If your sloes are not all wanted for sloe gin, try making them into jellies, jams, or spiced conserves to go with savoury dishes. It’s more trouble than gin – you have to really cook, not just mix – but you’ll end up with attractive and flavourful jars of stuff you made yourself, and the [more...]
A bullace is a wild plum that can be either dark blue-purple or light yellowy-green, sometimes flushed with red. Black bullace and white bullace are the traditional names for the two kinds. There are a few cultivated varieties too, which give rise to more names and varied colours. Damsons are similar to a dark bullace, [more...]
Sloe gin is not just the easiest way of using wild sloes, it’s probably the most popular in the UK. Other sloe-flavoured liqueurs – patxarán or pacharán from northern Spain, Italian bargnolino and Schlehenfeuer from Germany – have interestingly different flavouring, even though the basic idea is much the same. Sloe gin Pick sloes after [more...]
When Mary Stuart married François, Dauphin of France, in 1558 what could the public see? For days in advance the city was busy. Workers set up theatres inside the palace, and hung draperies inside and outside the cathedral. Many people earned extra pennies constructing walkways and a stage with vineleaf decoration in the cathedral square. Dressmakers [more...]
15-year-old Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was married to 14-year-old François, Dauphin of France, in April 1558. The wedding celebrations for the future French king and queen were magnificent, and a report of the grand ceremony and festivities was published one week later. So what does it tell us about Mary’s dress? [She] was dressed [more...]
White wedding dresses were popular in fashionable circles by the mid-19th century, even though many brides still chose other colours. The idea of a once-in-a-lifetime wedding dress was more flexible than today, and wearing white was quite a new fashion. Victorian dresses that look very “bridal” to us now were almost the same as evening [more...]
The Gallery of Practical Science opened in 1832 in London. Its aim was to inspire an enthusiasm for science, with plenty of working models of science and technology in action. Inventor Jacob Perkins was the driving force in forming a “Society for the Illustration and Encouragement of Practical Science” which ran the National Gallery of [more...]
When we say French twist, French manicure, French cuffs etc. are these truly French fashions? French people call the chic hairstyle we know as a French twist or French roll a chignon banane (banana bun). On the other hand, a French braid or French plait has the same name in France – tresse française – [more...]
Anyone who can get to the Isle of Lewis can visit the standing stones of Callanish, and move around freely – quite different from the untouchable Stonehenge circle at the other end of the UK, which attracts about 20 visitors for every one at Callanish. The main site has a sheep-proof fence, gate, and a [more...]
They may seem horrible to us, but feather fans with a cute dead hummingbird were a Victorian fashion for more than twenty years. Stuffed and wired into shape, the bird was posed stylishly, sometimes along with feather flowers or even insects. The fans weren’t the folding type, but the kind that was sometimes called a [more...]
Most luckenbooth brooches sold today are heart-shaped with a crown above. Sometimes the design is a pair of interlocking twin hearts. But it wasn’t always so. This kind of traditional Scottish brooch could be a very simple outline heart, as you can see in some museums. So don’t take it as a rule that only [more...]
Bustles were undergarments for dresses designed to swell out dramatically at the back of the skirt, in the fashion of the 1870s and 1880s. Dressmakers had various ways of providing hidden support for these curves. Bustles generally depended on cushioning, or a frame, or some combination: padding held in shape with wires, or a frame [more...]
Food served with a cold spoon may cool down too quickly for some tastes. Even worse, a dish with rich, fatty gravy may congeal unappealingly on its way to your plate. A decorative container filled with hot water to keep serving spoons and sauce ladles warm seemed like the perfect solution in Victorian Britain. The [more...]
Planning a wedding dress for a period drama is not just a question of research plus design flair. It’s true the dress must look authentic for that particular era as well as suiting the actress, her character, and the overall mood and setting. Yet at the same time, the designer has to think about the [more...]
The new Dr. Who, Matt Smith, wears a distinctive jacket made of genuine Harris Tweed. The press has called it “timeless”, “traditional”, “vintage” and even “romantic”. The Doctor’s jacket is made from cloth woven in the 1960s, the same age as the TV programme itself. The fabric looks much like Harris Tweed woven today, and [more...]
Imagine your social club has to meet in secret because it’s affiliated with a banned political party. This was roughly the situation facing the 18th century Jacobites: supporters of the Stuart royal dynasty whose ancestors had sat on the throne in London before falling out of favour. Despite the risk of being arrested for treason, [more...]
Over the last few years lingonberry has become a fairly familiar English word. Thanks to a well-known Swedish furniture store putting lingonberry jam, jelly, and cordial on its shelves, and a few foody articles in lifestyle sections of the newspapers, many of us have a general idea that this small red berry is from Scandinavia, [more...]
Millions of people in 32 countries have read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. In its homeland, Sweden, enough books have been bought for more than a quarter of the population to own a copy. There’s a Swedish film version called Men who Hate Women, and talk of a Hollywood movie in [more...]
Look at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs for furnishings, textiles, stained glass etc. and it won’t be long before you see a characteristic rose: typically pink, and less symmetrical than classic rose motifs. The petals often have strong outlines, perhaps the leading of stained glass, or the white space of a stencilled image. Is it right [more...]
In the 1890s tearooms flourished all over the UK, and nowhere more than in Glasgow. There you would find several city centre premises with a choice of rooms for customers taking tea – including separate rooms for ladies and gentlemen, and smoking rooms. Those managed by the enterprising Miss Cranston, who asked designer-architect Charles Rennie [more...]