Tea at Trianon: Thyme

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

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Thyme

From Victoria:

Amid the Cotswolds’ unmistakable honey-hued cottages, a storybook village lies nestled in the blissful pastures of the English countryside. This sanctuary is known as Thyme, and it offers far more than a mere hotel, focusing on conservation in every facet—from the farm-to-table menu supplied largely by ingredients grown on the property to botanically themed lodgings and beyond
.“The ambition was to reconnect these old working buildings back with the land, and in doing so, to reconnect our guests with nature,” explains Camilla “Milly” Hibbert, whose mother, Caryn, founded the estate. This aim has become quite the family affair, enlisting the diverse strengths of each member. Caryn’s father, Michael Bertioli, partnered with her in restoring the derelict structures; her son, Charlie, serves as head chef; and Milly oversees exciting retail developments for the quickly flourishing brand. (Read more.)