Tea at Trianon: Staying Home is The New Going Out

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, November 11, 2016

Staying Home is The New Going Out

I totally agree! From Vicki Archer:

“Home” is our castle.

I have never understood those who don’t care about their surroundings although I do envy them in a way. Creating a home and caring about the interior can become an obsession. There is a balance to seek and I hope these days I’m there. When I was younger I strove for perfection, within my capabilities and focused on every small internal and external detail. I question how much I really relaxed and enjoyed that environment. I remember our early days in Provence; I never sat still, I was always re-inventing and re-arranging.

Today, I don’t fret if a little mess interrupts the view or we aren’t as “together” as I would like. I am happy where things sit and I leave them alone. Yes, I do make small changes here and there but nothing like I once did. I am trying to enjoy the moment more, accept home is a home and banish the “showpiece” mentality. Help! I think I’m growing up.

Home is our security blanket, our nest and it is important to feel at one with it. Recently I have had an unsettled feeling; we are in-between in London and I am realising that temporary, however comfortable is a little de-stabilising. Like it or not, staying home is my fancy place and I’m ready to set up another one. Being at home, where you belong, is one potent feeling. I miss the commitment to bricks and mortar. In Provence, I always feel at home but I’m not always at home, if you see what I mean? Life, family and commitments have led me away and everyday life is more London focused. (Read more.)