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East Dulwich - The Musical! I'm Ready For My Close-Up Mr Tafforin! Sumptuous Silk Velvets, Murano Glass Earrings, Leather Oven Mitts & Bathing Beauties
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East Dulwich - The Musical! I'm Ready For My Close-Up Mr Tafforin! Sumptuous Silk Velvets, Murano Glass Earrings, Leather Oven Mitts & Bathing Beauties
Greetings from Atlanta - How Y'all doin?
We are here in the capital of Georgia to celebrate the talent of my best friend of 35 years, Terry Ronald, a native of East Dulwich whose first novel (Becoming Nancy) has been turned into a big budget musical by one of the most prestigious producers on Broadway, Mr Jerry Mitchell !
The story is set in East Dulwich in the late 1970's and is a coming of age tale with a big heart and we all went to opening night on Wednesday at the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre (https://alliancetheatre.org). It was a magical and very emotional experience and slightly surreal to hear the ensemble cast singing a song entitled 'East Dulwich, London, SE22' so far from home! If you are going to be anywhere near Atlanta in the coming month I thoroughly recommend that you get a ticket - you will laugh and cry and emerge feeling elated. If not, the show will transfer next year and I will keep you updated. Congratulations Terry - we are all so very proud !
And in other news, my friend, artist Olivier Tafforin, has a wonderful new photographic exhibition opening this week entitled 'These Faces/This Place' which focuses his lens on local residents and business owners - and I am very honoured to be among them!
These Faces/This Place is at the Artists’ Space, 155a Lordship Lane, East Dulwich from September 19th.
Although not as beautiful as Savannah, Atlanta has its own charms and I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit which today includes a trip to the former home of another Mitchell (this time it's Margaret) who wrote 'Gone With The Wind' - still one the best-selling books of all time. I have also seen a painting of the civil war that is several storeys high and circular (the Cyclorama) which was quite overwhelming and they have painted one of the soldier's faces to look like Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and trying to pick him out from the thousands of figures was quite a challenge!
I have been regularly checking what has landed at RW in my absence and am thrilled to report that our silk velvet cushions have arrived from Stockholm. Silk velvet is very unusual these days - velvet tends to be cotton at best and viscose at worst. Silk has a sheen to it and these cushions positively glow in electric light. I love the opulence of the pile and of the colours that we have selected, from burnt sienna and teal to mustard and a glorious golden sage. I am piling them around my house as they are not only beautiful but sumptuous to sink into after a hard day!
Speaking of velvet - and this time it is cotton - we have also taken delivery of a collection of glorious velvet washbags. The style is simple with diamond quilting and the colours here are rich and sophisticated - Pale Mustard, Damask Rose and Dusty Green!
This summer I visited a beautiful town called Pezanas in the South Of France. It is stunning and home to hundreds of craftspeople, so the streets are literally packed with beautiful ceramics, leather goods, paintings and jewellery. My friend Emma - who is a jewellery, shall we say 'enthusiast'? - purchased a pair of earrings made from Murano glass by a local craftsman that look so fabulous that I contacted the designer in question and asked if he would like to work with me. Fortunately the answer was yes and I was allowed to visit his studio and choose the glass colours and mounts for our collection myself. The results are below - the 'polo mint' glass beads are clear and a great size - not too large but big enough to move with the head so that they catch the light and one's attention. They are simple and chic with wonderful colours including pale green, light golden yellow, sapphire blue and clear crystal. Yes, I'm feeling a little bit smug about this one!
When cooking I always wear a Cognac leather apron - mainly because I am quite a messy cook and am sick of trying to get oil and spice stains out of my shirts and trousers. The leather is very resilient and has aged well so I was delighted when I discovered a leather oven mitt to match. Again this is a luxury item however it will last for many years and I believe is worth the investment if one is a keen cook!
We stock a lovely bath bridge - a wooden shelf that stretches across the bath made to house sponge/soap/shampoo etc and so I decided to stock a few natural pampering essentials like pumice, loofah and an excellent jute exfoliating mitt. Our skins really benefit from a little upkeep and I thought that if these things are in front of me on the bath bridge I may be a little more conscientious!
Sadly this is my last missive from the US. as we fly home this evening. I shall miss the heat, the slow, leisurely pace, the accents (which are 'darlin'!) and the fact that I haven't heard the word 'Brexit' for almost 2 weeks!
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