Rather wishing for this view back this week…we’re in the gray portion of fall/winter. Which is to say, the entirety of fall/winter.
Category: Humor
Two of our nephews made a bargain to go a year without video games in exchange for a to be determined request, and to our collective surprise, they made it! They also gave Jeff and I a lesson in hypothetical parental bargaining because one of them asked for a motorcycle which my brother and sister-in-law are now contractually obligated to produce. But what the younger one really wanted…was a pet lizard.
Today Jeff and I learned what he called him: Harry.
Literally so he could say to it, “You’re a lizard, Harry!”
Carry on.
“Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.”
― Gustave Flaubert
It’s Friday, I’m putting the Russian event to bed and gearing up for one involving Rolls Royce. Life is surreal right now. It’s also Jeff’s 29th birthday and I get to tease him about being old (while wiser people roll their eyes at us). I have to say, he is aging marvelously.
We celebrated earlier in the week with an excellent dinner at a restaurant we’d both wanted to go to for over a year, and it was worth it! Tonight it’s pizza and movies with presents. Over the weekend it’s freelance, food, and writing/editing. I’m pleasantly tired and looking forward to it. If I could find a way to mix in regular exercise again, I would be downright impressive. Here are you links, with extra holiday cheer, and share anything else worth reading in the comments!
The John Lewis Christmas film has arrived. And I am in irrational love with it. Call me ridiculous, but as the companion of an intrepid and well loved teddy bear, I think this advert nails both the relationship and the general loveliness of the season. Sue me.
Sainsbury too?! Guys, my heart grew three sizes this day.
And speaking of childhood wonder: loop forever.
The madness needs to stop!
Newly working with luxury developers as I am (she humbled bragged), these caught my eye.
In case you haven’t noticed them on The Toast, their women in Western art pieces are hilarious. But this is my favorite yet.
I snort laughed, remembering the feeling of the limitations of my first paycheck well.
Oh dear…some of Jeff’s “dance” moves are validated…
“I do the thinking, you do as you are told.” -Alva Vanderbilt to her daughter Consuelo (later Duchess of Marlborough) Sit back and strap in, kittens, because today we have a massive post for a massive house. Blenheim Palace is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and began as a project of the first Duke and Duchess, who were favorites of Queen Anne. Today it’s still one of the grandest homes in the country. 
For a sense of the size we’re talking, this massive entrance isn’t even in use. 
Like many great homes, much of the house is open to the public for a fee. But it’s still a working estate in many ways, and as these houses were supposed to do, employees a small army. 
We absolutely lucked out (a theme of our travels this summer) because it just so happened that Blenheim was hosting an exhibition by the famed artist and activist Ai Weiei. The contrast between the establishment that one of the most prominent aristocratic families and houses of Britain represents and the anti-establishment artist was quite interesting and his ultramodern pieces within the historic staterooms was very effective. This chandelier is one of his pieces, and does not belong to to the house. 
One of the most famous of the family, Consuelo Vanderbuilt was one of the American heiresses whose family traded her wealth and beauty for position. By the time she married the 9th Duke (under duress), Blenheim was in serious need of funds. During the Gilded Age, these marriages were the stuff of society papers and saved many a British estate. Downton Abbey portrays this, somewhat unrealistically, but the reality behind it is correct. Many American beauties, including Winston Churchill’s mother (who married another member of the extended Marlborough family) made the bargain. One interesting fact I learned is that the Marlborough family is the only other highborn family in Britain, besides the Royal Family, to allow daughters to inherit the title. And interestingly enough they did it three hundred years before the current government got around to doing it. The 1st Duke and Duchess had several children but none of their sons lived to adulthood, so a special inheritance law was passed that applied only to their title to allow their eldest daughter to assume the title of Duchess in her own right, rather than as the consort of a Duke. Downright revolutionary stuff at the time. 
And speaking of! One of Ai Weiwei’s pieces covers the carpet. Contrast the historical art with the new… 
Ceramic crabs, a comment on the sea-based economy of some parts of China. 
Commentary on tradition and stability. 
Pieces representing the Chinese zodiac signs… 
Located in the unbelievably big formal dinning room. Apparently this cavern is never used by the family except on state visits…and for the family Christmas dinner. I don’t think I’d be able to eat a thing with that much history bearing down on me. 
She might have been miserably married and later happily divorced and remarried, but Consuelo’s influence still reigns supreme at Blenheim. The palace might not be standing today if not for her money. That banner over the fireplace also has an interesting role, apparently it’s the “rent” that the Dukes pay to the crown, a new one is presented annually, and the Queen has a collection of them somewhere. 
Another Ai Weiei piece beneath a portrait of Louis XIV. One Duke had a small obsession with Louis’ larger than life persona and sense of building scale and decided to redecorate Blenheim, modeled upon Versailles. The effect was less than impressive as Blenheim might be massive, but it’s not Versailles, and the scale of the new gilt and moldings ended up not being what His Grace envisioned. By which time, of course, the money was spent and the fait was accompli. 
