The actor Diana Rigg, known for her roles on stage and in film and television – including The Avengers and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – has died at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with cancer in March.
Rigg, who rose to prominence in the 1960s through her starring role as Emma Peel in The Avengers alongside Patrick Macnee, enjoyed a long and varied career, playing Lady Olenna Tyrell in HBO’s smash hit Game of Thrones, a show she admitted in 2019 that she had never watched.
She also played Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, or Tracy Bond, James Bond’s first and only wife to date, in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’.
The clients are a couple, a director and director of photography in the film industry, their jobs involve them filming on location for stretches of time. This house is the space to which they retreat between filming.
The site is 20 hectares of farmland on the Kauaeranga river in the valley of the same name, it stretches from high on the hillside to the river banks and includes a ridgeline which commands a panoramic view of the farmland below and the native bush on the opposite slopes of the valley.
The clients brief called for a response which engaged with the site in both a filmic as well as practical way, they live a life of self-sufficiency while on the land, including growing, animal husbandry and butchery. The clients spoke of materials that have a patina of age, of sustainability, of recycling and adaptive re-use, of provenance of materials.
Our response was to concentrate the small mass of building that the brief determined into a singular geometric form that could hold its own in the big landscape. We positioned the form straddling the ridgeline, engaged with the slope at the high end and floating above the land as it falls away. Drawing from the vernacular of rusty corrugated iron sheds prevalent in the district, we clad the form in a rainscreen of rusted corrugated iron sheets, a rural camouflage of sorts.
The building is made largely of recycled materials and fittings, which the clients procured over the duration of the build.
Grand Designs New Zealand – Te Arai: Tuscan Lodge Cathy and Vince Moores strive to create a sumptuous Italian style villa surrounded by beautiful mature gardens, but their budget takes on a life of its own, threatening to turn their long awaited dream into a nightmare.
Te Arai Lodge is an eco-friendly oasis offering boutique luxury and warm hospitality, only 1 hour 15 minutes north of the Auckland harbour bridge. Surrounded by over 20 acres of ancient podocarp forest and native bush, Te Arai Lodge sits on an elevated ridge with panoramic views across the rolling hills of the Brynderwyn Ranges out to the stunning beaches and surrounding islands of the Mangawhai coast.
We welcome our guests to experience a homestay boutique luxury lodge like no other. One that is inspired by the beauty of the surrounding native flora and bird life, our passion for sustainability and organic garden-to-table dining, and our love of hospitality and meeting people from all over the world.
With authentic personal service from the owners Vince & Kathy Moores, their family and a team of carefully chosen staff, Te Arai Lodge creates a special escape for those seeking the finest comforts without compromising the environment.
Did you ever see Saudi Arabia from above? In this short film, I travel through the country and explore some beautiful regions with a drone.
Saudi Arabia has long been off limits to foreign tourists and travelers. Since a few months, however, it’s possible to visit the country on a tourist visa. I made use of this opportunity and traveled solo to Saudi Arabia for 2 weeks. I also brought a small drone and captured shots from several regions, including: Riyadh, the Edge of the World, parts of the desert, Al Ula (camel races), Jeddah, the road to Mecca, Umluj and the Red Sea, and the ruins of Khaybar city.
Saudi Arabia is mostly known in the ‘Western world’ for its petroleum export, the birthplace of Islam, and unfortunately also poor human rights record. But as I discover there is much more to this massive country than first meets the eye. In these series I hope to give a glimpse into what was once an almost ‘forbidden place’ for independent travelers, and is now open for visitors from around the world.
In the oldest part of Positano, slightly above the historical centre, near an antique church, ancient villa enjoying a beautiful panoramic view of the Amalfi coast and Capri. This aristocratic property (12 bedrooms in total, many with direct sea view) was originally built in 1741 on the ruins of Roman construction and has been recently carefully restored to a high standard and keeping its original magnificent distinctive features.
The U.S. unemployment rate shot up faster than in any other developed country during the pandemic. WSJ explains how differences in government aid and labor-market structures can help predict how and where jobs might recover.
Gorongosa National Park is a preserved area in the Great Rift Valley of central Mozambique. Its forests and savannahs are home to lions, hippos and elephants. Lake Urema and its surrounding wetlands and rivers attract scores of water birds. The multitiered Murombodzi Falls spills over jagged rocks on the slopes of Mount Gorongosa. Limestone gorges and bat-filled caves define Cheringoma Plateau.
In the final episode of “Travels with a Curator,” journey just 370 miles west of New York to explore The Frick Pittsburgh with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon. A beautiful property where visitors may enjoy both modern galleries and the Frick family home, The Frick Pittsburgh houses works of art and personal objects that provide an intimate look at the lives of the Frick family, from bedrooms with house slippers to children’s rooms with toys. The Frick Pittsburgh is in many ways a testament to the vision of Henry Clay Frick’s daughter, Helen, who always considered Pittsburgh to be her home and established the complex as a legacy to her hometown.
With over 18000 islands, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. The island nation is home to 167 active volcanoes, far more than any other country and has some of the largest remaining tracts of tropical forest anywhere in the world. Indonesia is both a leisure seeker’s dream and an adventurer’s playground. Whether you’re looking to bronze on beautiful beaches, hike in search of endangered orangutan, or snorkel among some of the most beautiful coral reefs on Earth, this country has something for everyone. Here’s a look at the best places to visit in Indonesia:SHOW LESS
Do you have good or bad microbiome? Or do you have the microbiome you deserve?
Gut Microbiome, the new Open Access journal from Cambridge University Press and The Nutrition Society has published its first papers, including the animated abstract above from the paper: Hill, C. (2020) “You have the microbiome you deserve,” Gut Microbiome, Cambridge University Press, 1, p. e3.
Boomers Daily 