Month: December 2017

Arise, Sir Richard

By and large I enjoy the Honours system; sharing the pleasure that the recipients enjoy (having their swimgloat, as James Lees-Milne would say) but …

Gainsborough Girls

I saw this Gainsborough at the Fitzwilliam when I went to their Degas exhibition before Christmas. Incidentally the Fitzwilliam had bad luck because there is Degas at the Petit Palais in Paris running concurrently and they probably picked the plums.

Published
Categorised as Art, Theatre

A Splash Hit

The Châtelet is closed for two years for repairs. Their Christmas show this year is Singin’ in the Rain and it is staged in a temporary theatre in the Grand Palais.

Published
Categorised as Theatre

Out of this World

La Bohème at Christmas should be a sure-fire winner, impossible to muck up. Sublime music, lots of snow and children, achingly beautiful arias and a heart-rending finale.

Cognacq-Jay

Yesterday we walked to the Musée Cognacq-Jay for a dollop of culture. Lucky we didn’t want a scoop of pistachio ice cream because, like Edmund Crispin’s Moving Toyshop, Berthillon has disappeared.

Published
Categorised as Art, Travel

Paris

It’s a treat to walk across Paris on Christmas Day. I enjoy the architecture and the views. They are not spoilt by a plethora of Christmas bling.

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Categorised as Travel

Christmas Day

“The bearer, white-turbaned and bare-footed, pulls back the curtains to let in a blaze of sun. Outside the fountains are playing, the birds are shrieking. Cascades of stocks, carnations and petunias hang over the edges of ornamental pools.

A Long View

This sceptred isle has seen some changes that must have been bewildering at the time. But let’s digress before we even begin.

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Categorised as Business

We Three Trees of Orient Are

Parrotia persica (commonly called Persian ironwood) is a deciduous tree in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus Hamamelis. It is native to northern Iran and southern Azerbaijan (where it is called Dəmirağac) and it is endemic in the Alborz mountains. (Wiki) It was Urban Tree of the Year in 2014.

Published
Categorised as Environment

Local News

Two years ago the NHS Trust that runs Charing Cross Hospital put forward a plan to re-build it. Work was intended to start this year and be completed by 2021.