Pearls as rice. 
The beautiful library with a most un-quiet looking (and staggeringly massive) organ at the far end which is kept in good form by daily recitals. I was quite perturbed to have missed that! And on the walls… 
A series of Ai Weiwei at various significant social, political, and religious sites with his, um, reaction. Offensive yes, but an interesting series to hang where it does. 
Horrible grounds, really. Quite tragic. 
Those poor Marlboroughs. 
Such an embarrassment. 
Oh well, I guess we all have our trials.
“I have good reason to be content,
for thank God I can read and
perhaps understand Shakespeare to his depths.”
― John Keats
I don’t understand people who say, “Oh, I’ve already been to such-and-such, I don’t need to go back.” Things change, all the time. It’s pretty much the only guarantee in the universe. Even extremely old places change, and we as people certainly do, so it’s always worth revisiting a lovely and interesting spot to see what’s new or how your experience of it may shift.
In a related note, I don’t exactly understand why so few Britons travel within their own country as infrequently as they do. When I told a British friend how we were going on a trip around the southwest with my in-laws and mentioned we would be driving from London to Salisbury, he sighed and said it sounded like a terribly long drive. It wasn’t. I think we’re dealing with a sense of scale issue. The US is a third of an extremely large continent and Britain is smaller than many states, what is long to them simply isn’t to us. At any rate, we saw both Stratford-upon-Avon and Blenheim Palace in a single day and weren’t rushed in the slightest, in spit of the fact that they were in opposite directions from our starting point.
Stratford-upon-Avon is lovely, but is really only one reason to go: Shakespeare. His family homes, that of his wife, and the church where he was probably baptized and married and definitely buried are within easy distances of one another and well worth a visit. The last time I was here was when I was studying in London still in university and there have been some changes. I don’t believe the extensive (and quite good) visitor’s center with accompanying exhibits had been completed then, and it was lovely to have a look round.
Shakespeare’s family home is nicely the same as it has been for many centuries now.
There have also been some recent research developments in the church, including some potentially hidden Catholic imagery, which would have been quite a big deal given the political and religious realities of the day.
What really hooked me on this trip, however, was the gentleman in the striped shirt standing center. He was a wealth of historical information about the church, Shakespeare’s day, and the ways both the building and the faith climate would have influenced him. He also talked extensively about Elizabethan burial practices, which seems gruesome but was rather interesting. If you’ve every wondered how centuries of burials have been managed in enclosed spaces, the answer is that most churches would perform burials in circular way around the church, moving like the hands of a clock. It would take about a local generation to complete a pass, after which the bones would mostly be dug up (the flesh would have, er, been taken care of by time and other things) to be further processed by burning or mashing up. The word bonfire derives from this, a “bone-fire” meant to reduce bulky human remains to more manageable chunks.
Hence the famous scene in Hamlet of the gravediggers mucking about with Yorick et al.
However if you were very wealthy or very influential, your remains could avoid this fate by permanent interment. You had to pay a hefty fee to the church powers of course, but in an age where being remembered was important, plenty of people found the funds. Billy S. doesn’t need a memorial for that, of course, but it’s very nice that we have one anyway.
Indeed.
“I cannot get behind the word ‘luncheon.'”
“I can get behind ‘luncheon,’ but that’s because I want to be the Dowager Countess of Grantham as portrayed by Maggie Smith in my old age.”
“I want to be Lucille Bluth.”
-Katarina and C.
We’re going to rule nursing home in our old age.
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
― Sun Tzu
It’s been a very busy week, ducklings, and I’m properly knackered.
The sort term gig I have picked up through the end of the year is to be an interim marketing and sales coordinator at a rather impressive property development firm in West London. I’m one week in and I’ve been lucky enough to be decently trained by the outgoing individual in order to get a good grasp on the company and projects. I’m also helping to organize an event that is costing more money than I think I see in a year on extremely short notice–leading to odd non sequitur exclamations like, “Do we have vodka?!” and “More black marble!”–but it’s a good chance to prove myself both competent and useful. I’m actually having a pretty great time!
In the meantime, this weekend will be filled with freelancing and dates with Jeff who is similarly in a crunch time at work, meaning that hangout time is a priority. It’s all things business at the Small Dog residence. Here are your links, kittens, and let me know what you’re doing this weekend in the comments.
Interesting news piece and gallery on the history of mourning clothing.
Maps and the Roman empire. It’s like someone made a clickbait headline just for me!
After a big and rewarding but demanding week, this list perked me right up.
Very interesting piece on the history of the job role of an executioner and his/his family’s place in society. There’s more to it than meets the eye, apparently.
This needs to happen, Disney. Because if your face is wider than your waist, something is actively wrong.
