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Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – November 6, 2024 Preview

November 5, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Country Life Magazine (November 5, 2024): The latest issue features…

The legacy

Kate Green salutes Lt-Col John McCrae for giving us the poppy as a symbol of remembrance

Fake it ’til you make it

Nature’s mimics and frauds are full of cunning survival tricks, as Laura Parker discovers

Gentleman’s Life

Simon Mills walks a wardrobe tightrope
Matthew Dennison charts the rise and fall of the waistband
Hetty Lintell’s pick of the latest fashions in orange, brown, pink and more
Harry Pearson finds there’s nothing like a ’tache to divide opinion
Nicholas Foulkes marvels at rare métiers d’art timepieces
Jonathan Self examines the allure of the exotic menagerie
Tom Parker Bowles savours oysters, the food of love

Emma Ridgway’s favourite painting

The Foundling Museum director selects a captivating, life-size portrait of performing choir girls

The Sound and the Fury

Carla Carlisle tries to look on the sunny side, but remains on the alert for ‘tragedy and trouble’

Nine towers on high

John Martin Robinson examines two Lancashire powerhouses: Lathom House and Knowsley Hall

London Life

Get your skates on at Somerset House
Jo Rodgers seeks out the best Sunday roasts
William Hosie toasts London pubs

A life lived, a dream dreamt

Inscriptions etched by soldiers are a window into the First World War, suggests David Crossland

Are you feeling Broad-minded?

The wondrous wetlands of East Anglia are a marshy, manmade marvel for John Lewis-Stempel

Whispers of winter

Lia Leendertz weighs up the chances of an Indian summer

Conversations on conservation

A 1974 country-house revolution was a major turning point for our old buildings, says Simon Jenkins

Digging for victory and veg

The Anderson shelter was a war-time lifesaver in more ways than one, reveals Russell Higham

Interiors

Bright ideas with Amelia Thorpe

Swaying in rhythm

Tilly Ware applauds the bold planting in The Old Vicarage garden at Wormingford, Essex

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson harnesses the nutritious punch of cauliflower

Foraging

John Wright urges caution as he extols the virtues of blewits, the most tasty of wild mushrooms

Travel

Rosie Paterson shares the latest in luxury travel news
Mark Hedges celebrates a mile-stone birthday in style at a villa in Mallorca
Pamela Goodman gets a buzz on a Spanish holiday

The bare Bone

Mary Miers assesses the career of Sir Muirhead Bone, the first of Britain’s Official War Artists

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov. 11, 2024

November 4, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Lady Liberty walks a tightrope over a city.

The New Yorker (November 4, 2024): The latest issue features Barry Blitt’s “Tightrope” – Lady Liberty’s precarious perch.

Standing Up to Trump

Jeff Bezos endorsed a Trump-era slogan—“Democracy Dies in Darkness”—for his newspaper, the Washington Post. Why wouldn’t he let it endorse a candidate? By David Remnick

Will Kamala Harris Win the Kamala Harris Vote?

The handful of Kamala Harrises who aren’t the Vice-President review the perks (wayward donors) and the perils (threatening phone calls) of their name. By Dan Greene

The Tucker Carlson Road Show

After his Fox show was cancelled, Carlson spent a year in the wilderness, honing his vision of what the future of Trumpism might look like. This fall, he took his act on tour. By Andrew Marantz

Architecture, Design, Home Design, Homes, Videos

Architecture: RIBA House Of The Year 2024 Shortlist

Video November 1, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

RIBA Architecture (November 1, 2024): The Hall by TaylorHare Architects is shortlisted for RIBA’s House of the Year 2024.

Situated in the Kent Downs, this Grade II listed 16th century residence has been extensively and sympathetically refurbished into a sustainable home. Interiors have been both restored and modernised, with finely crafted detailing and considered new interventions that work in harmony so that the historical compliments the contemporary.

