Monday 18 November 2019

Piccalilli and Topaz .



I  have always hated piccalilli . I find that your taste buds and sensibilities change over time .I had a speculative taste and loved piccalilli . Not sure what that says about me .

Anyway ,  I tried various types . Then I went to the market and bought two sets of ingredients . Veg diced small and plenty of mustard in one . Beetroot , red onion and red cabbage in the other . The latter comes out a glorious purple . I have yet to try it .


We have timed tickets for the major Hogarth exhibition at the Soanes . We have always loved sliding the wooden panels back and seeing each treat appear .
The attendant in the Hogarth room is real East End . He stood there looking cheesed off with life , heard us talking about the paintings and came over . He has read every book he can find on the period and the artist . He can tell you marvellous snippets about small details in the paintings you had never noticed before .
I wonder if the curator of this new exhibition can drop as many aitches in such an erudite fashion as our man or seem like he is a refugee from one of Hogarth's paintings . We will see .


Pushed my hair back the other day and discovered it has grown long enough to put it up again .Think of a slightly ruffled ballet dancers hair - like that .

This , then , is the excuse to get out my jewelry boxes . Over the years I have collected  silver and semi precious stones . Artisan and handmade . Think Elizabethan portrait but silver and stones and not gold .
I have dipped the plain silver things and am painstakingly doing each semi precious by hand .


I bought a new mascara in London the other day from a pop up in Carnaby Street . It's called "better than sex ". I rather doubt it somehow but each to their own .


So 
dishevelled ballerina hair , that mascara , and the freshly shone citrine , topaz , garnet and amathyst etc glimmering on my ears . That's me for Christmas .

Must think what my Christmas books will be this year too . Might do another nice fat Anthony Trollope , will fit in the Hogarth biography but have not decided on what else . Any ideas ?

5 comments:

  1. It is a joy to have a gallery attendant who can discuss the work shown. Too often you are shuffled past things, if it is busy, or they are under orders to be security guards.
    Hi via Tom's blog

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  2. The Soames! Possibly the most wonderful museum I have ever been to. It feels like a house in a dream, when you walk from room to room, never sure what you'll find around the next corner, behind the next door, in the next drawer. If I ever make it to London again, it is very high up on my list of places I want to go to.

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  3. I will write about it in December .

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  4. You seem ready for the season with your ballerina hair. I’m here.

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