Ackermann's Repository Fashions, 1814

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Ackermann's Repository Fashions, 1813

A cluster of new offerings were posted on ebay. These picutres are not very clear, but they might help to identify some of the other I have on discs.

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England, Waterloo and the Rhine 2010 part two

This will be about Brussels and Waterloo

England, Waterloo and the Rhine, 2010, part one

This will be about the London leg of our trip.

My Late Lamented Cousin Shera

Shera Biggers Thomson 1939-2009

Shera and I had a sort of bond that transcended our status as second cousins. We just were so alike and yet so very different.  We had many interests that were the same and many divergent ideas too.

I miss her very much. And on my trip to England just concluded (June 9-30, 2010), there were so many times I thought about sharing an experience with Shera, only to remember she is no longer here to listen and react.  How very sad.

Shera shortly before her final illness, altready thin with unknown disease.

In 1997, Ed and I went with Shera and Kevin for one of our several tours of wineries in the Russian River Valley, but before we left 'Santa Rosa, where they lived, we toured the Peanuts museum of chares Schultz.  Shera is posing beside one of the figures they have artists decorate every year to auction for charity.

Kevin, Snoopy, Shera and Ed, l to r.

There were many Snoopys, all the same yet all different.

The wine country in Sonoma County is very beautiful.

Grapes and more grapes.

In Juy, 2008, Shera met me in San Francisco where I had attended the RWA National Convention. Here Shera and Shari Anton and I were touring the Chihuly exhibition at the SF Museum of Fine Arts.

We loved the colorful collection of his organic-shaped glass.

I hope I can upload some other pictures from other trips we took together, to Kentucky and Southern Illinois and to England to do genealogical research on our common predecessors.

In our grandfather's generation, there were, I think, six Biggers boys. But only two of them had sons, my father, my Uncle Hayward (both sons of Ene Walter Biggers) and Carter, son of E.W.'s brother.

In Shera's and my generation, there was only one male offspring, my brother Jerry Jr. who has no children.   So the genes of the Biggers brothers (and sisters) are carried on though the females of the family -- and there are lots of us!

My love of Jane Austen

So where did it come from? I can't remember. I do remember that I went to the 1995 JASNA AGM in Madison.  I was a member then, but for how long I don't remember. I loved it even though the subject was as Mansfield Park, my least favorite of the novels.

Among the people there was Sandy Lerner and I found out about her project at Chawton House, hoping to save it and create a library for the study of early English women authors.  She is a co-founder is Cisco Systems and upon leaving the company, acquired a large fortune. Part of it she has spent on Chawton House, doing a beautiful restoration project. The interior of the house is beautiful, including the kitchen. Many paintings of women writers are on the walls.

Shire horses graze in the pastures and the gardens are gradually being returned to their productive best, as they were int eh late 18th centuries.

Chawton HOuse was basically Turdor but added to over generations until it was quite a mish-mash of styles. It still is, but at least the roof is sound and the paneling is restored.

Nearby, just on the edge of the estate is the cottage owned by Jane Austen's brother who was later to change his surname to Austen-Knight. He inherited two large estates from his adoptive parents, relatives of his mother. In 1809, Jane Austen, her mother and sister Cassandra moved here and she did most of her revision and writing here.

The cottage is good-sized but very modest. At one time, it was an inn. It had extensive outbuildingds amd a garden in which many vegetables were grown, now mostly flowers. though modest, it was comfortable and Jane loved it.

Traveling to England 2009, part two

After a week driving around Hampshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, we drove to Heathrow and dropped off our car.  I cannot get over how much more stressful driving in England has become over the last fifteen or so years. I used to enjoy the challenge of driving on the left, but the traffic has grown so dreadful, with huge lorries and great volume of speeders, I no longer want to do it very much. Ed doesn't like it much either! So we were glad to be rid of the car. Above, a shot of the new terminal

 which we walked through to catch the train into Paddington: the Heathrow Express. Paddington, right, has a rather Victorian feel, a sharp contrast to the new Heathrow space. Somehow, no matter the updating and modern amenities, these old railroad stations have that 19th century feel to them.

We stayed in St. James, at the Cavendish Hotel, corner of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, just  the street from Fortnum and Mason.  Though this is a concrete behemoth, it is the site of the famous hotel run by one of King Edward VII's mistesses, the famous Duchess of Duke Street, subject of a well-known PBS series, made in England of course. The Cavendish was an excellent location, just a block off Piccadilly and a neighbor not only of F&M, but of Hatchards and the Royal Academy.

Nice rooms and a great view from upstairs.

We had several visits planned for research purposes, especially to the Scotland Office in Whitehall, the former house lived in by the Melbourne family when Emily was a young girl.

Whitehall's sidewalks, aka pavements, were all torn up but we persevered and were taken around to the main floor rooms, which are occupied by the Scotland office. Through the rear windows, we saw the bands proacticing for the upcoming Trooping the Colour to celebrate the Queen's Birthday. I took some interior shots, though our guide was very nervous about it. Perhaps she thought I was a spy. From the Wales office??

The foyer is very impressive, looking upward toward the low rotunda and across the marble floor to the entrance.

The walls and fireplaces are still raltively intact, but hardly complemented by the sturdy official furniture and office lighting.

But there are definitely traces left of the elegant mansion that hosted so many parties, including the waltz lessons hosted by Lady Caroline Lamb, wife of William Lamb (Emily's brother) who after the death of his wife, succeeded to the title of Lord Mebourne and became Prime Minister of England.

Another of my delightful tasks while in London in may of 2009 was to follow the maps laid out by the Royal Academey exhibition of Palladian influences in Georgian architecture. I had downloaded their brochures, though the show itself was sadly concluded. On our walks around Mayfair and Westminster, we were able to see many 9of the buildings described, as below, two views of Berkely Square.

As I recall, this house was used by some American leaders during the Revolutionary war and early Federal Period.  Need to renew my research!

We also looked at some of the other locations that Emily,Lady Cowper/Palmerston, lived. I think her first home after marriage ot Lord Palmerston was here, in Carlton Terrace. These buildings were on part of the location of Carlton House, which was demolished after having millions spend in rebuildign and enahncing its decor. The Prince Regent was a lavish spender. But it stood in the way of Nash's plan for connecting Regent Street with the Mall.

Later, the Palmerstons lived here at a building known today either as the In and Out Club, after the signs on the posts along Piccadilly, or Cambridge House, for it was once the residence of the Duke of Cambridge. Before the Pamerstons lived there (1855-65), others occupied the house, including the infamous first Marquess of Cholmondeley (1749-1827)who was a protector of Grace Eliot and a famous man about town. The house number is 94 Piccadilly. Recently I saw an article that said a recent deal to turn the house into a hotel and casino had fallen through. It is a Grade I Listed property.  I may offer to rent it for a pound a year. You'd have to bring your own furniture if you visited me there. But no problem!!

Moving backward in Emily's life, when she was married to Earl Cowper, she lived in St. George Steet near Hanover Square, though the building does not appear to exist anymore. I confirmed the location when I did soem research at the Westminster Archives, which was fun. 

Above is a view of Hanover Square and to the left is a view from the Square  to the church St. George's Hanover Square, on St. George St.

Houses on St. George Street.

Just a short walk from our hotel on Jermyn Street was the statue of Beau Brummell.

And not far away, across Piccadilly, is the Royal Academey of Arts. We watched them erect a new sculpture in the courtyard.

Two friends (Winnie and FDR) chat on a London street.

 Two views of The Criterion Restaurant where we had a snack before attending a play at the underground Criterion Theatre.

The play we saw was a wonderful British farce The 39 Steps, based on the novel and inspried by the Hitchcock film. Four actors performed all the parts and it was brilliant.

Fianlly, two shots from nearby Piccadilly. A window at Fortnum & Mason.

And a front door of wonderful Hatchards Bookstore, there since 1797.

As soon as I come home from England, I start dreaming about the next visit.