The house is an exemplar of green living, while simultaneously restoring the surrounding listed outbuildings and adding a pool, pool house, tennis court, stable block, and a new lake. The end result is a demonstration of how to extend the life of a historic building, while creating elegant living spaces for the future. Presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the House of the Year is a prestigious annual award for the best example of a one-off house designed by an architect in the UK, celebrating excellence and innovation in home design.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 30, 2024 Preview

October 30, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Country Life Magazine (October 30, 2024): The latest issue features…

Zandra Rhodes’s favourite painting

The fashion designer chooses a colourful, cheering scene.

A home reborn

Magnificent Knowsley Hall, Lancashire, has been rescued from institutional use through an admirable restoration project and is once again a home, discovers John Martin Robinson.

The Legacy

Amie Elizabeth White dons a Blue Peter badge to salute the show’s creator, John Hunter Blair.

Heal the land, heal the waters

Our precious rivers hold myriad life forms, yet have been sullied by the hands of humans. John Lewis-Stempel urges us to take care of them.

You’ve got peemail

Dogs, bats and other creatures keep up with the news through sniffing and sensing. Laura Parker reports on the animal kingdom’s telegraph system.

The ghost hunters

Deep in a glad or underwater, our rarest plants defy discovery. Peter Marren joins the quest.

Let Nature never be forgot

A cornucopia of delights awaits Tiffany Daneff in Alan Titchmarsh’s Hampshire garden, with secluded seats, ponds and plenty of space for wildlife.

The Renaissance men

Well-educated and curious, the British tourists with an eye for art laid the foundations of our great collections, finds Michael Hall.

Return to the steppe

Teresa Levonian-Cole boards the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express to traverse Uzbekistan, a land brimming with art, history and caviar.

And, as always, much much more, including luxury, recipes, interior inspiration and gardens.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov. 4, 2024

October 28, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The New Yorker (October 28, 2024): The latest issue features Lorenzo Mattotti’s “Strides” – The exhilarating blur of the New York City Marathon.

Trump’s Health, and Ours

Studies increasingly suggest that a healthy nation depends on a healthy democracy. By Dhruv Khullar

The Improbable Rise of J. D. Vance

“Hillbilly Elegy” made him famous, and his denunciations of Donald Trump brought him liberal fans. Now, as a Vice-Presidential candidate, he’s remaking his image as the heir to the MAGA movement. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells

The Aid Workers Who Risk Their Lives to Bring Relief to Gaza

As the war grinds on, logistical challenges are compounded by politics, repeated evacuations, and…By Dorothy Wickenden

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine-October 28, 2024

October 21, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The undersole of a mans shoe obscures a sight of skyscrapers in Manhattans financial district.

The New Yorker (October 14, 2024): The latest issue features Eric Drooker’s “Crushing Wealth” – The market’s movers and shake

The Tight-Knit World of Kamala Harris’s Sorority

A.K.A., the oldest Black sorority, expects excellence and complete discretion. How are members responding to their most famous sister’s Presidential campaign? By Jazmine Hughes

The U.S. Spies Who Sound the Alarm About Election Interference

A group of intelligence officials confers about when to alert the public to foreign meddling. By David D. Kirkpatrick

How Republican Billionaires Learned to Love Trump Again

The former President has been fighting to win back his wealthiest donors, while actively courting new ones—what do they expect to get in return? By Susan B. Glasser

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 16, 2024 Preview

October 15, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Country Life Magazine (October 15, 2024): The latest issue features…

Murder on the palace floor

John Goodall charts the rise, fall and rise again of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the Edinburgh landmark’s 900-year history

A nose for Nature

Harnessing the power of a dog’s snout can play a crucial role in protecting curlew, newts and red squirrels, discovers Alexa Phillips

England at its best

Kate Green celebrates the 70th birthday of Exmoor National Park, famed for a beguiling blend of wild beauty and farmed landscape

The hunger games

Find out what happens when the greenery bites back as Deborah Nicholls-Lee develops a taste for Britain’s carnivorous plants

