Christmas in Elegant Edinburgh

 

The Dugald Stewart Monument on Calton Hill, Edinburgh 

Greetings, readers - and welcome to 2022!

Here at Omicron Central (on 30 December we exceeded more than 200,000 new cases within a 24-hour period - and 1 in 15 people in England had the virus at that time) many of us are hunkering down, trying to sit out the worst of this latest wave, or at the very least attempting to limit our indoor interactions. And that is what we did on our recent visit to Edinburgh, where we spent Christmas.

Edinburgh Castle viewed from Grassmarket Square

Although we've visited a reasonable chunk of Scotland over many separate trips, somehow we'd never quite made it to Edinburgh. This is probably due to the fact that we love Glasgow in all its honest, a-bit-rough-around-the-edges glory. Glasgow has some very well-to-do areas of course, but you never have to go far in any direction to be confronted with its working class character. However, part of the appeal is that in Glasgow we've always had the best Italian food outside of Italy, thanks to the influx of Italian POWs from WW2 and post-war immigration. My mouth is watering, just thinking about some of the incredible Italian meals we've enjoyed in Glasgow.

Months ago we made the decision that Christmas in Norway, or anywhere else abroad, was impractical. I couldn't bear the thought of having to faff around with PCR testing and potentially having delays due to test results not being received, not to mention the ever-changing requirements of various countries, including the UK, and the possible additional expense of testing, flight changes and quarantine.

So with fingers firmly crossed, back in October I booked an Air B&B apartment just north of Edinburgh's New Town - only about a 20-minute walk to The Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. In the days leading up to Christmas we were fearful of the more proactive Scottish government closing the border, however although tighter restrictions were introduced from Boxing Day, we were free to travel as planned.

On the journey up north we decided to have an overnight stop in a pub in Lancaster on the edge of the Lake District, but just before reaching Lancaster we took a short diversion to the coastline, visiting the cute village of Heysham which sits on Morecambe Bay.  Warning: If you ever drive to Lancaster, avoid that city's one-way system at all costs - we spent close to an hour crawling a distance of 1.3 miles from one side of the city to the other.  

The Royal in Heysham, dressed up for Yuletide festivities

St Peter's Church in Heysham, perched on the cliffside above Morecambe Bay

Cemetery with a view - the churchyard of St Peter's in Heysham, above Morecambe Bay 

The next day our continued driving journey saw the weather deteriorate as we approached the Scottish border. This was not entirely unexpected - you don't go to Scotland expecting sunshine. 

We arrived in Edinburgh mid afternoon on 23 December, greeted warmly by our Air B&B host, Jean-Luc - a Frenchman who has lived in Edinburgh for more than 20 years. His Victorian basement/garden apartment was spacious, beautifully furnished and comfortable. 

The local area appeared fairly affluent, with many homes decorated to celebrate Christmas in a tasteful way. Just a few minutes' walk away were a large variety of attractive restaurants, bakeries and boutiques.

Ah, yes... welcome to Scotland in December!

Exterior view of our basement apartment in Edinburgh

Our Air B&B apartment's living room

The apartment's living room in daylight

One of the many elegant front doors in the area surrounding our Air B&B apartment

This city has a lot of buildings with turrets!

So many lovely restaurants close by our Air B&B Apartment,
and all decorated beautifully for Christmas

Edinburgh is full of buildings constructed from golden sandstone 

You can judge a neighbourhood by its front door embellishments.
If things like mats, plants and wreaths don't get nicked, it must be a nice area

On Christmas Eve we were up early to ensure we could make the most of the limited daylight in late December, because in Scotland it really doesn't get light until close to 9am and is already getting dark by 3pm. After striding around for a couple of hours we joined a hop on / hop off bus tour to get an orientation for the city and give us some time out of the cold, doing a full circuit and then, on our second loop, alighting at Grassmarket for a wander before walking up to Edinburgh Castle.

Colourful buildings in Victoria Street, near Grassmarket in Edinburgh's Old Town
(below Edinburgh Castle)

What would a blog post on Edinburgh be, without a picture of somebody in a kilt,
playing the bagpipes?!

