London · Mores · People · Humour

The myth of the cat that ate Thomas Hardy's heart, disputed by his biographers

The Cat That Took the Poet's Heart. One of the strangest stories of burial is attributed to the funeral of the English poet Thomas Hardy in 1928. Hardy lived to the age of 87. His body was cremated and the ashes interred in Poets' Corner in Westminster

Books · Society · Humour

Dmitry Minayev in 1881 on a homeland turned into one colossal Tashkent

Little by little, backward and back, We shall come to such a road That they will drive us all, like calves, Beyond the Ural ridge, little by little. We shall raise ourselves a monument, Higher and fairer than all monuments, And into one colossal Tashkent Our fatherland will be turned

NB! · Humour

Now It Is Definitely Demi-Sec

Black and white drawing of a woman kneeling on a sofa and talking on the telephone, with a vase of tulips on a table beside her.

Archive · In the Press · Humour

Cartoon of a telephone conversation from the English magazine Punch, 1946

Well, darlings, apart from being bored to death with everything and everyone, how are you getting on? Punch magazine, England, 1946.

London · Observations · Society · Humour

The Bank of England is considering replacing the images of Winston Churchill and other historical figures on its banknotes with other "symbols of national identity"

The Bank of England is considering replacing the images of Winston Churchill and other historical figures on its banknotes with other "symbols of national identity". Among those named are Stonehenge, the oak tree, fish and chips and football. Though why stop at fish and chips? Let us go

Moscow · Observations · Society · Paris · Nature · Humour

Extreme heat continues in France

Extreme heat continues in France. The red alert level has been declared in 16 departments of the country. Since yesterday the top floor of the Eiffel Tower has been closed to visitors because of the high temperature. Abnormal heat is also being recorded in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands.

NB! · Art · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

The cover of Bryan Ferry's album Olympia with Kate Moss is a reference to Édouard Manet's painting "Olympia"

The cover of Bryan Ferry's album Olympia with Kate Moss is a reference to Édouard Manet's painting "Olympia". The musician says he wanted to convey the spirit of the picture without copying the pose. Doubtful, of course. The resemblance is, in truth, nil. Presumably

NB! · Aristocracy · Archive · Mores · Humour

Princess Diana's younger brother has published a photograph from 1 July 1967, when, for Diana's sixth birthday party, their father, Earl Spencer, delighted the children by inviting Bert the camel from Peterborough Zoo to the estate

Interviews · Paris · People · Humour

“My father and his friends found a way to express themselves through the press

“My father and his friends found a way to express themselves through the press. The families of my classmates did not understand this: in their eyes, I was not fit company.” The French actress Michèle Bernier, daughter of Professor Choron, the founder of the magazines Hara-Kiri and Charlie Hebdo,

NB! · Society · Paris · Humour

A brazier in the shape of the Eiffel Tower: our answer to Macron

Books · Observations · Society · Humour

According to data for 2024, library attendance in Russia has risen one and a half times since 2020, reaching more than 482 thousand people; in 2020 libraries were visited by 288,802 people

Even so, you will understand, half a million people a year is catastrophically few for a literate, educated country of 140 million. Sad, comrades I alone visit some 300 times a year, though it is unclear here whether they counted unique visitors or the total number of visits. If the

A mustached man in a grey uniform coat with gold shoulder boards and a peaked cap in a metro car, with a man in a flat cap and red tie behind him.

NB! · Society · Humour

Man in a Stalin costume in a metro car and a joke about Beria

Will Stalin come out? Then send Beria down!