As ewer

A Pair of Wedgwood Basalt Ewers, emblematic of water and wine, mounted as lamps. Height 15 inches.

For sale at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Estimate USD2,000-4,000.

If you didn't like the black and white version, you are unlikely to enjoy these either. Even as lamps I find them rather desirable. But not essential. 

Enter the dragon

The last time we ushered in the Year of the Dragon was in 2000, just after the new millennium began. On that occasion we were just packing up our life in Hong Kong, to move to Edinburgh. In the intervening cycle much has changed, and personally by and large for the better.

Yesterday morning's quiet was broken by the premature rat-a-tat-tat of firecrackers, ahead of the first day of the new year today. The above is a photograph of the first snuff bottle I bought, probably nearly 40 years ago. I hope the dragon will bring good fortune to all of us.

And may your laisee packets be overflowing with crisp new banknotes.

 Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Beautiful eyes, and an eye for beauty

It seems Miss Elizabeth Taylor had a less well known talent, and one that in my view surpasses all her others - a good eye for pictures - no, not movies, but the type you hang on the wall, and are usually oil on canvas, and have iconic names painted in one of their corners. The story is here, from the Daily Mail.

Not essential, but desirable

Pair of Wedgwood Solid Black Jasper Wine and Water Ewers, England, late 20th century, from the St. James's Collection of limited editions, each with white relief, including the Sacred to Neptune water ewer with figure seated atop the shoulders and holding the horns of a marine monster below the spout, and the Sacred to Bacchus wine ewer with figure seated atop the shoulders and holding the horns of a ram's head below the spout, each with printed and impressed marks and in a limited edition of 50, ht. 16 in.

I quite often spot things in my daily trawls of the auction houses, and think how exquisite they are, but not things I couldn't live without. This pair of Wedgwood ewers is one such item. Their sale at Skinner in Massachusetts, MA, achieved an affordable price of USD2,800.

Hedging

Not far away from where we were staying in a farmhouse in Perthshire is the great hedge of Meikleour, an impressive living wall of beech trees over 30 metres high and 520 metres long. Originally planted in 1745, it is officially recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest hedge in the world. The top image is from a postcard sent in 1932, (as below too), the tweet of its day

Going to Kirriemuir from here. Weather improving. Hope to go to Braemar tomorrow.

Love to all, Gladys.

and the image herebelow from a book of photographs by Allan Wright entitled Perthshire.

I have had to use these because it is well nigh impossible to stop on this narrow road when in a car to get the ideal photograph. It was apparently planted by a wife in memory of her husband who was killed at the battle of Culloden, a bloody defeat of the Highlanders of Bonnie Prince Charlie by the Hanoverian Duke of Cumberland.

When in Rome

I recently posted about a visit to Venice, which was in 2003, and one of the commentators remarked that she felt her visit to Rome qualified for the same designation as a "religious experience". I concurred, and have been rifling through some old photographs and came across these I took in 1993, of St Peter's and the Vatican.

I was obviously enchanted by the Swiss Guards at the entrance to the city, wearing their dark blue winter cloaks. I was in Rome ostensibly to attend a financial services conference. It was mind-numbingly tedious, so I persuaded my boss that there was really no particular merit in both of us attending.

Surprisingly he agreed, and I therefore spent the next day walking the length and breadth of the city for about 6 hours, bathed as it was in glorious November sunshine. My visit was not a religious experience based on the obvious reason, but the stunning architecture at almost every turn. I suppose in another sense it did not take me much longer after this visit to decide that financial services and international banking no longer held the sway it once, (or ever?) held, and I began to explore other avenues of interest.

But the adage "when in Rome, do as the Romans" remains valid for many other cities and experiences in life. I quite often forget it living here, but life is easier when I am reminded, and when I adhere to it. 

Are we there yet?

I suppose if I worked I would be savouring this period of the year which is much interspersed with holidays. But I don't, and the holidays mean there are too many people at a loose end

probably partaking in that exercise which I find in my life I can only undertake if I'm in a good mood - shopping. Because I live in a condominium, areas that are delightfully free of fellow residents, such as the pool or the gym, usually have a smattering of these people to remind one it isn't all mine.

Today is yet another official holiday in lieu of New Year's day falling on a Sunday. And therefore, as on weekends, we choose our activities carefully. We used the gym rather than the pool, but as it turns out, both were devoid of people. But yes, this holiday malarkey does seem to drag on, and we only have another two new years to play with in the near future - the Chinese one at the end of this month, (which sees a huge influx of tourists from our Chinese-dominated neighbours), and the Thai one in April, which is best avoided because most things are closed. But anyway, the joy of Friday is that it will be Twelfth Night, and according to my rules on these matters, all sparkly and ghastly decorations have to be removed. In fact tomorrow might be a good day for the staff to begin that process, involving as it does unwrapping miles of lights that the poor trees and bushes have had added to make sure we are all truly jolly. Oh, that thought has already cheered me!