Hide Away at the Home of Picasso’s Favourite French Poet

With the first signs of an early Spring, perhaps you might find yourself looking towards summer already and thinking about how you’re going to spend it. With France as my oyster, I began my hunt for hideaways in the south when I stumbled upon a rare gem in the medieval village that has long been a…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CDXC)

1. Margarita Carmen Cansino, the Brooklyn-born dancer who became Hollywood film idol ‘Rita Hayworth’ Born Margarita Carmen Cansino, her father was from a little town near Seville, Spain and her Irish and English mother performed with the Ziegfeld Follies. During her time at Fox, Hayworth was billed as Rita Cansino and appeared in unremarkable roles, often cast…

The Secret behind 575 Wandsworth Road

On a seemingly ordinary street in South London, past the concrete tower blocks, the off-licenses and chicken takeaway shops, is a strip of seemingly ordinary Victorian terrace houses. But one of these houses is not like the others. Hidden away behind the most unassuming facade, is a work of art and a place a possibilities…

The 1970 Osaka World’s Fair was Something Else

And here we were thinking that the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and 1964 were impressive. Osaka knocked it out of the park in the 1970. The theme of the Expo was “Progress and Harmony for Mankind,” and a total of 77 countries participate, including the USA and the USSR, with more than 64…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CDLXXXIX)

1. Historical reenactment of a Moa hunt, early 20th century Moa were large flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, up to 12 ft high and 500+ lbs. Extinct since circa 1400. And now you see how birds evolved from dinosaurs. Found on Death & Mysticism. 2. Sequoia National Park in the winter Sequoia national park…

Come to our Messy Movie Night at the Keyholder Clubhouse in Paris

Care to join us at our first secret pop-up cinema in Paris? This month, we’re opening up the MessyNessy Paris HQ and turning it into a Keyholder Clubhouse for the evening. And we’re kicking it off with movie night on Wednesday February 26th! Drinks & nibbles start at 7.45pm. We’ll have wine and cheese &…

The Secret History of Lipstick

Its recipe has taken thousands of years to perfect, and if we follow the forgotten trail, its secret history can lead us from the ancient tombs of antiquity to underground societies that paved the way for freedom of expression. Contrary to popular assumption, lipstick was in fact genderless for most of its existence, and as…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CDLXXXVIII)

Welcome to a special edition of 13 Things to kick off Black History Month and LGBT History Month… 1. The U.S. Army’s 1st & only ever bicycle division, the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps in 1897 In June of 1897, the all-black company of the 25th Mobile Infantry, under command of a white lieutenant and accompanied by a…

What Happens After Dark at Amsterdam’s Mystery Manor

You’d have to be searching for something peculiar to stumble across the Mayer Manor. Luckily, it seems you and I are always in search of something peculiar. Originally a 15th century monastery, later occupied by a wealthy tobacco merchant of the 19th century, the four-storey mansion is tucked away behind a canal in the red…

The Secret History of the Conversation Chair

It’s taken many names, shapes and forms over the centuries – the conversation chair, the courting bench, a tête-à-tête, a chaperone chair, the vis-à-vis, gossip chair or the indiscret. Considered the pinnacle of sophistication and style during the Gilded and Victorian age, if you were entertaining the fashionable elite, one simply wasn’t running a home…