I married my best male friend twice – once in Florida and again in England. My mother made my wedding dress – she embroidered everything by hand and applied little pearls on my train. The dress was based on a mixture of Queen Victoria’s wedding dress, some 17th Century ornamentation, and was basically a bit of my favourite… Read on
Wrest Park in beautiful Bedfordshire, England, was in a state of dilapidation for many years, and connected to a research facility. Now, under the careful and capable management of English Heritage (of which I am a member), the house and its gardens are looking great: I came to visit this building during my search for a suitable venue… Read on
Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867). Age of Fable: Vols. I & II: Stories of Gods and Heroes. 1913. XI. Cupid and Psyche A CERTAIN king and queen had three daughters. The charms of the two elder were more than common, but the beauty of the youngest was so wonderful that the poverty of language is unable to express its due praise. The fame… Read on
During my Sex, Gender and Culture course, I learned from my professor that the American and the Japanese cultures are equal in how they admire cleanliness. I am an American, and yes, I like to wash twice daily, shave, use anti-perspirant on my underarms and I like perfume and I always wash my hands after I use the… Read on
My husband and I have a lot of friends who do historical re-enactments and we went along to a 1940s-themed party in Shoreditch, London. It would have been more fun had people behaved less like debauched people from the noughties and more like people in the 1940s (i.e. My research and interviews with people who lived in the… Read on
This fine piece by George Friedrich Handel is an enormously impressive work. Since 1727, this piece has been used not only for coronations of English monarchs but for weddings and other major occasions. The composition utilizes not only strings, but a full orchestra and chorus (and sometimes an organ). The result is a sublime example of Baroque musical… Read on