‘I am always half afraid of finding a clever novel too clever and of finding my own story and my own people all forestalled.’ Jane Austen, 30 April 1811. Its strange to think of Jane Austen doing a disservice to women writers but it seems that the sheer weight of her legacy has been such that some of her female contemporaries – equally of not more successful in their day
Another name to add to the panoply of women whose role in history has been under-recorded. Lesley Gibb was the older sister of the Gibb brothers who went on to global and enduring fame as the Bee Gees, brilliant singers and songwriters all. Lesley Gibb had two key moments in the Bee Gee story. The first was pulling her toddler brother Robin from a river and saving him from drowning,
If you are passionate about mid century design and architecture, you could do an interesting if unglamorous cultural road trip around Scotland to admire the works of Peter Womersely. The Yorkshire born architect contributed edgy and iconic buildings to places such as Selkirk, Coatbridge and Galashiels. Born in 1923, Womersley studied law at Cambridge after serving in the army. One of his first commissions was a sheikh’s palace in Kuwait
Ever looked at an album cover and thought – I could turn that into a movie? Joel and Ethan Coen clearly have. Their latest film, just opened in America and soon to open in the UK, is about a struggling folk musician and is a paean to the iconic Freewheelin Bob Dylan cover. Seems a slim premise for a movie but the Coen brothers can probably pull it off.
Here’s a final chance to view the terribly romantic Head Over Heels before all goes dark in advance of the Oscar deliberations. The British Oscar nominated short was written and directed by Timothy Reckart and produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly as a graduation project from the National Film and Television School. Good luck to them come Oscar night!
Are libraries like dogs and resemble their owners? Which of these celebrity libraries looks as you’d expect it to when you know who the owner is? Diane Keaton’s (above), Karl Lagerfeld’s and Ralph Lauren’s could be guessed perhaps. Nigella Lawson’s looks messier than expected but it’s an old picture from House & Garden – maybe she’s tidied up now she’s a domestic goddess. Via Beautiful-Libraries.com Karl Lagerfeld – wonder if
The rosy cheeked and elegantly coiffed image of Robert Burns as portrayed by Alexander Nasmyth is the one that has come to be universally accepted – but how close is it to reality? Has the old familiar image prevented us from seeing the real man? Using forensic technology, a 3D model was recently created at Dundee University to show Robert Burns ‘as he really was’. Apart from having Burns look
Not sure this is the most straightforward way to get from from Edinburgh to Skye but it is certainly impressive. Stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill heads home to Dunvegan on his bike to the accompaniment of Loch Lomond and The Jezebels in this superb film by Dave Sowerby. The film’s not new but is always worth watching.
Innovative Polish architects KWK Promes have come up with ultimate in home security: a house that can transform itself into a featureless dark grey box. Located on the outskirts of a small village near Warsaw, the stunning house was designed by Robert Konieczny for a private client and completed in 2009. The reason for the massive, wall wide external television screen (see bottom of post) is unexplained. Perhaps it’s to keep
This great piece by Wendy Molyneux writing in McSweeney’s, captures to perfection the emotions stirred by unsought child rearing advice… “Oh, hello, person I have never met before! I am so glad you ran up to me on this street where I am walking with my baby. You did not scare me at all with your very loud voice and the way you grabbed my arm! In fact, I am