... and for those wishing to purchase their own kilt, The Royal Mile (just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle) provides ample opportunity to do so!

Festively decorated Boswell's Court, on Castlehill (street leading up to Edinburgh Castle)

Cannonball Restaurant and Bar, near Edinburgh Castle
(we didn't actually go inside but the side entrance was very appealing!)

One of the buildings on the Esplanade just outside the walls of Edinburgh Castle
(I think it's now private accommodation. Note the turret)

Outside the gatehouse of Edinburgh Castle.
The castle was open on Christmas Eve, but tickets had been sold out for days so unfortunately the exterior was all we saw

A chap dressed up as William Wallace (Braveheart) to raise money for charity,
outside Edinburgh's The Scotch Whisky Experience, near the castle

Such a  lovely building - The Writers' Museum in Edinburgh
(another turret!)

View across Princes Street Gardens towards the Christmas Market 

Kevin and I always have our main Yuletide celebration on Christmas Eve, as is the custom in Scandinavia and many other northern European countries. The evening meal on 24 December is our 'special' celebration, after which we exchange gifts. 

Some weeks before our trip to Scotland I had done online research to find a restaurant that (a) would be open for dinner on Christmas Eve, (b) was 'nice' without being super expensive, (c) was within a 25-30 minute walk from our apartment, and (d) offered vegetarian / vegan / pescetarian dining options. I hit upon a small restaurant in Edinburgh's New Town area, The Perch, which appeared to meet these criteria, and promptly made a booking. 

We were nervous about dining out, with Omicron raging. However The Perch was a find! Located up a flight of stairs and overlooking well-to-do Hanover Street, there were only four other occupied tables and we were more than adequately socially-distanced. There was a single wait-person, a young woman who was bemused by our Googling of unfamiliar Scottish dishes and ingredients as we perused the menu. The Perch had that rarest of things in a dining establishment: nice lighting. We could see what we were eating, but were not under the glare of gestapo-interrogation-style spotlights, as is the case in so many restaurants these days. 

We started with a glass of fizz each, Kevin opting for Prosecco whilst I threw caution to the wind and had my first glass of spumante since my teens - back in the days when an inferior, sickly-sweet version of this sparkling wine was all the rage in 1970s Sydney. What a revelation! Crisp, fresh and dry, my glass of Botter Rosé Spumante was superb and I could easily have been tempted to indulge in a second... however I resisted.

The meal was absolutely delicious, and we discovered a traditional Scottish dessert - something called cranachan which was two layers of the most buttery, crumbly shortbread I've ever eaten, in between which was sandwiched whisky-flavoured cream blended with raspberries. It was scrumptious!

Our Christmas Eve supper venue - The Perch

Victorian tiles in the street-level entry to the building housing The Perch restaurant

Stairway leading up to The Perch

Kevin enjoying his Prosecco

Kevin's Prosecco on the left; my rosé Spumante on the right.
I was the winner

And here it is - our newly discovered Scottish dessert:
Cranachan

Christmas morning was forecast to be the only day without rain and we had even been promised a few hours of sunshine. Accordingly, after breakfast we left the apartment to walk up to Calton Hill, a famed viewpoint only about 20 minutes' walk away (see the first photo in this blog post). It was a cold morning so we wrapped up in thermals, woolly hats, double gloves and thick footwear. By jingo, the wind - it was truly glacial!

View from Calton Hill northwards towards Edinburgh's harbour (the Firth of Forth)

Kevin and Yours Truly on Christmas morning, on Calton Hill.
Those aren't smiles, they're grimaces to stop our teeth chattering in the glacial wind!

The view south-east towards Arthur's Seat - from Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Looking south from Calton Hill, Edinburgh - art deco building St Andrew's House in the foreground
(it is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, a separate building to that which houses the Scottish Parliament)

The author on Calton Hill on Christmas morning. In the background (l to r):
 - the Dugald Stewart Monument
- the W Hotel with its winding steel ribbon
- the City Observatory

Another view from Calton Hill, Edinburgh - this time looking across all those hundreds of
sandstone buildings towards Leith and the Firth of Forth (Edinburgh Harbour)

On our last full day in Scotland's capital city - Boxing Day - we once again braved freezing temperatures, walking about 30 minutes to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen's official residence in Edinburgh. We made the trek because the evening prior I had been surprised to find I could actually book tickets to visit this landmark - surprising because everything else in the city was closed. Imagine my further surprise when we arrived at the palace gates to find the site well and truly closed...

