BOOKS/TRAVEL: Read in India December 2014 - January 2015

BOOKS: Selling Silks

Published by the Victoria & Albert Museum: Selling Silks - A Merchant's Sample Book 1763, by Ellis Miller.

The title is self-explanatory 
- very well documented, 
instructive and a 
pleasure to look at.

ARCHITECTURE: Peter Zumthor

Architecture I admire.. 

DESIGN: Adil L. Ahmad

Adil L. Ahmad, a designer that interprets the Indian style in a bold and original manner - as seen at the Jaipur Family Fort, now the Rajmahal Palace Hotel.

DESIGN: Mustique Part 1.

John Stefanidis Drawings to build from - Mustique, Caribbean.

FILM: How Green Was My Valley

A tear-jerker, 

old fashioned 

(won 5 Academy Awards)

directed by John Ford – unlikely Hollywood 

sets of houses and interiors, brilliant coal mines and heart- rending actors.

GARDENS - Chelsea Physic Garden

The Apothecaries Garden in London was founded in 1673 (the oldest botanical garden in England - Oxford 1621). 

Its proximity to the Thames creates a warmer microclimate. It is 3.8 acres of calm and wonder. The range of plants extraordinary, the care and devotion of volunteers swell the work force, but to my chagrin there is a shed nearest the river that is a real mess. 

The labeling, too assiduously done, could do with a revamp: lettering, visibility, all is tended and in order but could be more so. It should be endowed in perpetuity by Chelsea's main landlord, the Cadogan Estate.

Take note, Charles, Lord Cadogan, your estate has done very well in SW3 for decades. The garden is not big and should be at least as well kept as say, the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx.

FOOD: Chiltern Firehouse

Almost a year since it opened, Chiltern Firehouse is still a 
hot spot.

Very good food, very nice people, André Balaz sure knows how to create a buzz.

POETRY: Stevie Smith

DESIGN: Syrian Wall Panelling

The disposition of antique Syrian wall panelling, painted with great artistry on wood.  

John Stefanidis Brands drawing to show how it would look, and it did look good, in a San Francisco, California bedroom.