My brother’s girlfriend also presented me (Jill) with a gift from exotic lands this Christmas – if you consider Germany exotic. The focus of it is the drunken, debauched well-to-do from the era of the early 20th Century, as drawn for political satirical magazine Simplicissimus, a weekly from the last century. I don’t understand German so this is partly guess work. I am fluent in pictures however and can definitely recognise the signs of drunk and debauched.

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What I got for my Christmas #1

Happy New Year to you all. After a hectic Christmas at My Friend’s House, and a bit of radio silence – sorry about that – we’re back reporting on our Christmas gifts. This year was a very special Christmas as my brother returned from Tokyo for a visit, bringing with him his lovely girlfriend. They […]

Address book: buying a bathroom basin

My friend the folk singer only really found musical success in his 40s. I heard him interviewed on the radio once, and he described himself as ‘the longest drum-roll in history.’ So it is with my plan to make-over my bathroom. You’d be within your rights, dear readers, to ask when I’m going to quit […]

New colour obsession: Blue and tobacco

Ros and I used to work with stylist Poppy Norton who has always been a walking embodiment of the next colour combination you’ll obsess over. We had dinner with her recently and she was wearing the dynamite combination of blue and tobacco. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it since. It’s sort of […]

“Londoners clearly prefer streets…”

After my post about visiting Dennis Severs’ house in Spitalfields, and hearing from the man responsible for its upkeep about how the surrounding area has changed beyond recognition, my ears are pricked up for stories about development of other old bits of London. Facebook is full of pages about places I love – Royal Vauxhall […]