Some people have too much money. This site (and this object) is a thing.
We need to take ALL the day trips.
Fascinating. (Incidentally, we’re right in the middle of cheap housing, thanks.)
My latest piece for The Collaboreat about my favorite London food truck. If you visit, assume that you will be taken to eat here.
“He stood staring into the wood for a minute, then said: “What is it about the English countryside — why is the beauty so much more than visual? Why does it touch one so?” ― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle The recap rolls on with our adventures in the Cotwolds. I’d never been to this area of Britain before and was very excited to see it for the first time. Not least of all because we stayed in this charming house with an equally charming garden: 
In the hallway to the B&B was an old typewritten booklet about the history of the house and village. Like most villages, back in the Middle Ages, all of the houses were associated with one larger manor house, and to this day the cottages bear names like, “Manor Barn,” and “The Old Stables,” simply because at one point that was the function they served. There were also less than 20 houses to this village, also typical for the Middle Ages and most of human history. 
To sum up a lot of impressions, the Cotswolds are unbelievably charming but in some places suffer because of their popularity. Several town, while they have absolutely retained their character are quite obviously destination hubs and there is a degree of charm that wears off a bit. 
Though I’m quick to stress not much because, again, the area is phenomenally beautiful. 
And old. Always a thing I like! 
Medieval and modern buildings stand side by side and only careful examinations of the architecture will tell you what era they come from. 
But without doubt for me, the best parts of the Cotwolds are the smaller and less well known villages. They are a bit harder to get to and there’s not much to see, but the utter charm of the place sinks into your bones in the most delightful way. This village, for instance, is made up of mostly a single short road that loops around a green containing a phonebox, a church, and a pub… 
…where people, riding their horses, set them out to graze before stopping in for a pint. We saw the Cotwolds by car, which really means we could take in the majority of the area in a single day. I’d like to go back and do a walking/hiking trip–or indeed a few days on horseback! Seeing them by car was fun, but I think that spending a few days tromping through the countryside might make it even better. 
Because, touristy in places or not, it’s just dang gorgeous.
“Don’t loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club.”
― Jack London
Happy Halloween!
My life got extremely busy, extremely quickly the week. I just picked up a short term gig as a project and marketing assistant coordinator for a luxury retail design company–no exaggeration, Russian oligarchs may or may not be involved–and two temp assignments in my field over three days. I’m very pleased at the unexpected good fortune, just trying to schedule it all in. I also had a doctors appointment, a venue scouting, a creative onboarding meeting, and a mass of brand new freelance assignments all at pop up at once on my To Do list for tomorrow.
Translation? There is a pile of dishes in my sink that are just going to have to wait and heaven help the rest of the flat. Jeff’s right next to me in the weeds too, this week, and has been waking up a 5am to get some extra hours in at work. I foresee grumpiness until Sunday naps can rectify the situation. In the meantime, here are your links and let me know what you’re getting up to in the credits.
The 11th Duke of Marlborough passed away just a couple of weeks ago, which news caught my eye since we were so recently at Blenheim Palace, the Marlborough seat. Apparently the 12th Duke and his father had a major falling out (due to a rather public drug addiction issue and other problems) and steps were taken in the 1990s to make sure that though he gets the title, he isn’t entirely master of Blenheim. Who needs Downton Abbey, I ask you? Tatler has a look back at the 11th Duke’s admittedly full life.
Say it with me: freedom of religion does not mean the ability to force other people to conform to your religion. In fact, it’s kind of supposed to protect against that. This sort of new genuinely frightens me.
Interesting piece on my generation’s trend of not buying the things that our parents and grandparents considered necessities–and that traditionally pull nations out of Recessions. Truthfully, I don’t miss having a car at all and it will be years before we even think about the potential of buying instead of renting.
“Your father’s state of health must be a great drawback. Why does not he try Bath? Indeed he should. Let me recommend Bath to you.”
-Jane Austen, Emma
After the Roman baths, the next best thing in Bath is the 18th century Pump Room. It features in Austen novels, Gillray’s cartoons lampooning the Regency’s main figures, and countless travelogs. Largely unchanged since it was built, it was one of the main places for people to meet and greet, see and be seen in the 18th and 19th centuries.
And without doubt, the focal point is the fountain where do this day you can pay 50p to “take the waters,” as those who came to Bath over the years did to improve their health. On this visit, I was happy to just take pictures. I’ve tasted the water, and I’m convinced it’s more kill than cure.
The restaurant is lovely. I heartily recommend taking tea if you get the chance.
And those three performers? Apparently they are called the Pump Room Trio, and as an institutional group, they are the longest established residential ensemble in Europe. Knock back your tea (or mineral water, if you’re a masochist) and scones listening to beautiful classical music while feeling you most Austen-esque.
Small Dog Syndrome 