The main gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse... sadly closed on the day we visited,
despite the fact that I had managed to book tickets! (I was given a refund)

Queen Mary's Bath House at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
It's a looooong way from the main building and there's no evidence of an actual bath... but
this building supposedly was the bathing facility for Mary Queen of Scots 

Photo taken through the locked gates at the Palace of Holyroodhouse... this is as close as we got!

Entrance to The Queen's Gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
(which of course we were unable to visit - closed)

Our plans to visit the Palace thwarted, we turned our attention across the street - literally - to the fabulous Scottish Parliament building designed by Spanish architect Enric Miralles and opened in late 2004. It was a controversial project which hugely overran its budget, to the extent there was a public enquiry. However I'd like anybody to nominate a landmark building in any country and from any century that didn't cost multiple times its original budget. Such is the way of great architecture. As a young child I remember constant griping about the cost and design of Sydney Opera House which, if the wowsers with no artistic vision had their way, would not have been completed. 

I've long admired the interior of the Holyrood Parliament whenever the news shows Scottish ministers in action - it's light, bright and functional. But I don't think I'd ever seen the exterior on TV before.

We frequently find English people in particular to be very conservative with regard to architecture. A substantial proportion of the populace seems to be stuck in the mindset that the only worthwhile buildings are from previous centuries, and modern design has no merit. I consider the Holyrood Parliament building to be a superb expression of the Scottish landscape which, in the centuries to come, will be valued every bit as much as the Holyrood Palace across the street.

The western elevation of the Holyrood Parliament building with its distinctive windows.
These have been designed to provide each office with a bay window containing seating and shelving, as contemplation spaces.
The lattices covering the glass are made from oak

All along one side of the Holyrood Parliament building - the Canongate Wall - are quotations
with relevance to Scotland and the Parliament.
This one really resonates with me 

The public entrance to the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood

We'd like to return to Edinburgh when things are actually open (!) and when the weather isn't quite so challenging for endless hours of trudging around on foot. It's an elegant, friendly city with many beautiful buildings and, we are assured by friends, fantastic restaurants. 

And it was great to get away for a short break, much as we love Frensham.

Representative of much of our time in Edinburgh - rain! 
Photo taken through the car windscreen as we were leaving the city, with the Scott Monument in the centre

Leaving Edinburgh's outskirts

The rugged landscape of the Pentland Hills, just south of Edinburgh
(taking from our moving car)

In the weeks prior to travelling to Edinburgh we did have quite a social whirl, with people trying to make up for the 2020 festive season's tight restrictions and eventual lockdown. However, most of us attempted to balance this with some degree of caution. 

In late November we girded our loins and headed into London for a one-man show at the Harold Pinter Theatre, for which I'd optimistically purchased tickets many months previously. We left home late morning so we would have time to squeeze in a late lunch at our favourite restaurant, The Gate in Hammersmith, which we had not visited since before Covid. How heavenly it was to be dining on vegan / vegetarian haute cuisine once again. 

Dark chocolate mousse on orange frangipane with spiced orange sauce:
all-vegan scrumptiousness from The Gate, Hammersmith

Vegan mille feuille with caramelised apple and roasted hazelnut praline
 - at The Gate, Hammersmith

Christmas lights on Regent Street, London

The London Eye lit up

Darn! Can't remember which street in London this was...

Click on the video below to see the twinkly lights along Regent Street!

At the theatre we were gratified by the level of Covid checks (you had to show a negative test result at the door) and the fact that everybody was wearing masks. A glass of champagne on arrival helped get us in the mood for some quality theatre, and what a superb performance it was - Ralph Fiennes delivered T S Eliot's Four Quartets with depth and magnetism. He was astoundingly good. Ralph has long been one of my favourite actors and it was incredible to see him in the flesh, and to witness his considerable talent at first hand.

