December 2009 - Los Cuadernos de Julia

Happy New Year – The End of the Decade

It is a great pleasure for me to write this post because none of you (except my mother who reads the blog) knew me 10 years ago, in 1999. In 1999, I finally began to read in Tudor History which was to become my primary subject of research until 2004. I started my studies at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. And I also wrote a play in verses; it was similar to those Tudor and Jacobean plays that were composed on occasion, and our occasion was New Year and winter holidays. The play was called “A Midwinter Night’s Dream“, in obvious reference to William Shakespeare, and was witty, funny, and involved our entire group (about 13 people). I also directed them, which experience I recently recalled: we had literally one square meter to work with, so it was a challenge. But all went well, and at the end of it I as an author received a huge round of applause.

Next year, in 2000 I went to a conference in St Petersburg, a former Russian imperial capital, where I spent 15 days, insisting that I would return home on my birthday, and not a day earlier. There was something symbolic for me in marking my 20th on the train where nobody knew me. Having always lived with parents, I felt like this would let me break free and break away.

John Grundeken, Happy New Year

It took me another 3 years to finally break away, but boy, did I break! In six years I have never been back, and not quite because I did not want to.

This is one lesson of the decade: “be careful what you wish for” is very true. However, in my case I do not feel I can – or should – complain.

I’ve just looked at the “Happy New Year” posts I wrote previously, in 2006, in 2007, and in 2008. Every single of those years I was looking forward to meeting great, interesting people, which I did. Every single year I wanted to travel more, and in 2009 I outdid myself, having taken 21 trips, the last one on Dec. 29th. I wanted to write better, to work harder, and I am pleased that I enter 2010 with two photos published in print, and a Blog of Note nod from Google. Once again, what you passionately want absolutely does come true, so I have no doubt that 2010 is going to be brilliant, spectacular, and happy – simply because that’s how I want it to be.

One thing I will not be doing this year is drawing a list of resolutions, things to do, and goals to achieve. The idea I found on Chris Brogan’s blog last year is very inspirational, and I will be sharing plans and goals (needless to say, I always make them). But in the last 2-3 months I have noticed an unhealthy interest in certain quarters towards what I do, as well as some other things. This is not going to make me “cautious” because caution has never got anyone anywhere. Yet I am listening to my inner Tiger, so here goes. No resolutions or goals in this post.

As always, my huge thankyous and sincere greetings go to you, dear readers. Without going too far into details, a lot of success I have had since 2005 with my online endeavours I owe to you, to your searches, to your interest, and to your comments and emails. This I say both as a person and a blogger. And as a person only, I have lit candles in Sheffield for all of us and for those few close people who, to various degrees, support, inspire, teach, and comfort me. It was the first time I ever did any such thing, and Sheffield was simply the place where I found myself at the end of 2009. But maybe it wasn’t all that coincidental after all, for I don’t think I’d do the same if I stayed in Manchester.

The post is illustrated with postcards by John Grundeken and Arthur Tserikh, and a handful of Russian postcards (one of them features the work by Anne Geddes). I bet that you’d love to see more, though. If yes, check out this blog after 00:00 GMT on January 1st, 2010. I’m sure you will not be disappointed.

Last but not least… a massive thankyou, commendation, and lots of love to my parents, and all the more to my mother who since 2008 has scanned a lot of images upon my request. Some of the posts on this blog, including this and the one you are about to see on Jan. 1st, would not be possible without her help.

Anne Geddes, Christmas postcard

2009: The Da Vinci Year

Update (30 December 2009): On December 25, 2009, it was announced that a team of Italian scientists were planning to exhume the remains of Leonardo da Vinci from his grave in Amboise in France. They want to establish if the remains are, indeed, Leonardo’s, and if he was indeed a vegetarian. And if his scull has survived and in a decent condition, there is a possibility that the master’s face will be restored.

Original (23 December 2009)

The end of the first decade of the new millennium was rightfully marked by several events and discoveries associated with the name of one of the genuine men of the past millennium: Leonardo da Vinci.

First, Nicola Barbatelli has discovered a portrait of Leonardo; it may also be by Leonardo, although this is contested, but it is certainly not that of Galileo.

(on the aside, Galileo’s fingers were discovered, so perhaps we may call 2009 the year of Italian discoveries).

Then, Piero Angelo armed himself with the help of the police forensic experts, art historians, and graphic artists to conclude with a degree of certainty that the faint image he found in the Codex on the Flight of Birds may be a self-portrait of Leonardo.

Before and during Barbatelli’s discovery, 10 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci from the Royal Collection were visiting Manchester Art Gallery. Da Vinci – The Genius is currently attracting visitors to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

And in October 2009, Martin Kemp, the Professor Emeritus in History of Art at the University of Oxford, has claimed that a portrait of a beautiful Italian girl, previously thought to be painted in the 19th c., in fact belongs to Leonardo’s hand. The Master’s fingerprint was revealed thanks to the revolutionary “multispectral” camera, and, by eliminating one historic figure after another, Professor Kemp was able to establish that the sitter is Bianca Sforza, the daughter of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and his mistress Bernardina de Corradis.

