The Londoness


Born in Paris.

Made in London.

Teller of London Tales.

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Fitzrovia Chapel

Fitzrovia Chapel | Byztantine Bling in London

Last updated on August 16th, 2020There are some places in London that simply take your breath away. The Arab Hall in Leighton House is one of those. The Soane Museum is another, as is Two Temple Place. Then I visited Fitzrovia Chapel where every square inch screams of bling without a Swarovski crystal in sight….

Stanley Kubrick, exhibition, design museum

Art Imitating Art: Stanley Kubrick | Design Museum

Last updated on October 30th, 2019Is there anyone on the planet who hasn’t seen a Stanley Kubrick film? My Kubrick of choice, and one of my all-time favourite films, is the lesser-known Barry Lyndon,  the tale of a rake’s progress where every scene is a delicious 18th century painting. To watch it is to step…

cutty sark, 150 birthday, cutty sark meaning, cutty sark history

Cutty Sark teas-off for its 150th

Last updated on February 18th, 2021Cutty Sark: two words that instantly convey adventure, stealth, the open sea and the might of British engineering. One of London’s most treasured landmarks, the Cutty Sark is turning a grand 150 years young, and to celebrate, the Greenwich museum has laid on some very merry birthday celebrations. So, batten…

Pitzhanger Manor, Gallery

Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery

Last updated on March 28th, 2021You may have never heard of Pitzhanger Manor, but you will now. Following a three-year, £12 million renovation and restoration project, this London gem in Ealing is striking a Regency pose, ready to make your acquaintance. Designed in 1800 by the neo-classical starchitect, John Soane, the manor is re-born like…

The Favourite, Costumes, Hampton Court Palace, Queen Anne, Sandy Powell

Costumes from The Favourite at Hampton Court

Move over Henry VIII: you’ve had your day. There’s a new dawn at Hampton Court Palace, and it’s Queen Anne’s turn to be in the limelight. Thanks to Yorgos Lanthimos’s baroque tour de force: The Favourite, Queen Anne is finally, and deservedly, taking centre stage in British history.  Winner of seven Baftas, a Golden Globe…

London Diary, what to do in London this week, Dior, Designer of Dreams, V and A, Tango Fire

Dressed to Impress

Last updated on March 10th, 2019I’ve taken to wearing trainers these days. Not very Parisienne,  I hear you say. I gave up on the heels when I realised I could cover so much more of London in a day with a bit of padding between me and the London beat. And recently, someone had the…

Lalique factory, Lalique museum, Lalique hotel

Rene Lalique – The Glass Wizard

Last updated on June 2nd, 2021Think Lalique, and you think glass, non? But there’s so much more to this French design giant, dubbed the “creator of modern jewellery.” And following a whirlwind trip to the Lalique factory and museum in Alsace, the legendary Villa René Lalique with its two Michelin-star restaurant, and an overnight stay…

Home Futures, Design Museum, Mon Oncle, Jacques Tati. Villa Arpel

Home Futures at the Design Museum

Last updated on March 16th, 2019Fans of Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle, Tomorrow’s World  (which returns to BBC4 later this month) and sci-fi film Back to the Future  will be delighted with the Design Museum’s latest immersive exhibition: Home Futures. It’s not about the future, but rather about how we once imagined design would impact the world…

Lost Treasures of Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole, gothic literature, gothic design,

Strawberry Hill: Walpole’s Lost Treasures come home

Last updated on April 23rd, 2021How on earth do you track 150 paintings, sculptures, furniture and curiosities which were dispersed 176 years ago after the great “sale of the century?”  You hire art super-sleuth Silvia Davoli, that’s how. And you know Horace Walpole would be tickled pink (or probably red, a colour he used lavishly…

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