The crowd buzzing outside the Harold Pinter Theatre in London

And he was indeed.
*swoon*

The stage design for Ralph Fiennes' performance was dramatically sparse

Before leaving London the following day we managed to squeeze in a visit to an exhibition celebrating the life of Noël Coward, at the London Guildhall. It featured photos and recordings of the man's theatre productions, films and songs, as well as original costumes, pieces of furniture from his homes, items from his personal wardrobe and some original paintings. What an age for an artist to live through, and what an output from one man who willingly shared his wealth and time, supporting various charities and in particular The Actors’ Orphanage which took in the children of struggling or deceased actors.

I had planned to attend this exhibition way back in June when it first opened, but I confess it took me many months to work up the courage to return to London after such a long period of avoiding public transport and crowded environments. As one of my most recent blog posts reported, I did venture into London a couple of times in late October and early November.

Yours Truly outside London's Guildhall Art Gallery on a freezing November morning

The Noël Coward exhibition featured a number of his fabulously elegant silk dressing gowns.
for which he was renowned

Another marvellous dressing gown, which featured in photos with legends such as
Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland

Last year we had to cancel our annual Christmas drinks party due to Covid restrictions, so this year we were keen to proceed. We had a very small group of seven triple-vaccinated people, all of us having limited our social interaction in preceding days and having done a lateral flow test that morning to ensure we were not about to spread Covid to each other. It was so nice to once again host this social event - I enjoy planning the menu, creating Christmas music playlists and decorating the house.

Hallway decorations

A mostly vegan menu, including home-made Turkish pidé which you simply cannot buy in the UK!
(we've never been able to find anything that tastes like the pidé you can buy everywhere in Australia)

My puff pastry pesto Christmas tree was a hit with our guests!

I made these little festive jars to add to our Christmas decorations

Dessert is served:
the first trifle I've ever made (caramelised clementine & amaretti), mince pies,
German dark chocolate marzipan and a cheese board

And finally, the obligatory shots from our immediate environment, in recent weeks...

The main entrance of Frensham Heights School, with festive lights and Christmas tree

Kevin standing by the beautiful Christmas Tree in Frensham Heights'
120-year-old Long Gallery

We had a light snowfall at the end of November - here are 'the girls' enjoying some seed
(our resident group of pheasants)

Winter sunrise, from just outside our garden fence

Winter sunset, from our garden

I'm sure we're all looking at 2022 with anxious eyes, desperately hoping that this year life returns to some kind of pre-Covid normality. In February it will be two years since we saw any family member in person (my nephew Adam and his family visited us in February 2019 - just before it all went to hell...) and we haven't left the UK's shores for 2.5 years.

Wishing you all happy and healthy times in the year ahead. We hope it's not too long before we see some of you again.

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

Wanderings in Wiltshire and Somerset

Blazing autumn foliage at National Trust property Stourhead, in Wiltshire

Ciderrrrrr!!!!!!!

Right, good to get that out of the way.

A few weeks ago I took a couple of days off work so that Kevin and I could improve our acquaintance with the western half of the county of Wiltshire. We're hoping to buy a house sometime in the next year or two, with a view to retirement some years down the track, and we've had to cast our affordability net increasingly further away from Surrey and London. For some mad reason, despite the financial instability caused by Brexit combined with Covid, property prices have continued to boom in the past two years here in the UK. Go figure.

So we booked into a quiet little B&B just outside the market town of Devizes, which sits smack-bang in the centre of Wiltshire. The town itself is pleasant enough and we enjoyed a very nice meal out - our first visit to an Indian restaurant since before Covid hit. A couple of Wiltshire's famed hillside white horses are within easy reach and we dutifully visited them. The Westbury White Horse in particular is impressive. Surrounded by the remains of an Iron Age fort more than 2,000 years old, the Westbury White Horse is the oldest of Wiltshire’s eight white chalk horses - it was cut into the hillside in 1778.

Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire - cut into the hillside in 1778.
It was concreted over and painted in 1957 to preserve the shape and reduce the amount of maintenance required

The view from above Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire

View of Westbury White Horse from below the hillside

Over two days we drove around areas where we'd seen some attractive and possibly affordable properties online. Being less than an hour's drive from Bath (south), and just over an hour's drive from the Cotswolds (north), many of the buildings are constructed from the lovely, golden stone for which those areas are famous. 

We came across a number of cute villages where we'd happily pitch our tent, including Erlestoke which has a higher than average ratio of character properties, as the photos below demonstrate. (I rush to point out that our budget does not stretch to such beauties, but we'd be happy to be surrounded by dwellings of this type)

An example of that very appealing golden stone - cottage in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

Black-and-white charm in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

A crisp-looking cottage with smart blue trim in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

We think this was the former rectory to Holy Savour's Church in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

It was really by accident that I'd recently heard of Frome (pronounced 'froom'), just over the border in Somerset. Thank you, Hugh Grant! Back in April he was spotted in a Frome bakery and my interest was piqued - it must be a nice place if HG buys baked goods there, right? 

Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt.

Yes, folks - in Frome we realised we'd found a strong contender for our retirement location. 

Frome in Somerset has some lovely narrow, steep and historical streets

Frome is a small-ish market town, with a population of only 26,000 - in contrast with our own local market town of Farnham in Surrey which has about 40,000 inhabitants. The town was established in the 7th century and is mentioned in The Domesday Book. It lies on the eastern edge of the Mendip Hills.

In recent years Frome has become a bit of a haven for arty, quirky types with its narrow and cobbled streets dotted with independent shops, many of which are affiliated with charities and social and environmental causes. God forbid, it's been named in the Top 10 of one of those 'Britain's coolest towns' lists, which is surely a death knell for us as prospective property buyers, but we'll wait and see.

Cheap Street is charming and traffic-free, crammed with 16th and 17th century buildings and an historic 'leat' still flowing its length (a leat is a an open watercourse that flows to a mill).

Parts of Frome have been used as locations for a number of historical dramas including the TV series Poldark. 

After a distinct lack of vegan/vegetarian-friendly dining establishments in Devizes we were gratified to discover wide choice in Frome and we enjoyed a fantastic vegan sharing board in a two-storey, glass-fronted restaurant in the town's 'artisan quarter' of St Catherine's.

Best of all... Frome even has a little cinema - squeeeeeeeeee!!!!

The High Pavement - just one of the quaint eating establishments in Frome

Deadly is the Female - vintage fashion emporium in Frome

Our lunchtime view - from restaurant / wine bar / shop Eight Stony Street, in Frome

The vegan sharing board at Eight Stony Street was superb:
pumpernickel, muhammara, baked beetroot with dukkah, burnt leeks with lovage,
slow roasted celeriac with mushroom ketchup, and olives.... plus a cheeky side of skin-on fries

Characterful Cheap Street in Frome - the leat flowing down its centre 

Many of the shops in Frome were decorated for Halloween

So watch this space. We'll be keeping a close eye on the property market in Frome and its surrounding environs, and hoping a modest two-bedroom cottage or terrace is within our means.

Bramble & Wild florist in Frome

Now I ask you - any town with a dwelling named 'The Cat House' must be nice, don't you think?

🎵🎶 How much is that doggy in the window? 🎵🎶
Dog-friendly micropub Just Ales in Frome - right opposite the Bath Cats & Dogs Home charity shop :-) 

That's a serious front door to this house in Frome
(are they expecting an invasion?)

French General Trading is a combo antiques store / bar / moules eatery!

This jaunt around a small portion of the West Country was capped off by a return visit to National Trust property Stourhead, just under an hour's drive south-west of Devizes. It's 12 or 13 years since we were last there, but during that time Stourhead has remained in my memory as one of the most spectacularly beautiful historic properties I've ever visited. I am pleased to say that after returning a few weeks ago, it retains that accolade.