Leonardo da Vinci, La Bella Principessa

Kemp believes the portrait must date from around 1496 when, aged 13 or 14, Bianca married the Duke’s army captain, Galeazzo Sanseverino (a patron of Leonardo’s). Tragically, she died four months after the wedding.

This would be Leonardo’s first known Sforza ‘princess’ portrait, although he painted two of the Duke’s mistresses: Cecilia Gallerani (Lady with an Ermine in the Czartoryski Museum, Cracov); and Lucrezia Crivelli (La Belle Ferronière in the Louvre).

The painting’s price rocketed from £19,000 to £100mln, and La Bella Principessa is hopefully displayed in March 2010 at a show called And There Was Light: The Masters of the Renaissance Seen in a New Light in the Eriksbergshallen, Gothenburg. The show’s artistic director is Alessandro Vezzosi, the Director of Museo Ideale in Vinci, Leonardo’s home town.

2009 is yet to end, and there may be another Leonardo discovery waiting. But even so, this has been a gigantic flood of exhibitions and new evidence shedding light on one of the most prodigious and enigmatic figures of the past.

Image credit: Antiques Trade Gazette.

Christmas in Sculpture: Fatherhood of St Joseph

I am finishing 2009 on a high note with a trip to Sheffield on 29th December. It was a good trip and an interesting experience, which I will be talking about… in 2010!

Arthur de Mowbray, Nativity

Christian Fell, Nativity

In the meantime, a visit to Sheffield Cathedral has brought us two examples of Christmas-themed sculpture. I could not establish the author of the wooden carved group, although what I did manage to find suggests Arthur de Mowbray as the sculptor. It is a boldly carved Nativity scene, with careful work carried out on the minute details.

The second example is a now complete Nativity group by Brian Fell. It was produced in parts for Sheffield Galvanize Festival, and this year Mary that was created in 2008 was joined by Joseph and Jesus, and all three can now be found at the west end of the church (this part of the cathedral was built in 1966). Fell follows the same approach to depicting the baby Jesus as we have seen in the marble group at Manchester Cathedral: the newly born is wrapped up in sheets. In this sense, the wooden Nativity group that stands close to St Katharine Chapel is traditional in that it appears to follow the canonic depiction of Jesus in the nude. Fell’s group, with Joseph holding the baby, produces a similar effect of intimacy and parental amazement, as does the work by Josefin de Vasconcellos in Manchester.

St Joseph with Jesus,
R.C. Church of St Marie, Sheffield

A slightly different example, still in Sheffield, is this painted sculpture of Joseph and baby Jesus in the wall of the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St Marie. It is simply beautiful and deserves to be included in the post. Together with Fell’s Nativity and de Vasconcellos’s Holy Night, this is a fairly rare example of Joseph with baby Jesus depicted in art, especially in sculpture. Joseph is seen here with his flowering staff. In short, Sheffield has brought us several Nativity scenes that focus on fatherhood of Joseph rather than motherhood of Mary.

Nativity, Sheffield Town Hall

Inside Sheffield Town Hall there was an elaborate Nativity display, one of the loveliest ones I have seen in the last few years. And below is a Nativity scene from Llandudno photographed outside Marks&Spencer in December 2007.

Nativity, Llandudno

Links:

Sheffield Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul
Cathedral Church of St Marie

Full-size photos on Flickr:

Nativity by Brian Fell
Holy Family
St Joseph and Jesus
The Holy Night

Magical Mystery Tour: Liverpool Has Now Got Its Own Big Wheel

At the end of November I went to Liverpool, more or less on the spur of the moment, as I often do. My adventurer’s spirit was well rewarded with a visit to Liverpool One Wheel. The report below was first written for NowPublic.com. The photos can all be found on Flickr, and at the end of the post is a short video I made during my ride.

This Christmas Liverpool has added a new item to the long list of city’s attractions: Liverpool One Wheel. Rising 60 metres above the ground (with vantage height of 80 metres and weight of 365 tonnes), the observation wheel is a perfect present to the residents of Liverpool and Merseyside.

Rivalling, among many, the London Eye and the big observation wheels in Blackpool (Lancashire) and Manchester (Greater Manchester), Liverpool One Wheel is supported by the city’s radio station, Radio 96.7 that provided the audio guide. The ride lasts 15 minutes, and during three rotations you are treated to spectacular panoramic views of the city and the River Mersey.

In particular, some of the landmarks noted in the audio tour include the Albert Dock with the Royal Liver Building, the Catholic and Protestant Cathedrals of the City of Liverpool, and the Radio Tower. Arguably, the most impressive sights are to be seen at dusk, when sunset begins. Yet the night watch from a gondola may be just as amazing: on Friday and Saturday the wheel rolls until 11pm.

While offering a plenty of entertainment to adults and children, Liverpool One Wheel is already an eye candy for photographers. As December progresses, there will doubtless be more and more photos of this long-overdue landmark that is only a short walk away from the Mersey banks and the city centre.

If you are planning a trip to the UK this Christmas, and have a soft spot for riverside and The Beatles, spending some time in Liverpool may be almost a natural choice. Indeed, what can be better than to travel across the universe for a magical mystery tour in the former European Capital of Culture?

