Observations · People · Pop Culture
I understand that after decades of listening to tracks of no more than two or three minutes, Grand Music may be very hard to take in. But in honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the outstanding composers of the twentieth century, who
Mores · People · Pop Culture
Angela Lansbury recalled how her daughter fell under the spell of a Hollywood layabout who collected the girl from school and made her steal money and food from her parents. Alarmed, Lansbury moved the whole family to Ireland. The young man was Charles Manson. A badass story. *Manson was an
Faith · The East · Geography
"..what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."
NB! · Monarchies · Humour
NB!
Cinema · Observations · Paris · Pop Culture
One of my favourite films with Angela Lansbury is the 1992 "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris", which also stars Omar Sharif as the old lady's influential friend and Diana Rigg as one of the directresses of the House of Dior. The plot is simple: the
Cinema · Mores · Pop Culture
Gaslighting, the well-known term for a form of psychological abuse, takes its name from the play "Gas Light". Her role in the 1944 film adaptation brought Angela Lansbury her first fame and her first Oscar nomination. She played the maid Nancy, who helped Mr Gregory Anton drive
NB! · Cinema · People
Angela Lansbury, the legendary actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, has died. Her career on stage, television and film lasted eight decades. She missed her 97th birthday by only a couple of days.
Books · Saint Petersburg
The first paragraph of Part One of Volume One of "War and Peace".
Art · Society · People
Henricus Antonius van Meegeren is regarded as one of the most ingenious art forgers of the twentieth century. For a long time, van Meegeren's fakes were esteemed in the art world as very nearly the finest examples of the work of such seventeenth-century painters as Johannes Vermeer
Coming Up · Heritage · Saint Petersburg
If you wish to catch the departing splendour of a warm autumn, do not miss the “Friends of Saint Petersburg” Festival, which invites you to attend, free of charge, dozens of events at all the key cultural and historical venues of Saint Petersburg. What could be a greater contribution to
Archive · Monarchies · Mores · Humour
Queen Victoria and King Louis-Philippe of France at the Château d'Eu during the royal visit of 1843. Alone with a man. What a scandal!