5/19/1921: Chief Justice Edward Douglass White dies.
Showing posts with label Romantic. Show all posts
Why The British Pubs Can Offer a More Romantic Experience Than the Olympics 2012 Games
If you ask me, the British country pubs can offer some of the best romantic experience of your life. Not theLondon pubs where you may have to jostle with a crowd for your pint of beer and then get in to a brawl with the barman over its head. Not even the Vic, where high drama of "EastEnders" plays out incessantly, not far from the Olympics venue.
If you are visiting the Olympics 2012 with the love of your heart, make sure to take some time out for a day or two to prom the British hinder land and stop by some of the numerous romantic pubs dotting its countryside. Who knows, you might even discover what love can truly feel like.
Imagine a sultry, wet and lingering afternoon in July in England when everywhere else the sun is shining. Hardly a time for romance. Yet if you walk in to a quiet country pub, you may be surprised how the ambience can be full of life and romance.
There is nothing unusual if you see a couple in their late forties or fifties enjoying the most loving of romantic moments, something you might have never seen in the best movies you can remember. The gentleman has turned his chair sideways and is sitting close to the lady, beholding her with the most ardent feelings of love he has ever felt. He is indeed oblivious of everything around him, even the glass of beer in his hand. The lady is quietly fondling his collar, ear or neck while still speaking some sweet nothing to him.
You may notice how the lady partner of a couple sitting across the table next to you, deep in some wild intimate conversation, ardently reach out to touch and affectionately fondle the forearm of her partner. You may feel yourself falling in to a romantic spell watching a younger couple on a corner sofa quietly stealing a smooch now and then in between gulps of their drinks. You may even be surprised how people in their eighties and nineties can still wear a lovelorn look.
Scenes, you might think, hardly ever to be seen outside the privacy of a living room. Scenes you won't certainly find in any American diner with their bus like seating style, often the background for famous movie episodes. Scenes far from the embarrassing and intimate sharing of 'huitre' and champagne in the crowded bistros of Paris, where you can find tourists who almost shout 'we don't care, we are on top of the world' while a female companion sucks out of an oyster shell held out by her lover.
It is difficult to say what makes the British country pubs so uniquely romantic. Perhaps it is the tradition of the pubs being managed by "land Lords" who also tend to play some pivotal role in the British social fabric. Often, the friendly and hospitable nature of the land lords and serving staff makes you feel at home, something which you definitely miss in the McDonald's or the restaurants of chain hotels attended by bearers in stiff uniforms.
The pub buildings themselves, most of which are preserved in original exteriors, in scenic settings, definitely help to build the ambience. But it is probably the interiors with their nooks and corners, and old style furnishing which break the monotonous ambience of large halls and offer some privacy, which must be appealing to most people. Though they weren't originally meant as meeting place for families, they are now the favourite places for a meal out with family and friends, especially with the gardens and play pens for children.
Quite a few of the country pubs also have acquired gastronomic and culinary status. In fact manye of the Michelin star restaurants in the UK are famous pubs.
In a land where Pubs are as much used as landmarks while giving directions as churches, they are part of the daily life without which life will seem almost impossible. But for visitors to Olympics 2012 games a visit to a old countryside pub can offer an experience they may not forget in life.
Is This the Most Romantic Window on the Earth ?
When it comes to the human body and its senses, there is no
one who understands more than the French.
The French are indomitable in satisfying the palette with food
prepared in the best quisine, vine, cheese and innumerable other things
including the French croissant. As for the smell, what smells better than a
French perfume? As for the eyes, from Mona Lisa to the high healed shoes of ValérieTrierweiler visual feast is the essence of French Haut Couture to modern
French architecture, exemplified by the Eiffel Tower. No wonder why Paris has
always attracted the most talented of artists, thinkers and philosophers and is
most sought after Romantic destination in the world.
But it is the human body itself the French has an exquisite
comprehension about, which is at the core of the Joie de vivre the French live
and die with and urge everyone else have in life. The French somehow have a
better notion of what the body is about like the Asians in general have an insight
in to the spiritual nature of life.
Perhaps this inane appreciation of human body is what has
produced the best designers, cooks and hoteliers from among the French. With all that appreciation of the French psyche,
however I was puzzled when I checked in to an ordinary hotel room, a few years back,
in a town in France where I had earlier lived and worked for years. I had never
seen anything like that!
A window on the inner
wall separating the bedroom from the attached bathroom. At first I was really
intrigued. But slowly, as I settled down arranging my wardrobe and setting up
my laptop on the table, the ingenuity of the interior designers and architects
slowly started to dawn on me. Of course,
I could have asked the receptionist about it, but chose not to in order to hide
my lack of culture. I wasn’t sure if the
feature was only for some rooms and I was specially offered one as an added
welcome gesture. Today, I don’t know if
the hotel still has those rooms rented out to guests.
I am sure a lot of people will have different ideas about
the purpose and utility of such a feature. But for someone who is looking
forward to spend an evening with someone with a ‘tete a tete’ with ‘huitre’ and
champagne and roses, the room with this romantic window should offer plenty of
extended pleasures one can imagine.
Years later, when France has elected a new President and
thinks nothing is abnormal or strange about his unmarried companion moving in
to the Elysee palace with him, it is a lot more easier to take in the sublime
imagination of the French designers who had conceived and incorporated this bizarre
feature which appeared to be unique.