Sarah Bardwell’s favourite painting

The managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra chooses a vibrant, glowing work

The legacy

Conservation owes much to Dr Dick Potts, says Kate Green

This perfumed arcadia

The smooth flanks of the Downs are our oldest manmade habitat, suggests John Lewis-Stempel from a lofty perch on Caburn hill

Meet the tusk force

Paula Lester puts her stalking skills to the test as she sets out in pursuit of Chinese water deer on a Bedfordshire farm

Duck and cover

Harry Pearson hails the dandy, diving eider duck, safeguarded since the time of St Cuthbert

Once upon a time in the west

David Profumo relives the days when the fabled waters of Lewis were seemingly ‘paved with fish’

The good stuff

The advent of autumn calls for richer hues, advises Hetty Lintell

100 Interiors

Matthew Dennison recommends a pediment for a grand flourish

Where her tears fell, asters grew

Michaelmas daisies are among the shining stars of the autumn garden, declares John Hoyland

Natural beauty

Amelia Thorpe selects sculptures to adorn any outside space

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on parsnips

Foraging

John Wright goes rooting around for the subtle, subterranean flavour of Britain’s native truffles

Gone fishing

This piscatorial profession and pastime has kept artists hooked for centuries, finds Carla Passino

Not to be sneezed at

Snuff taking is nothing to get sniffy about, argues Harry Pearson

She’s got the key, she’s got the secret

James Clarke examines The Secret Garden’s enduring appeal a century after the author’s death

Moving with the times

Michael Billington is spoilt for choice with a run of first nights

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine-October 21, 2024

October 14, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The New Yorker (October 14, 2024): The latest issue features Owen Smith’s “Alexei Navalny” – A portrait of the defiant Russian opposition leader.

How Alarmed Should We Be If Trump Wins Again?

Even many of the ex-President’s opponents haven’t grasped the scale of the man’s villainy. By Adam Gopnik

What the Polls Really Say About Black Men’s Support for Kamala Harris

After the 2016 election, progressives blamed white women for Hillary Clinton’s loss. This year, Black men have come under special scrutiny. By Jelani Cobb

Alexei Navalny’s Prison Diaries

The Russian opposition leader’s account of his last years and his admonition to his country and the world. By Alexei Navalny

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Urban Architecture Tour: ‘Upper House’ In Brisbane

Video October 11, 2024 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Local Project (October 11, 2024): Addressing the issue of connection deficit in vertical living, Upper House fosters a sense of community among residents. Crafted by Koichi Takada Architects on behalf of developer Aria, the ultimate penthouse and spacious apartment building proposes a new, healthier way of inhabiting a city. Set in South Brisbane, known widely as a social and cultural hub, Upper House sits close to art galleries, theatres, bars and cafes.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Ultimate Penthouse 01:22 – Including the Surrounding Culture 02:07 – The Facade Inspiration 02:48 – The Calm Interiors and Layout 03:59 – A Neutral Material Palette 04:35 – The World Class Design 05:37 – A Walkthrough of the Wellness Retreat 06:17 – Creating a Connective Space

The project takes cues from the suburb, inviting people to come together: while the building offers 1000 square metres of communal amenities, it also embodies a work of art and features the ultimate penthouse. Michael Hurley, development director at Aria, describes the design as “a series of dancing balconies” with timber ribbon running up the facade and a triple-height timber rooftop.

“[The design] just screamed out and said ‘world-class, never-been-done-before’. It was curvy, it was organic, it was unique, and it was Aria” he says. At the base of Upper House, a large podium displays work by Indigenous artist Judy Watson. The piece recognises the Turrbal people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the project is built. Beyond the podium, the facade is inspired by Moreton Bay fig trees – what can be viewed as ribbons are timber ‘roots’ framing the main structure and the ultimate penthouse. Curling around the edges of the roof, the bold details form a pergola and shading device that protect the open wellness retreat.

#Penthouse #HouseTour #Wellness