlooked by our balcony, (I think they have figured, those stupid humans ain't going to be messing with this tree) they have laid new eggs and are now in the process of incubating them, they even let me peer into the tree and let me photograph the process, under the circumstances I think they have been very forgiving, I will keep you posted of all new developments...

To see past sagas of the Doves that live in our garden go here

Isabella Rossellini

I watched a program today that featured Isabella Rossellini, wow... there she was as she is, with no artifice. Intelligent, elegant, gracious, warm and beautiful, no plastic surgery, every line on her face clear to see.  I decided she is someone who comes across as a beautiful person on the inside as well as the outside, this is a woman of substance and style.  I feel like I grew up with her, I suspect many people feel the same way.  In the eighties it was hard to open a magazine without seeing her image, there were her edgy film choices, she was unforgettable in Blue Velvet and then there was the Lancôme campaign which she fronted for so many years before being dropped by Lancôme in her forties for being deemed too old.

Here in France, we hardly see or hear of her any more, she has never gone out of her way to court the limelight, one gets the impression she makes her choices on her own terms, things she really believes in.  As a woman wearing casual clothes and no make up she is a natural beauty, when she turns up the volume with make up, signature dark red lipstick and jewellery (this is a lady who knows how to wear jewellery).  She blows others out of the water.  Isabella is a lady growing older gracefully, she is a true icon and she was there all along.

With her Mother, screen legend Ingrid Bergman (Isabella's resemblance to her Mother is uncanny)

Even at a young age her signature style is evident, simple lines and great jewellery

With David Lynch, Helmut Newton

Stills from Death Becomes Her

As Marella Agnelli in Infamous

As well as her acting and modelling career Isabella is also a writer, film-maker, Mother and Philanthropist, she is on the board of Wildlife Conservation Network, she is also involved with training guide dogs for the blind and president and director of the Howard Gilman Foundation, a leading institution focused on the preservation of wildlife, arts, photography and dance.

Her latest acting roll is playing Gabriella Guglielmi-Valentino in 'Silent Life' a silent film based on the life of Rudolph Valentino which will be released later this year, below is the trailer.

More Pictures and quotes from Isabella here:

 

Something For The Weekend

The late, Great, Chalky the Jack Russell, takes a dislike to the sound equipment and once again upstages his Master, British TV Chef and Restaurateur Rick Stein.

I promise this is not turning into a dog blog but I could not resist this.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

XXX

Interlude

"Well"?

Apologies for my blogging hiatus, for various reasons, I am currently rethinking this blog, will fill you in soon. In the meantime I leave you with THE very handsome, charismatic, intense, charming and extremely wise, the one and only, Crusoe.

This is the face that stares me awake every morning, when the intense staring does not awaken me he jumps on and off the bed and if that fails, he brings a shoe or a boot and kicks it around the room until I get up! Except when it's raining, this is when I have a chance to get my own back, it is my turn to drag Crusoe away from his slumbers and his cosy, comfy bed.

Lillian Bassman

The timeless, beautiful and frankly, brilliant work of Lillian Bassman, who passed away on Monday aged 94.

Lillian Bassman 

June 15th, 1917 – February 13th, 2012

RIP

 

Valentines Day

It's Valentines day today, I had some beautiful vintage images of lovers that I wanted to show you but because of my appalling (non existent) filing system of images stored on my computer I can't find them but this image did jump out at me.

I think this picture demonstrates the sometimes ethereal nature of romantic or unrequited love, of course this is Oscar Wilde's tomb in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, complete with kisses, somewhere amongst the kisses was my kiss, I say was, it seems the oils from the lipstick marks were eroding the tomb, so they have had the tomb cleaned and a glass barrier erected round the tomb to stop future Wilde admirers blemishing the tomb with the imprints of their lips.

To quote Shakespeare "The course of true love never did run smooth"

Hoping all your days are filled with love
XXX

The Big Freeze II

 Crusoe, earlier today, investigating the ice on his lane

OK this cold weather business is really not funny any more... Only a few weeks ago I was bemoaning the fact that the weather was not cold enough as I think it's necessary for the garden to have a cold spell, to kill off all the bugs and diseases so plants and shrubs will be able to develop properly in the spring.  They say be careful what you wish for...

The temperature has not been over minus 1 since Monday.  On Tuesday night the temperature dropped to minus 12 and on Wednesday morning we woke up to no hot water in the bathrooms...Yes the hot water tank is up in the loft and despite the fact that the loft is insulated and the hot water pipes lagged, somewhere along the line something has frozen up.  We have been up there armed with hair-dryers and blow heaters, to no avail, there is nothing we can do except wait for it to thaw.

  Friends have kindly offered us the use of their bathrooms and their still running hot water, MG has taken them up on this but I am a bit funny, the bathroom is a sanctuary to me and I like to practice my bathing rituals within the sanctity of my own walls. 

Degas, 1887

Fortunately all has not been lost, there is still hot water in the kitchen as it is supplied via a different system, I don't have to be like a seventeenth century French aristocrat and douse myself with colognes and perfumes to make up for the fact that I have not bathed.  Without a maid to fill up my bath for me I have taken to filling up a large bowl and armed with a sponge, making sure the bathroom is toasty warm (thank goodness the heating is still working!) have been washing standing up in the bath, I feel quite the Victorian!

Don't we take piping hot running water for granted!

French antique copper bateau bath, they were installed in Châteaus or Maison de Maitres and before hot running water there would have been a maid or valet to fill it.  Would you believe I have seen similar baths in fields used as animal troughs and yes I have enquired who owns the land and bought a couple this way.

French country folk who lived in farmhouses like ours had to make do with small tin bathtubs like these, hopefully filled with hot water boiled over the fire by a loving spouse and placed in front of the fireplace.  We found a load of these in our garage when we bought the house, they make excellent planters, though I could have done with one this morning!

I don't believe it, the blogging Gods have heard me, whilst I have been typing this the frozen pipes have thawed, I am off to the bathroom whilst the going is good, the temperature is forecast to drop to minus 15 on Sunday!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
XXX

Fabulous Photographer, Baron de Meyer

Baron de Meyer is often credited with being the first fashion photographer, personally I think his work is sublime, he has an interesting Wikipedia entry too...

Le Compte Etienne de Beaumont 1919

Irene Castle more about her here

Woman overlooking Florence 1900

 Coco Chanel 1923

Gloria Swanson 1921

Rather lovely book available here and here