Category Archives: Art

Lord Samuel’s Bequest

Posted on 19/08/2024 by carolinemmurray

It is far too long since I last managed to complete a blog. I continue to be permanently exhausted, and my brain is mush – so much so that when I wanted to add an updating link to my 2020 … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Belgium, Museums and Galleries, The Netherlands, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Plant of the Month, July 2023

Posted on 12/07/2023 by carolinemmurray

it is almost exactly a year since I last did a ‘Plant of the Month’ post, so I thought I had better get back into that particular delightful harness. In @CUBotanicGarden the other day, I was admiring the way in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Knossos after Fifty Years

Posted on 07/07/2023 by carolinemmurray

No, we haven’t been to Crete after all our other recent jollies, merely (sic) to Oxford, to see the Ashmolean exhibition ‘Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth and Reality’. I have mentioned a few times recently the problem that I am having with … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, Classics, Greece, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Art and Algology

Posted on 22/06/2023 by carolinemmurray

A bit more about how everything is in fact connected to everything else … I first came across Mary Philadelphia Merrifield (née Watkins: 1804–89) early in 2016, when I was trying to find out about Armenian bole, and regretted that … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, Cambridge, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | 2 Comments

Sant’ Apollinare

Posted on 09/06/2023 by carolinemmurray

Winding back a bit from our recent trip to the Netherlands, we had the great good fortune to spend ten days in Italy at the end of April, of which three were in Ravenna before going up to Venice by … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

I’ve been to Haarlem …

Posted on 31/05/2023 by carolinemmurray

Haarlem was probably the first Dutch city I was ever aware of, through the unlikely medium of a sea shanty (?) that I learned at primary school (though whether directly in class or via one of the BBC radio schools … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Printing and Publishing, The Netherlands | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Stones of Lecce

Posted on 12/01/2023 by carolinemmurray

I think it is safe to say that 2022 was not a good year for the vast majority of people worldwide. My own issues will definitely sound pathetic by comparison with those of most people, not least the entire population … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, History, Italy | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

William Crump and Others

Posted on 25/10/2022 by carolinemmurray

23 October 2022 was Apple Day @CUBotanicGarden, and after the glorious warm sunlight of the day before, it was a bit disconcerting to be walking down Bateman Street to the back entrance, poised to take my place with my knife … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Natural history | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

More Palazzi

Posted on 08/10/2022 by carolinemmurray

I have remarked in the past that for a person of my advanced age and  personal taste, the chief reason for being in Venice during the Biennale d’Arte (and this applies even more to the Biennale d’Architettura) is the opportunity … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Uncategorized, Venice | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The First King over the Water

Posted on 18/08/2022 by carolinemmurray

On 1 August 1714, Queen Anne died, and as a result of the Act of Settlement of 1701, her second cousin George, Elector of Hannover, became king of Great Britain. Some factions were already yearning for ‘The King over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Belgium, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments