Monthly Archives: June 2016

Object of the Month: June

Posted on 26/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

I don’t like, and have never liked, pottery and porcelain figures. I admire the superb craftsmanship that went into making them, but it seems to me a terrible waste of skill and effort to produce these coy and simpering results. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Plant of the Month: June

Posted on 18/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

The obvious plant would be the rose (which seems to be having a wonderful year in general, though I’m cheerfully expecting my ‘Félicité Perpétue’ flowers to turn into blue, mildewed mush, as it always rains in June just as their … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dream of Gerontius

Posted on 15/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

I tend to fight shy of opining about music, since it’s an area where I feel even more fraudulently incompetent than usual, but I am going to make an exception for the wonderful concert I attended last Saturday.

Posted in Biography, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Layers of Paint

Posted on 09/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

The great moment has arrived: Sebastiano del Piombo’s ‘Adoration of the Shepherds’ has gone on display in the Flowers Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum, just outside the Italian Gallery where it may well finally hang.

Posted in Art, Cambridge, History, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

OK, So Who Did Kill Cock Robin?

Posted on 05/06/2016 by carolinemmurray

A few weeks ago, my friend and (sadly ex-)colleague @elleccollins tweeted a picture of the remarkable Victorian editor, controversialist and Shakespeare scholar James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps thumbing his nose at ‘the idiots who ask me to resume literary studies’. He could … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, History, Literature, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments