NB! · Aristocracy · Books · London · Mores

A Few Words on the Correct Pronunciation of English Aristocratic Surnames and Proper Names, According to a Reference Work on the British Aristocracy

NB! · London · Mores · Humour

Macarons or macaroni, after all?

Macarons or macaroni, after all? In the middle of the eighteenth century, the word "macaroni" in England denoted neither a pasta nor even a dessert, but dandies who laboured diligently to dress up as French aristocrats. A macaroni could be recognised by the tiny hat perched atop a

NB! · Architecture · Books · Mores

The Interior of Marcel Proust's Apartment

Observations · Mores · Society

A favourite Facebook group asks what Soviet roubles and Beryozka shop certificates are worth

A favourite Facebook group asks what Soviet roubles and Beryozka shop certificates are worth. And, you know, looking at the latest political events in the world, I allow myself to disagree with the experts who say they are now worth nothing. I would be especially wary of swearing that they

Moscow · Mores · Nature

The lioness Kinuli, who lived in a Moscow communal flat with writer Vera Chaplina

In the 1930s everyone knew the story of the lioness from the communal flat at 16 Bolshaya Dmitrovka, and not only in the USSR. Vera Chaplina, a member of staff at the Moscow Zoo and a writer of animal stories, took home a lion cub whose mother had rejected her.

Old caricature with a French caption: a huge truffle looms over a balding man in a dark suit, with other guests seated in the background.

Observations · Mores · Humour

Caricature of a dinner guest who must eat truffles he dislikes out of politeness

How an unfortunate guest who detests truffles sees a truffle on his plate. I can tell you that he is plainly not in a Moscow restaurant

Monarchies · Mores · Society

Elizabeth II held a tea party at Sandringham on the eve of the 70th anniversary of her reign

The Queen hosted a tea party in the ballroom of Sandringham House on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee. On 6 February Elizabeth II will become the first British monarch to reign for 70 years. The Queen traditionally spends the anniversary of her accession at Sandringham, where her father King

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Mores

Princess Anne, Prince Charles and the Dogs

London · Mores · People · Pop Culture

Maggie Smith with her son Toby Stephens

Maggie Smith with her son Toby Stephens. What? Yes! Incidentally, Maggie's elder son Chris Larkin is also an actor. When Toby was studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a rumour went round that one of the students was Maggie Smith's child. Everyone

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Mores · People

Grace Kelly, aged twenty-six, on her wedding day in April 1956

Monarchies · Museums · Observations · Mores · Paris

Marie Antoinette's knitting needles are kept at the Conciergerie museum in Paris

Marie Antoinette's knitting needles in the Conciergerie museum, a former prison in the very heart of Paris. Marie Antoinette was fond of various kinds of needlework, knitting among them. It is known that, while in confinement, the Queen of France tried to carry on with her knitting in

London · Monarchies · Museums · Mores

Napoleon's travelling carriages after Waterloo and the replica bought by Lord Byron

Since we are speaking of the good life today, here is an episode on the love of travelling in comfort. When Napoleon retreated after the defeat at Waterloo, before the headlong onslaught of the Prussian army, he was obliged to abandon his carriage, drawn by six horses, at the little