“The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold” (L. Cohen, The Future)

2016 has not been a year I wish to repeat:

• An old evil is at large again: black of shirt, black of heart; blood has been spilled.
• I have been robbed against my will and consent of the only part of my citizenship that matched who I am culturally, intellectually and ( Read more... )

Had a fabulous time: travelled via Rotterdam and Günzburg, based in Riccione. Magical trips to Ravenna, San Leo, San Marino, Bologna and Urbino, and we could just hop on the local bus to Rimini. Lots of Byzantine mosaics, the Tempio Malatestiano, with the tomb of Giorgios Gemistos Plethon, the Old University in Bologna... Utterly wonderful. Just ( Read more... )

Will be offline for a couple of weeks, mostly.
Am off to Dad's tomorrow, then on Monday we set off for Rimini (National Holidays coach trip). We intend to visit Giorgios Gemistos Plethon (though am not impressed with his homophobia - not very Hellenic!) and Sigismondo Pandolfo di Malatesta there, and (in Ravenna) Dante Alighieri and Theodoric's ( Read more... )

So, I'm 50; I'm back from Italy; back at work; and have a lot to do ( Read more... )

Excellent article on the Turin Shroud by Charles Freeman, whose work I greatly admire.

Moral of the story: 14C tempera paintings should never be put in the wash…

More later on my own adventures at the Lago di Garda and Verona, especially (horse and polenta… yum!). Meanwhile, here is some interesting material on 'Big Dog' - Cangrande della Scala, ( Read more... )

Various meanderings… Apols for delay in updating!

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Will be offline for most of the next couple of weeks, as I'm off down to Dad's and one of our wee Italian jaunts. Pisa and Florence again, and this time, Rome! I'll try not to get myself acclaimed Empress, or to shout: "He's not the real Pontifex Maximus! Accept no phoney Galilean substitutes!" Vaticanwards.

I fell in love with these little guys in Tuscany... I met my first one at a bus stop, then there were hordes of them along a sandy path to a beach café, darting about incredibly fast. We were amused to watch a Jack Russell attempting in vain to hunt them under the hedges. They are adorable, and (in family tradition) all called 'Fred', after our ( Read more... )

I'm back at Dad's - we returned from Tuscany by way of Alsace (my beloved Strasbourg makes me think of a certain Greek hippie commanding his Gaulish troops there!) this morning, after a wonderful holiday! My only regret is that we didn't have enough time: I didn't get to see a lot of things I wanted to. This was because there were some days which ( Read more... )