Farina House and Roger & Gallet: two centuries of refined fragance

In 1708, Giovanni Maria Farina, an italian perfum maker, wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain". He named his fragrance Eau de Cologne, in honour of his new hometown, Cologne.

The founding of Farina House dates back to 1709. Farina’s list of customers expanded at a great pace and, his perfume, which delighted the upper nobility, soon became a royal and imperial favourite. The company is still run by the founder’s descendants, who are the 8th generation of family members. The company has held Royal Warrants as purveyors of perfume to the German, French, Italian and British Royal Families.

Madrid BP Party

The famous and controversial site http://www.beautifulpeople.com/ launches one of its glamorous parties, this time in Madrid. Worldwide exclusive clubs welcome this events. Few days ago the party took place at the elitist Aura Mayfair Club, in London http://www.auramayfair.com/

Cinematk

Perhaps the best Spanish digital TV channel . It accommodates either Hollywood or Asian and European cinema, either independent films or well-known masterpieces, black-and-white movies, old, avant garde and experimental films, original version with subtitles. Programmes include thematic seasons and off stage documentaries. For those who believe in art as well as entertaiment.

http://www.cinematk.com/



Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers: poetry in the light of Emily Dickinson

Safe in their alabaster chambers,
Untouched by morning and untouched by noon,
Sleep the meek members of the resurrection,
Rafter of satin, and roof of stone. Light laughs
the breeze in her castle of sunshine;
Babbles the bee in a stolid ear;
Pipe the sweet birds in ignorant cadence,--
Ah, what sagacity perished here!

Grand go the years in the crescent above them;
Worlds scoop their arcs, and firmaments row,
Diadems drop and Doges surrender,
Soundless as dots on a disk of snow.

(1861 version) "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson" by Emily Dickinson

This mysterious woman, this "Myth", conveys in a few words a large amount of feelings. She distresses, dislocates, disorders, frightens. After having read "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers" (especially 1861 version) I went to sleep upset and I felt that nothing would ever be the same again...

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know about it. Is there any other way?"–Emily Dickinson

James Dean and Oscar Wilde in the light of Steven Morrissey

"James Dean, even though he was making enormous strides forward with his craft, was still incredibly miserable and obviously doomed. Which is exactly the quality Oscar Wilde had. That kind of mystical knowledge that there is something incredibly black around the corner. People who feel that way are quite special and always end up in a mangled mess."

Steven Morrissey. Smash Hits. June 1984.

 

Editors: ‘In This Light And On This Evening’, a London background

‘In This Light And On This Evening’ was the start of a new chapter for Editors and the band came together in London for the recording sessions with producer Flood at the start of 2009 with a determination to push their sound into wholly new territory. Whilst all four members were keen to make a far more electronic record, they were determined to ‘give the machines a human feel’ in the words of lead singer Tom Smith.
London dominates the record, both lyrically and musically. According to Tom, now resident in the capital for four years, ‘I actually think it’s in every song. In the right time and place, in the right light and on the right evening, something you have seen 1,000 times before can still take your breath away’ whilst the background of electronic whirrs and hums that run under many of the tracks mimic the constant background noise of the city.

Source: http://www.editorsofficial.com/

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is perhaps the oldest pub in England, dating from around 793. Located in St Albans, on the way from St Albans Cathedral to the Verulamium Park, beside the River Ver. There is a legend about tunnels running between the cathedral and the pub once used by monks. Nowadays there are not cocks fighting outdoors, but wild and fatty ducks running around, old and twisted oaks, and bright and beautiful swans going up and down the river. Indoors there is a  half-light, even heavy, but cosy atmosphere where you can enjoy a beer by the fireplace. At the "Fighting Cocks" you can really taste and smell in olden days.