We had the good fortune to visit on a beautifully sunny day after a week of very grey and wet weather, and of course it was late October which = peak autumn. The gardens designed by Henry Hoare II are the ideal vehicle for the season, dazzling the beholder with reds, ambers and golds which are reflected in the lake. There are plenty of follies punctuating the gardens, most of which you can access.

The Pantheon at Stourhead

View from The Gothic Cottage, Stourhead

The Gothic Cottage, Stourhead

Harvest display at Stourhead

The towering Palladian portico of the house at National Trust property, Stourhead

Autumnal glory reflected in the lake at Stourhead in Wiltshire

The gatehouse at Stourhead

We'll definitely try not to leave it 13 years between visits to Stourhead in future and I imagine if we end up living in that neck of the woods, we will be regular visitors.

And in case you were wondering, that reference to 'cider' at the start of this post is, of course, an affectionate nod to the accent prevalent in England's West Country. Think Stephen Merchant, Vicki Pollard and pirates. Ooh arrrr.

We both love the West Country accent which is fortunate because, as my close friends are aware, I absolutely will not consider moving to a region that I consider has an ugly local accent. So there.

As usual, I'm including a couple of snaps reflecting the current season here in beautiful Surrey. We won't be able to afford to live here once we leave school accommodation - whenever that may be - but in the meantime we're making the most of every day.

A peek through the autumn leaves - just before sunset in Frensham

Sunrise from the field just outside our back garden

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

Wes Anderson: deeper than whimsy

A still from The French Dispatch, featuring some of the central characters

OK, this blog post will not be of much interest to some of you. But it's my blog and the choice of material is mine - so there!

Promotional poster for the 180 Studios exhibition on The French Dispatch

Many of my friends and family will already know that I am a bit of a cinephile. At various periods in my life I've been known to visit the cinema several times a week, and to return to the cinema two, three, even four times to re-watch a film I really, really love.

I have very fond memories of the entire family huddling in front of the TV and our living room's woefully inadequate two-bar heater on a winter's afternoon in the Sydney suburb of Panania in the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose was to enjoy movies from Hollywood's 'golden era' as well as fabulously kitsch Elvis classics like Viva Las Vegas and Double Trouble, and simple, entertaining fare such as Doris Day / Rock Hudson rom-coms. At some point during the film one of us would race backwards and forwards into the kitchen during the commercial breaks to cook fresh pikelets (a smaller version of American-style pancakes) and brew up a big pot of Bushell's tea.

In my teens I developed a taste for less commercial cinema, my eyes opened by the likes of David Lynch's Eraserhead and Julien Temple's The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Maturing into my 20s, my preferences moved on to arthouse and foreign cinema, having only had fairly limited exposure to these previously. In case you don't know me well, I should probably mention at this point that one particular film - Wim Wenders' Der Himmel über Berlin (released with the title Wings of Desire in English-speaking countries) had such a profound effect on me that it actually changed the course of my life at the age of 24, for which I will forever be grateful.

My all-time favourite film, Der Himmel über Berlin, by Wim Wenders (1987)

Then, in my late 20s and early 30s, I was fortunate enough to study film theory at university, alongside my formal majors of German and Contemporary Europe. So for a number of years I delved deep into the world of the auteur, studied how novels had been turned into film, and examined world cinema from the Silent Era up to the modern day, under the tutelage of several lecturers including Roger Hillman, who taught me both German and Film History. One of my favourite units during this time was a collaboration between the Film History and English Literature departments, on the representation of vampires in both novel and film. At the time my university was fortunate enough to have a visiting American fellow, Rich Pascal, who was an expert on gothic literature and in particular vampires. *bliss*

All this is a preamble to explain my deep love of American filmmaker, Wes Anderson.

Texan-born Wes Anderson with one of his regular cast members, Bill Murray
[photo: gettotext.com]

My earliest memory of being introduced to Wes Anderson is in the late 1990s when Rushmore was released. I didn't get to see it until a couple of years later, on video (remember video?). This film was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Was it a comedy? No, because there were moments that were resoundingly sad. Was it a drama? No, because it had too many quirky characters that alternately made you laugh and cringe. Was that scene tragic or funny? (Is it OK to laugh here?) 

