Fogs in London

Smog of London hiding Big Ben - Taken by Linley Sambourne, 1905

Lanie MT saved to Historic Britain
London ~ 1959 ~ Photo by Sergio Larrain ~ From 'London 1958~59'

Mstislav Rostropovich (March 27, 1927 – April 27, 2007)

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich KBE (Russian: Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович Ростропо́вич, Mstislav Leopol'dovič Rostropovič, IPA: [rəstrɐ'pɔ̝vʲɪ̝ʨ]), known to close friends as “Slava,” was a Russian cellist and conductor.
He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya.
He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century.

Mstislav Rostropovich playing Bach as the Berlin Wall falls, 1989.

Jack and the Beanstalk
Джек и бобовые зерна

Based on a traditional folk tale
Retold by Iona Treahy

Once there was a boy called Jack who lived with his mother. They were so poor that she said to him one day, "We'll have to sell our cow- it's the only way."

So Jack took the cow to market. On the way, Jack met a stranger. "I'll give you five beans for that cow," she said. "They're magic beans…"

"Done!" said Jack. But when he got back…

"Five beans for our cow?" cried his mother. And she threw them out of the window. All through the night, a beanstalk grew…and grew… till it right out of sight. Before his mother could say a word, Jack climbed…and climbed…and he didn't stop till he reached…the top. There Jack saw a giant castle. He knock- knock- knocked, and a giantess opened the door.

Inside, Jack could hear a thumping and a banging and a stamping and a crashing!

"Quick," said the giantess. "Hide!" My husband is hungry!"

"Fee, fi, fo, fum! Watch out everyone, HERE I COME!" roared the giant.

The giant sat down for his supper. He ate a hundred boiled potatoes, and a hundred chocolate biscuits. And then, feeling a bit happier, he got out his gold.

The giant started counting his coins, but soon…he was snoozing. Jack snatched the gold and raced down the beanstalk.

"Gold!" cried Jack's mother when she saw what he'd got. "We're not poor any more!" But Jack wanted to go back up the beanstalk. The next day he climbed…and climbed… and he didn't stop till he reached the top. Inside the castle, Jack hid when he heard…a thumping and a banging and a stamping and a crashing. "Fee, fi, fo, fum! Watch out everyone, HERE I COME!" roared the giant. The giant sat down for his supper. He ate two hundred baked potatoes, and two hundred jellies. And then, feeling a bit happier, he got out his hen that laid golden eggs. The hen started laying, but soon…the giant was snoozing. Jack snatched the hen and raced down the beanstalk.

"Golden eggs from a golden hen!" cried Jack's mother.

"Now we'll never be poor again!" The next day, Jack climbed the beanstalk once more.

"Fee, fi, fo, fum! Watch out everyone, HERE I COME!" roared the giant.

The giant sat down for his supper. He ate three hundred roast potatoes, and three hundred cream cakes. And then, feeling a bit happier, he got out his silver harp.

The harp sang him lullabies, and soon… the giant was snoozing. Jack snatched the harp and raced down the beanstalk. But the harp called out, "Master! Master!"

The giant woke up and started to chase after Jack.

"Bring the axe, Mother!" shouted Jack as he neared the ground. Then he chopped and he chopped and didn't stop till…CRASH! Down came the beanstalk and the giant. And with the gold and the hard and the eggs and the hen, Jack and his mother were never poor again.

An Atlanta couple and their son team up to build a multifaceted garden that's rooted to the house. Each outdoor area links to a room in the house, bringing the outside in.

An elegant potager (kitchen garden) with an intricate knot of clipped boxwoods in its center acts as a focal point for the garden.

Style
The Duchess of Cambridge might not be as thrifty as you thought

The Duchess of Cambridge has apparently been buying duplicates of outfits to remain looking perfect. (Photo: PA)

The Duchess of Cambridge is known for regularly wearing high-street buys as well as recycling her many designer looks again and again.

But the royal style icon might not be as much of a super-saver as previously thought.

On Kate’s recent visit to Belgium, she wore a pair of suede Rupert Sanderson pumps — the same shoes the royal has been seen in countless times before.

Kate has been seen in these nude Rupert Sanderson pumps on countless occasions. (Photo: PA)

Several people noted that the 35-year-old’s shoes were looking pristine as always. A little too pristine, according to some royal fans.

One stylist has revealed that the duchess is likely to own multiple pairs of the same shoes to remain looking perfect at all times.

“Suede shoes are hard to maintain, so if it’s easier to keep many pairs on standby, who wouldn’t?” Rochelle White told Femail.

“Kate likes to have a clean, sleek image at all times. Can you imagine if she stepped out on a royal engagement with scruffy shoes? She’s likely to have backup shoes — all the same style — in various quantities.”

And it’s not just shoes that the duchess is probably stocking up on. Kate also presumably owns duplicates of very expensive outfits.

“Kate has a strong signature style and knows what she likes. It wouldn’t surprise me if she also gets a few of the same outfit made and has them ready to go, even if it is the same style,” White added.

The royal is also likely to have stocked up on several expensive outfits including this white Alexander McQueen number. (Photo: PA)

In fact, the duchess is said to have bought more than one of the white Alexander McQueen coat dress that she also sported in Belgium. It’s a likely theory considering Kate donned the same outfit for the 2016 Trooping the Colour, the occasion on which Princess Charlotte was seen wiping her dirty fist on her mother’s pristine white dress.

The royal tends to favor light colors with shoes made of easily stained fabrics such as suede. She is always on her feet, leaving it almost impossible for her shoes to remain spotless.

While some may criticize the duchess for “wasting” money, White believes that she is following in the same footsteps as many celebrities with a signature style.

“I think when Kate finds an outfit that looks good, feels good, and is comfortable she would like to have it to wear again without the worry of trying to get it clean and looking like new,” she commented.

If only we could all do the same.

From: DON'T GO OUT IN YOUR UNDERWEAR!
Poems by Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz

Lost and Not Found

My Mom (she's on a diet)
says she's lost another pound.
I've tried to help her find it,
but it's nowhere to be found.

Nelson Column Trafalgar Square London England in the early days

Piccadilly, London c 1900.

Life in Victorian London | Victorian photographer John Thomson and Street Life in London, 1876