The photograph of Victoria at the spinning wheel is in fact a very telling one: for a long time the English word "spinster" meant both a woman who spun and an old maid, and the image of a woman at her spinning stood for an unfortunate private life
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Guests at a costume party in a Moscow theatre in the early 20th century
A costume evening at one of the Moscow theatres in the early twentieth century
Professor Mie Oba proposes Japan as ASEAN's third partner alongside the US and China
Professor Oba Mie of Kanagawa University writes that Japan could become a third partner for the ASEAN countries alongside the USA and China. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations preserves its independence under the slogan of "centrality": the bloc's members seek to remain the principal forum
Blessing of Animals on 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
On 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is regarded as the patron of animals and of nature, animals are blessed in churches all over the world. Stories of his sermon to the birds and of the wolf of Gubbio are associated with the name of Francis,
Blessing of animals on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi in New York and other communities
The blessing of the animals at the Episcopal Church of Saint John in New York on 4 October, the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is regarded as the patron saint of animals and nature. Francis is associated with the tale of his sermon to the birds and