I would later discover that this mix of genre is part of Wes Anderson's formula, and I heartily recommend you watch this hilarious video which gives a very neat overview of the WA school of filmmaking (whoever created this video is a LIVING GENIUS).

Critics are divided over this director's films which are often criticised for their themes of nostalgia for WA's childhood, for their very distinct visual styling, and for being 'whimsical.' Well, this middle-aged lover of cinema is a big fan of whimsy, but in any event his films go far deeper than that.

Cracking soundtracks and a recurring cast of unique actors are further reasons for Anderson's formula resonating with me. Bill Murray, Owen and Luke Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Angelica Huston and Jason Schwartzman have all appeared in numerous of his films.

Exterior of the 180 Studios exhibition for The French Dispatch, in London

Anyway, the reason for this blog post is that after 20 months of basically doing bugger-all due to Covid, yesterday I ventured into central London to attend an exhibition relating to the much-delayed (it should have been released in 2020) and highly-anticipated Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch. 

Editions of the fictional publication The French Dispatch, on display at the 180 Studios exhibition

The film itself, which Kevin and I had seen a couple of weeks previously in a nearly-empty cinema (another Covid era milestone; first cinema visit since February 2020), has been described by some fans as the 'most Wes ever.' By this they are alluding to the fact that every single WA predilection, theme and characteristic has been crammed into the film, x100, resulting in a cinema experience that requires several viewings to fully appreciate. There is such an intense level of detailed imagery, so many layers to the narrative, so many cultural references right from the opening scene which is a superb homage to Jacque Tati's Mon Oncle (1958). Kevin and I were a bit overwhelmed, but I'm aware that we are not alone in that view. It's probably not for everyone. 

All the same, I was agog at the exhibition at 180 Studios on The Strand in London, which just happens to be located directly opposite where I worked in Australia House for a couple of years. Original sets, props, costumes and artwork... fantastically detailed models of the town used in the film... the full-scale artwork that is the centrepiece of one of the film's vignettes (a series of 10 frescoes, each one at least 2 metres high and a metre wide). There is even a reproduction of the Le Sans Blague café where you can enjoy a beverage of your choice.

Wow. And I wasn't the only one impressed; every person wandering around had a look of awe on their face.

OK, those of you who speak French - I defy you not to giggle at the name of this fictional town!

Opening dialogue from the film, explaining the history of the publication The French Dispatch

Owen Wilson's character in The French Dispatch is Herbsaint Sazerac, 'the cycling reporter'
❤️I love Owen Wilson ❤️

❤️ Tilda  ❤️
Her portrayal of character J. K. L. Berensen was - as always - absolutely stellar 

*sigh*  I kind of miss typewriters

Model of the fictional French town, Ennui-sur-Blasé, where most of The French Dispatch is set
(see photo below for detail of the section circled in green)

A nod to one of WA's earlier films

The gigantic series of frescoes known in the film as Simone, Naked, Cell Block J, Hobby Room

The gorgeous Léa Seydoux plays Simone, a prison guard and the inspiration for the frescoes shown above
(and that is the full-scale electric chair used in the film)

Fantastic sectional view of the plane used to transport the frescoes in The French Dispatch
- this is the genuine model that was featured in the film... the detail was amazing!

If you're unfamiliar with Wes Anderson, I hope this blog post might encourage you to explore his work. The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably his most 'commercial' film, and perhaps a good one to start with. You can't go wrong with *swoon* Ralph Fiennes playing a camp hotel concierge from a bygone era.

My personal favourite? Oooh... (purses lips, narrows eyes, rubs chin). I do indeed love Grand Budapest but the WA film I return to most frequently - because naturally I have all the films on DVD, except for The French Dispatch which obviously hasn't yet been released on DVD - is The Darjeeling. This is controversial amongst WA fans but there is one particular, and quite 'non WA' scene that touches me very deeply. If I had to pick a Top Three, it would be The Darjeeling (2007), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Then again, next week I might have a different Top Three 😃

Coffee cups from the fictional café Le Sans Blague in The French Dispatch

Until next time,

- Maree  xo