Summery Web - My Cyber Holidays

Variously, from Tumblr and Blog sites

around the web......

Hope you're starting to feel some of that

summery ease.

Whether it's beachy for you

or easy on the knees.

What does summer mean to you?

Refuge?  Or adventure?

  Sometimes the blog world works as both, too, don't you think?

It's almost the weekend.  I'll wish you a GOOD ONE early!

(Variously: dustjacketattic, bungalowclassic, poetryofmaterialthings et al)

Chinoiserie at Christie's South Kensington

Have you ever lurked in an auction house exhibition hall?

Mr. Paradis and I have poked our noses into them on Bond Street and it was intimidating.

Even though we were only having a look then at some vintage childrens' books and Bob Dylan paintings and sculptures (not many people know about Bob's sidelines - did you?)

The auction house team seemed to think that we might be members of some

international ring of smash-and-grab hoodlums.

Happily, it was a different visit on an easy sunny day at Christie's in South Kensington.  Where everyone was very solicitous and welcoming (maybe the sunshine put them in a good mood?) and left us to wonder undisturbed at the goodies displayed.

It was better than a museum.  We were able to get very up close and personal with this grouping 

of beautiful robes.  The needlework was delightful and imaginative.  Little hidden treasures imbedded in what are otherwise fairly plainly constructed, and simply shaped, womens' garments.

I have always had a weakness for this jewelry made of kingfisher feathers.  (But I am sadly not capable of being a properly responsible caretaker of such treasures.  I have too much reverence for them to imagine it would be a good idea for me to take any home.)

There was a whole further selection of blue and white porcelain which other visitors were allowed to handle and examine more closely:  (we were also offered such examining privileges but we declined)  brush holders, bronzes, chinese export things you might normally expect.

For me the visit was all about the robes and imagining Chinese ladies of old, with their tiny bound feet - reclining in carved and brick beds heated from below, or perched on little stools

with streaming lengths of silk

and dreams of dragons and chrysanthemums.

(Please excuse my clumsy retouching job.)

Imagine what the piece above might have looked like in its original colors.  (Which would be more beautiful - plain, or colored?)

This ornately rendered bodhisattva seemed to perfectly embody my own - and perhaps some others' - conflicted feelings about the country and culture of my mother's birth.

Don't be too timid if you get a chance at a similar visit.  Just because you don't have a giant checkbook doesn't mean you should deny yourself access to such a wonderful experience and resource.  Christie's auctions change frequently, there will always be something new to view and choose from.  And when you're done...the V&A is also close by!

We're having a Fourth of July weekend here in the U.S.  The week has been marred by even more tragedy - one thinks it will never ever stop now - so, so discouraging.  On a cheerier note, the plucky Icelanders have come from nowhere to hold their own, beat the Brits in the the Euros and scored two goals against Les Bleus at the Stade de France.   (Bravo!  Pretty good for a bunch of dentists!)

Stay well, Stay safe and Enjoy your Sweet Summer Days

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To Moro and To Moro and To Moro - And Finding, Instead, Morito

From Islington it's an easy stroll to Exmouth Market and Morito,

 little sister to the famed Moro, London's venerated Spanish/Moroccan destination eatery.

Morito will serve you yummy tapas earlier in the evening or late in an afternoon

when Moro is still not ready to serve dinner.

Since it's almost always a felicitous time for drink if you're Mr. Paradis.......

and EVERYTIME is a felicitous moment for something to eat if you're myself

then it seemed that we landed well....because Morito does not disappoint.

With lots of veggie and fishy options for us not so meaty eaters.  

Simplicity AND saveur.  Shall we say.

We did not regret finishing our meal with malaga raisin ice cream in a puddle of sherry.

On Exmouth Market, life is a lark.  Especially when the sun shines.

  The mess of "Brexit" was still a month away.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive."

- Sir Walter Scott

Late June Lagniappe

Little lovelies piling up in my photo files........

(Ben Pentreath Inspiration)

that I hope will put

(new Amsterdam map from Famille Summerbelle)

as big a smile on your faces as they put

(this and the following two pics via Tahitian Vanilla or Bohemian Wornest)

on mine.

It's hard to overstate the blood-pressure lowering effects

of furry things

(the Chelsea Flower Show source unknown)

and flowery things

(Bungalow Classic)

and furry things.

Including our "new" girl - still impossibly cute.



Hope it was a good weekend!
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Pub Perfected - The Old Queen's Head, Islington

You know the old expression - "never judge a book by its cover".

This Islington pub is the perfect embodiment of that.  A very ordinary exterior on a drizzly

London day gives way to.........

Utter tranquility and deliciousness on the day of our visit.

Little bouquets.  Miss-matched chairs.  A faint festive Scottish flair in the tartans and the antler chandeliers.  It's hard not to feel every so slightly transported to somewhere extra and special.

Old paintings.  BIG bouquets.  And that (Turquoise! Tiled!) BAR!

An intimate courtyard at the rear.  Overhung with vines and overlooked by poets (?)

A slightly louche and spooky staircase.....

and THAT BAR!  (I wanted to take that bar home with me - or sit with my knees against it for forever.....)

YE OLDE SECURITY DETAIL.

Ye Olde  fireplace details.....  (ye old wood fire)

ye olde fireplace swept clean on a spring day details.......

 Ye olde great big windows for the rare bright sunny days when the rain has stopped.

Star-i-ly covered stools (more details after mine own heart!)

Squishy leatherette banquettes.

"Ye olde Queen's Head"?  Neighborhood  in-joke?  (I wonder.)

You can check out the website here.  The Old Queen's Head in Islington is a pub of many faces.  You might find one or two that you like.