Not sure if this is unique at all or there are many other
hotels with such exquisite add on facilities to make your stay more memorable
and perhaps offered as an incentive for you to come back. It will be good to
hear from others.
For anyone who has never come across this wonderful feature
and wants to check out, the hotel was a branch of Mercure Hotels in the town of
Evry, in the southern outskirts of Paris.
Article first published as What On Earth Is This Window For? on Technorati.
Article first published as What On Earth Is This Window For? on Technorati.
Did Whitney And The World Love ‘Whitney Houston Going Home.’?
‘Whitney Houston Going Home.’ Did
Whitney And The World Loved It?
Judging from the paltry coverage
of her funeral service by the world media at large, except by celebrity sites
like TMZ,
it looks like much has been already said and written
about the ‘Going Home’ ceremony of another of 20th century Icons, the
much loved pop singer Whitney
Houston. So what more is there to say?
There are many events and
occasions which have left indelible marks on human memory for the visuals and
voices they carried and in some cases for profound changes in world opinion and
attitude.
However, certain occasions like
the Kennedy assassination and the death of Princess Diana spring to mind as
events which left the world shocked out of wits and saddest at the time but
somehow despatched the real grief home only during the funerals, which were
grimmest of affairs in grandest of settings.
The funeral service of Whitney
Houston turned out be an ordinary affair in an ordinary church, yet caught the
attention of the world and evoked feelings of loss and bonding of a different
kind, which has made Whitney more endearing and human to millions of viewers
who have turned more sympathetic.
Like thousands of others, Whitney
Houston probably died of a quiet heart attack, after eating a ham burger with some
satisfaction. An ordinary event in the life of a celebrity, which shot out of
proportion and shocked the world thanks to the aura of negativity given by the
media and the instant technology at its disposal today.
The bottom line is, Whitney actually
belonged to a station in life which is home for a large majority of the people
in the world. Like in the case of Lady Diana, it was the special corner of love and sympathy Whitney
somehow managed to secure in the hearts of millions which sent the pain around
in huge dollops rather than the heights she could carry her music with her
wonderful melisma.
That is why, the ‘Going Home’
ceremony so affectionately and caringly organised by her mother and relatives
turned out to be something the world could watch and relate to and something
which would have made Whitney Houston enormously happy.
It was in fact a Home Coming
celebration for some one who completed a very successful journey in life which
Whitney Houston, accomplished diva and singer was denied by her untimely death.
It was entirely in order to give her a send off where everyone could have
thanked her and she could have thanked everyone who helped her along and the
right thing to do.
More than anything else, the
speeches and the songs sung in her praise by other famous performers like
by Kevin Costner and Stevie
wonder have put on some wonderful colour and shades to the caricature,
perhaps somewhat distorted, the world had in its mind. At the end of that entire protracted event, the
diva of Newark had certainly come
out in shining armour as a sweet darling of the entire world, ready to be
carried off by the angels for the only performance Whitney Houston ever had to
give. Certainly Whitney Houston couldn’t have gone home happier!
Perhaps one of the biggest
rewards of living in the 20th century and carrying on in to the 21st
is the enormous shock, grief, despair, anger, excitement or joy one get to
share with the whole world simultaneously from events defining our times around
the world, which wouldn’t have been possible without the marvellous 20th
century inventions in communication.
Article first published as ‘Whitney
Houston Going Home.’ Did Whitney And The World Love It? on Technorati.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Posted by Unknown
Did Whitney Houston Plan The Grandest Of Her Exits?
It may be too soon to speak
without being disrespectful to the departed, but whether the diva, famous for
her sensational concert exits often with her signature piece “I will always love you” wished it to be
or not, her death in reality has turned in to her grandest of exits!
“A
surreal scene unfolded at the hotel as the party continued while Miss Houston's
body remained in her room on the fourth floor, which was sealed off with yellow
police tape.”
No one in history, except Julius Caesar,
perhaps had his or her praise sung to the world and immortalised, while the soul
which was separated from the body must have been looking down on it and smiling
in greatest of joy at the fulfilment of the life just ended.
"Whitney
Houston, simply put, had the greatest voice in the world. She was a gift of
God. Hearing her sing was like listening to magic. If it wasn't for Clive Davis,
the world may not have known about this miracle voice," Combs
It must sound cruel and uncaring
to think of still holding a party
when an invited has just departed, especially if it happened in the next room.
But in the case of Whitney, who has been honoured with six Grammy awards, it
was not just a party she was supposed to attend that evening, it was her mentor
and music producer Clive Davis's customary pre-Grammy party, typically one of
the most fun-filled highlights of the week leading to the music industry's top awards
ceremony
For Whitney, it would have been a
party held by her mentor who made her the Whitney Houston the whole world pines
for, where she would have found herself the happiest. How could Whitney have
asked it to be stopped, if her soul could, it would have sung “I will always
love you” for all in the party hall to hear!
"Simply
put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we
carry on,"
Though some statements have been issued by the coroner about the cause
of Whitney’s tragic death, and we may never ever know exactly, one thing seems
to be true. Whitney Houston may not have asked for it but God has granted her
the best stage she could have wished for a final performance.
Article first published as Did
Whitney Houston Plan The Grandest Of Her Exits? on Technorati
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Posted by Unknown
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