A Few Things I'm Loving This Week (& Sadness)…

So it's been a week of sadness, yet with the backdrop of some beautiful Indian summer weather. My parents, although in extremely good health, are at an age where their friends are leaving this mortal coil, and what follows is reflection, sadness and, for me, fear that I will lose them soonish too. One of my great friends is going through exactly that this week, having lost his mother a few days ago.
When anyone dies, it is hard not to reflect back and feel terribly nostalgic, a theme I discussed only last week in my blog. One dear family friend in particular with whom we holidayed back in the seventies, died very unexpectedly this week: the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning British film, television and theatre composer George Fenton. I remember Christmas carol singing around his grand piano at home in Chiswick, with Chris de Burgh, Richard Attenborough and Alan Bennett all joining in. I was definitely in awe of George's talent, and the work he composed was so varied, from Hollywood films (Gandhi, Cry Freedom, Shadowlands, The Madness of King George, Groundhog Day, Dangerous Liaisons) to BBC Radio theme tunes (PM) and the natural world of Blue Planet. George often drove down to Dorset to visit my parents and was part of the wine lunches my father holds in our restaurant from time to time.Starting with something which has given me visual joy is the new Spring Summer 2027 Women's Dries Van Noten collection, the first designed by Julian Klausner. The lineup channels grand Technicolor energy combined with casual glamour, featuring the most beautifully adorned silk dresses, cinched waists using statement belts and brooches, heeled court shoes, gloves, and soft bags. The colour combinations are exceptional, not obvious and sometimes clashing but all in all, stunning.

My favourites below:There are a number of exhibitions which have really caught my eye, and of course there are Frieze and Frieze Masters coming up in Regent's Park. The first one, again, is nostalgic, as back in the day, when I was working in London, I had an obsession with Ossie Clark dresses and owned a fair few. I have kept two, one black and beautiful, the other cream with a very distinct Celia Birtwell print. I often think of selling them, but just cannot part with them, even though I doubt they fit. So I am hugely excited about Ossie Clark & Celia Birtwell at the Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street, which brings together more than 120 garments, some lent by Celia herself. It celebrates one of the great creative partnerships of sixties and seventies London: Ossie's beautiful cut paired with Celia's dreamy prints. Highlights include the "Ziggy Stardust" chiffon dress and Celia's own wedding dress. It runs until April 2027.Next up is the Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury opening at Tate Britain on 12 November, and I cannot wait. It's the first major exhibition to tell the story of their life and work together, with over 300 pieces, from their early, bold paintings right through to the furniture, ceramics and textiles they designed for the Omega Workshops. For an interiors lover like me, their amazing studio at Charleston has been moved and recreated in the gallery while the house is being conserved. That has never been done before. There's also the wonderful Famous Women Dinner Service, 50 hand-painted plates celebrating women from Cleopatra to Jane Austen. It runs until 11 April 2027.Ever since I read Any Human Heart by William Boyd over a decade ago, I have pretty much devoured every book he has written. Boyd has just published Cold Sunset, his third novel in the Gabriel Dax series. I haven't started it yet, but it's by my bed waiting, and as soon as I am not exhausted at the end of the day, I will be starting it. Another book, again nostalgic and fitting perfectly with last week's blog, where I mentioned my Matchbox memories, is Table Hopping by Dylan Jones. Fifty years ago this month, in October 1976, Michael Caine, chef Richard Shepherd and the irrepressible Peter Langan opened Langan's, and London dining was never quite the same again. It became the celebrity haunt, taking the crown from Mr Chow and San Lorenzo. Before long, Joe Allen, Le Caprice and L'Escargot had joined it, and London had become one of the most exciting restaurant cities in the world. Both books will be available to purchase from our shop soon.Another treat for the diary: on 21 October, Dreweatts is auctioning A Painting Partnership, a collection of pictures from the estates of Julian Trevelyan and Mary Fedden. The two met when Mary was a student at the Slade, married in 1951 and spent their lives painting side by side at Durham Wharf, their riverside home and studio in Hammersmith, which became a much-loved gathering place for artists. The sale includes paintings, works on paper and reliefs. Highlights are on view in Pall Mall from 12 to 14 October, before the sale itself at Donnington Priory near Newbury. Two new British films on my radar this week, both, funnily enough, set in the classroom. Bad Apples stars the brilliant Saoirse Ronan as Maria, a primary school teacher pushed to the edge by one very disruptive ten-year-old, and it's a deliciously dark comedy in which things take a rather sinister turn. Extra Geography is gentler but just as sharp, a coming-of-age story about two best friends at an English girls' boarding school whose friendship is put to the test. It's adapted from a short story by Rose Tremain, another of my all-time favourite authors, so I'm especially keen to see it.To coincide with his new book, Atmosfloric (on sale in Brassica Mercantile and online), Sean A Pritchard is opening the Atmosfloric Emporium on Great Portland Street, Marylebone Village, in November. With its mix of brands, artists and makers and its vibrant programme of events, the Emporium aims to capture the same sense of fantasy as his book. Its mission is to explore how design collides with the garden, and the adjacent themes and ideas that travel from flowers to art, the home, apparel, beauty and publishing. Ultimately, it is a place for ideas, exploration and coming together during the slower pace of winter.

Part of my blog will always have a property section, mainly houses in Europe where I will fantasise about moving to once I retire - if that ever happens.  This week, I am listing two properties only, as I got slightly tired of scrolling and researching fro more properties.  One is in Provence, which I would happily move to, with the TGV and Eurostar on my doorstep to travel to further parts of Europe and one in Italy to a part I am not so aware of, Lake Bolsena.On the left is the Italian barn and house in Lake Bolsena, guide price €179,000
and on the right a village house near Uzès with pool, with a price tag of €395,000

See you next week...