NB! · Observations · Humour
Vase on a veranda in Monte Carlo with a relief resembling both a duck and a ribbon
A vase on our veranda in Monte Carlo has made me look afresh at the "duck or rabbit" puzzle. So then: duck or ribbon?
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Winter garden with a glass roof and palms, seen through a grille
Architecture · Observations · Heritage
Riviera Palace in France partly converted into apartments as restoration work continues
The Riviera Palace is not in the best of states at present, of course. The century of its grandeur has passed, when expensive motor cars crowded before the main entrance, celebrities lounged within and fountains of iced water bubbled. Now part of the building has been remodelled and the public
Architecture · Observations · Mores
I Was Lucky Enough to Stay in One of the Most Beautiful Buildings in Monte Carlo
I was lucky enough to stay in one of the most beautiful buildings in Monte Carlo. Formally, of course, this is France: the town of Beausoleil, founded in 1904, which was even proposed to be called Upper Monte Carlo. But in the end the name Monte-Carlo Supérieur went to
Archive · Science · Society
A group of American scholars has created a 3D model of an eighteenth-century slave ship
A group of American scholars has created a 3D model of an eighteenth-century slave ship. Judging by the description, the model is based on the only fully surviving plan of a typical vessel used to transport slaves from Africa. Dr Nicholas Radburn, lecturer at Lancaster University and historian of
NB! · Observations · Humour
relatable
Books · Ethnography · Humour
Another Alarming Superstition
Another alarming superstition. From a book of 1903: to carry unsalted meat across a road or a stretch of water will make the devil follow you. So do take care, and safe travels
Books · Observations · Ethnography · Humour
The author issues a warning without specifying its subject
Welsh Folklore of 1909 records this omen: if you wish to die, eat cabbage in August. As they say, I have merely done my duty and warned you.
The East · Geography · Art · Observations · Nature
Senchikhin's 1969 painting of the Aral and the disappearance of the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea, a boat, 1969. This picture hangs in my home in one of the most prominent places, beside several similarly unassuming subjects, all of them from the Aral. It is a fairly simple specimen of the genre study in the Impressionist manner, by an author who is not
Architecture · London · Mores · Society
Britain abolished the window tax, in force since 1696
On 24 July 1851 Britain abolished the window tax, introduced in 1696. In the intervening years the tax was raised more than once, and it led to houses being built with no windows at all. The tax was levied not on each window but on the total number of windows
Architecture · Faith · Art · Museums · Humour
Archangel Michael statue on Brussels Town Hall replaced by a copy, original moved to museum
Saint Michael the Archangel of Brussels. The statue recalls the works of Tsereteli, but this is another creator: Martin Van Rode, who lived in the fifteenth century. The Archangel with the dragon crowned the 96-metre spire of the town hall. Michael is made of copper sheets, which have oxidised
NB! · Art · Observations · Humour
Brussels faience in the form of a hen with an egg and chicks
Such faience is a purely Brussels trade. Looking at these sweet chicks, I want to become a vegetarian