...1958...

"Understated Elegance"

"My tastes are simple; I am easily satisfied with the best."
- Sir Winston Churchill

A Few Pictures from the Elephant Parade - London - May/June, 2010....

(Photos by Tavarua)

I was there...Why?...Who does not like elephants...???

"Elephant Parade London celebrated the beauty of the magnificent Asian elephant. With 260 painted elephants festooning the parks, squares and streets central London, it was the biggest and most beautiful outdoor art event the city has ever seen.

The elephants were on the streets of London from May to June, attracting an estimated audience of 25 million, and benefitting 17 conservation charities in the UK. Our Elephant Parade auctions raised over £4 million."

 -Text from the site -

http://www.elephantfamily.org/

                                     

                                

                                

                               

                                  

                               

Does it Matter ? Travel Glasses and a Glass of Amarula.....

(Photos by Tavarua)

Well, that is correct we will be sipping Amarula and yes, (smile) one ice cube... a moment of enjoyment...

No these are not Theresienthal glasses - they are Moser and was made for Rowland Ward....

Beautiful glasses featuring big game...The question is - does it matter ???

 Rowland Ward company made its name in the late 19th & early 20th Centuries as taxidermists...

You Are Invited to an Early Breakfast....They say it is the .....

"Karachi Toad"

most important meal of the day ...hmmmm......Breakfast meals vary ... .....typically... in different cultures around the globe - so what about Karachi Toad???

(Photos by Tavarua)

Absolutely - Not - Simple Early breakfast....I am Steaming Malaysian Prawns....

Ready to be steamed for 3 to 5 minutes in water, spices and vinegar...

Steaming...

Ready to be served....

Enjoy...and remember..Oscar Wilde stated;

“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.”

Travel Cologne (Part III) - "Antica Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella"....Since 1221...

one of the oldest pharmacies in the world.  A world of aroma....herbs... close your eyes and feel the essence...essence of creation and passion...Once a sancutary for the Florentine monks - set in a distinctive Gothic architecture, licensed in 1612 by the Dominican Monks.

  Ancient texts and secret recipes - Simple, Unusual Fragrance creations...

This was the "Farmacia" also officially the purveyors of the Medici.

"Acqua della Regina" was created specifically for Catherine de Medici...

They invented the cologne water. Their production is limited, local sourced ingredients and rigorous production standards based on quality of natural ingredients.

“Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume”
- Jean de Boufflers

Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella,Florence, Italy - you will here find ancient recipes like Acqua di Santa Maria Novella,anything for your needs in the art of shaving, facial and body care, bath salts and essences, room fragrances, accessories, and more fragrances...

A taste for Opera - George Henry Hubert Lascelles...

“An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.”
- Maria Callas

7th Earl of Harewood opera impresario and former director of the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden (1951-1953 and 1969-1972) later the chairman of the English National Opera from 1978 to 1981.  A music enthusiast with a deep devotion to the arts and the opera. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. Commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. During World War II, he fought in Italy. POW 1944 to 1945 and ADC to his great Uncle - Earl of Athlone - 1944 to 1946.

 Lord and Lady Harewood

“My passion for opera-the eternal truth of drama through music-has grown, while my interest in performance has diminished. Which is perhaps as good a reason as any other to go quietly.”

- Lord Harewood

Chancellor of the University of York from 1962 to 1967. 

Australian Order of Merit in 1959.
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1986.

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

Hippopotamus.......teeth and tootpaste??? or chewing gum for sparkling teeth...

Sundowner?.......Theresienthal...(Bohemian glass-since 1836)

"Kilimanjaro"

If you do care for Moser...

I am sure you will appreciate..Theresienthal...named after a Queen...and the wife of Ludwig I - King of Bavaria.

“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul”

- George Bernard Shaw

Once again...

(Photos by Tavarua)