2/2 Saint James's Palace & its gardens, as they appeared in the 1670s. Painted by Hendrick Danckerts.

View of Greenwich & the Queen's House with London off in far distance, 1675. By Hendrick Danckerts, whose day is today.

Good night.

open.spotify.com/track/08LqP4...

Well, actually… yes. #mostshocking

Recently reviewed a very comprehensive survey of romantic fiction which included, inter alia, My Tentacle Romance and also Unhinged, about a sentient door that eventually turns into a man. Made me feel rather ancient and out of touch.

👀 Reading ...

End of days.

Poster for Barbary Coast. Faces of the stars, Miriam Hopkins, Edward G Robinson, Joel McCrea, with a roughhouse gambling scene in the background

Barbary Coast (1935). Set in a funny, brutal, mudbound, fog-shrouded Gold Rush San Francisco, the story boils down to a corny old romance if you want it to, and it is certainly a standard western in that it’s about barbarism vs. civilisation, with Miriam Hopkins poised uncomfortably 'twixt the two

Movie poster for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Rewatch: THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946)

A teenage girl’s past—an accidental killing, a cover-up, a man’s wrongful hanging—comes back to haunt her now that she’s a successful business executive.

Barbara Stanwyck leads a fine cast in this #FilmNoir involving …
1/2
#FilmSky #MovieSky

What happens when a painting such as Landseer’s MONARCH OF THE GLEN becomes ubiquitous, endlessly reproduced? How do learn really to see it again? @suzanneraine.bsky.social tells the masterpiece’s origin story this week on Garlic&Pearls…

Fish Market, 1627. Brilliant work by Jacob Cuyp, whose day is today. Fish seller & woman stare at each other. Maid in red stares at you.

On the 30th of April at Ciné Lumière I will be introducing a screening of Une Parisienne, a 1957 romantic comedy starring an irrepressible young Brigitte Bardot.

For @thetls.bsky.social I reviewed L'étranger, François Ozon's adaptation of Camus's classic – as loaded as the gun carried by Meursault on the beach.

The Monarch of the Glen: The Surprisingly Passionate Tale of Landseer's Emblematic Masterpiece Podcast Episode · Garlic & Pearls · 17 April · 45min

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g...

Behold THE MONARCH OF THE GLEN, the subject of our new episode of Garlic & Pearls. Who painted it? Why? Is it a Scottish icon or a terrible encapsulation of ‘Balmorality’?
@suzanneraine.bsky.social has all the answers, and a few surprises too! Tune in!

A ghastly thought. We must be steadfast.

Ha! Absolutely. This is just an impression but I find that more men tend to be fans of BL – for a variety of reasons no doubt.

This still from BL immediately made me think of Stand and Deliver, Adam and the Ants and that fantastic video with Amanda Donohoe!

Literary crime scene? Or nothing to see here? 🎧

Introducing the two cousins: Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre version), 1483, by Leonardo da Vinci. Today is his day.

Self - and André Le Nôtre on a plinth!

Broadcasting to you from Paris, in the Tuileries, a classic jardin à la française. Tune in to Garlic&Pearls to learn more!

I was once interested in an archaeological discovery behind the church in Ile Rousse, so began following the municipality on Twitter ( before it became rancid). Every Friday I would receive the menu for the school meals in the Balagne and - as you point out - they were nutritional and sophisticated

Sometimes they will have things like a semaine du terroir - in a primary school.

Hahaha! I struggle on, Matthew. We are a home-made indie podcast, so I am indeed doing PR for Garlic&Pearls - I feel like the town crier!

La Cantine: How does the French Republic create petits gastronomes? | Garlic & Pearls - What makes the British so British and the French so French? Time for lunch! Muriel takes Suzanne through the workings of French school canteens. What’s on the menu? How does the French Republic make  petits...

As a companion piece to this @bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social report, may I suggest an illuminating episode of the GarlicAndPearls podcast? Tune in!

garlicandpearls.com/episode/la-c...

Deep-fried food banned in new plans for school dinners Schools are being told to cut down on sugary desserts, and provide more vegetables and whole grains.

In France, children eat in a more structured and omnivorous way. The idea is that school lunches are: firstly, part of education, secondly, devised in harmony with food eaten at home, and thirdly - in state schools - an expression of Republican laïcité, or secularism.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A most ingenious Umlaut.

This week on Garlic&Pearls we go outside. But really it’s to look at geometry.

2/2 Madonna & child, who looks uneasy -- perhaps because is surrounded by dark bodiless putti. Creepy! By Francesco del Cossa.