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Steve McQueen

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For Steve McQueen, who would have celebrated his 83rd birthday, if he was still with us.

film/television inspiration

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Two films about Virginia Woolf and Daphne du Maurier

In the past weeks I saw two films and only when I finished the last one, I noticeds the silimar subject. Both were films about female authors I like, namely Virginia Woolf and Daphne du Maurier, and both films was about their romantic relationship with a woman. So, I decided to combine these two in one blogpost. The first film I liked, but I did not love it and the second one was very good. Vita and Virginia (2018) This film is about the author Vita Sackville West who is a populair author, but not very well respected. She is an open marriage with Harold Nicholson and is infamous for her lesbian affair with Violet Keppel. Now it is 1922 and Vita longs to be taken seriously as an author. She is thrilled when she gets invited to a party with the Bloomsbury group and when she meets them, she falls in love with Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf is respected and a serious writer, but not a populair one (Mrs Dalloway would be her breakthrough) and she is shy and awkward in publ...

Les misérables, Victor Hugo

A man tries to better his life, but his past keeps haunting him. The story of Jean Valjean is the most well-known storyline in Les misérables . The story Jean Valjean is released from prison after serving a 19 year sentence. He only got a few years for stealing, but more years were added when he tried to escape. He is now bitter and does not fit into normal society. Luckily for him he meets the good bishop of Digne, who manages to get Valjean on the right path. Jean Valjean takes on a new name and forms a new life, doing a lot of good for the poor. Unfortunately police-inspector Javert does not want to give up and it is his mission to get Valjean to prison again. Valjean and his foster daughter flee to Paris where they will have to survive among the many others who live in squalor. Les Misérables is a typical 19th century novel in the sense that is has an array of characters, who all have ties to eachother. Some of those ties are a little to coincidental an...

A Florence diary, Diana Athill

In 1947 Diana Athill travelled to Florence in Italy. She was leaving an England behind that was still recovering from the war. Of course there had also been war in Italy, but somehow the sun and the art and the wonders of a foreign country made this all seem a little less bleak. In those days there was no airplane, but you had to take the boat to France, and then several trains to finally arrive in Florence. Diana Athill travelled with her cousin Pen and together they spend two weeks in this beautiful city. They made excursions in and around Florence, climbed to San Miniato al Monte and admired the architecture, while they tried to keep to their budget, try out all the different dishes Italy had to offer, and meet some helpful men. Diana went into the San Lorenzo thinking it would not be much, only to discover the Medici chapel and falling in love with it. To make sure she would be able to tell her mother all about the trip, she kept a diary and this has recently been discove...

Big trees

A few weeks ago I was in a park where there were some very big trees .Not very tall, but very wide. As you can see, some branches even need extra support. I do like the effect of the dried strings with flowers or leaves (I have no idea), it made it look very special. I have no idea what kind of tree this is, I just think it is beautiful.

Imperial dining at the Hermitage in Amsterdam

This weekend my mother and I went to see the beautiful exhibition Dining with the tsars in de Hermitage in Amsterdam. Only in the 18 th century Europe learned how to make porcelain, before that it was always brought back from China. Tableware made from porcelain were bought by all the crowned heads in Europe, to use themselves or to give it to other kings and emperors. The tsars in Russia ordered many beautiful sets of dinnerware. Plates, cups, soup tureens, servings bowls and of course beautiful centerpieces were all part of one set. In the Hermitage they had placed the tables just like they would have looked like during a dinner at court. There was dinnerware from Catherine the Great, Alexander II and Nicolas II. There even was a set given to Stalin (quite nice) for his birthday. Stalin's souptureen Dining with the tsars is a very beautiful exhibition and we loved it. The Hermitage is one of the most beautiful museums in Amstersam, the building is also very ...

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