Tartans: The Love of My Life

Putting My Feet Up in
Via Fossa, Manchester

One of my childhood memories about books is connected both to knitting and to Scotland. In one book there was this illustration: a man in kilt and long socks was sitting by the chimney, knitting. I learnt to knit, as you know, while tartan has become one of the favourite materials. Pretty similar to my adored streetlights, tartan has made it into my poems on a couple of occasions already.

Elliott tartan

I cannot say that I own many clothes made of this fabric. In fact, the only one is the skirt I am wearing in the photo on the top left, and it is obviously not the “proper” tartan. But I do like men in kilts, so when I saw this post about tartan, men in kilts, and Highland sports, I knew I had to mention it. As a matter of fact, one of my close friends and a member of extended family belongs to the Elliott clan. Their tartan is shown on the right. Personally, I like their mottos: Soyez Sage (Be Wise), the old one, and the current Fortiter et Recte (Boldly and Rightly, or With Strength and Right).

There are some good resources on the web, particularly House of Tartan that helps you weave your own tartan. You can try your hand at creating a tartan over at Victoria and Albert Museum’s website. The interactive service is dedicated to the Vivienne Westwood exhibition there in 2004; and in 2008 Westwood incorporated tartan in her collection once again. The photo of the checkered bag and purse was taken during my trip to York in September 2008.

Vivienne Westwood boutique
in York, 2008

The closest I have yet got to Scotland was in 2004 when I visited Shap Wells Hotel. It is technically in Shap, near Perth in Cumbria, but in fact it is ideally located to explore not only the Lake District, but also North Pennines, Yorkshire Dales, and the Scottish Borders.

I’ve not written any New Year resolutions here, and in fact I won’t be doing it this year, as I have decided I was going to inform you of the results of my intentions, rather than intentions themselves. But one of the resolutions is to finally visit Scotland. And I am being drawn all the more there as I view Tour Scotland Photographs each day in my Blogger dashboard.

Lastly, I have been experimenting with making tartan-like knitting patterns. I did not make a real effort to handknit a proper multicolour tartan, but this is where I got so far (see below). This is the pattern of one of the sweaters I made for myself, and I wear it with the same degree of pride as the Scottish people – their kilts.

And here are “tartan” results from Google Images. Are you a Scot? Do you have a tartan to wear?

Christmas in the City: Manchester Snow

I have already reported about the spectacular snowfall in Manchester, but here are the photos I took during the week of Winter Wonderland. These include portraits of several amazing snowmen and one snow-woman.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Shakespeare and the Beatles

The Great Unknown (Julia Shuvalova)

From time to time during our life we find ourselves in the Great Unknown. It’s possibly similar to the proverbial situation when things are moving very fast. I do feel like they are moving very fast for me, even though I am actually taking time. I am sure I have been here before, but it was this year that I wrote the poem about the “experience”, and I dedicate it to all of us who are going, or have ever gone, through this stage.

The rock of life is overthrown,

All novel streams are flooding in.

I’m now in the Great Unknown:

No peace without or within.

I’ve almost shedded all illusions,

Like autumn leaves in winter winds.

Oh, happy thoughts and sad conclusions!

Whatever may the future bring,

I’m now in the Great Unknown,

But there is no better place

To be for someone, so prone

To change their voice, and name, and place.

Oh dear stranger, don’t be jealous!

But if you’re strong in heart and faith,

Do follow us, the reckless fellows,

The Great Unknown’s almighty race!

November 2009

Things to Do Before You Die? Waterstones Can Help!

During my journey to Liverpool in early December I went in Waterstones where I was instantly greeted by this display. Christmas time undoubtedly brings with it thoughts about both life and the end thereof, so the prominence of stuff “to do before you die” should not be surprising. Yet the titles of the books do not cease to strike me. Nor their potential content.

Things to do before you pop your clogs: ideas from Waterstones

Earlier this year I compiled a list of books of things and places to “cover” “before you die”, having goldmined Amazon: 1000 Things to Do Before You Pop Your Clogs. But following my Waterstones’ walk-in I decided to check whatever their online outlet had in store. I wasn’t disappointed, to say the least. As if we didn’t think this could be so, there was a book literally on every subject of one’s life, including the most intimate moments. And so, I collected the most jaw-dropping titles, although not omitting some conventional ones, like “Classical Recordings“. A lot still remained behind, so jump to Waterstones’ list to plough through.

For the purposes of the post, let’s imagine you’re planning to travel somewhere. You may refer to my original post, or you may opt in for a more structured compendium: 1001 Places to See Before You Die: Page a Day.

Thinking of what you may be doing in all the places? Legion is the name to your choices. To help you cope, here are 1001 Paintings you must see and 1001 Classical Recordings you must hear before you die. Add to this a touch of luxury by choosing from 1001 Wines and 1001 Foods.

A nature lover? Here is 1001 Gardens you must see before returning to the Garden of Eden. You can go birding, although the authors of the book only scratched some 50 places for that. However, if you are seriously after “1000 things” and birds, why not scoring a birdie at any of 1001 golf courses? Prefer fishing rods to golf clubs? I am sure some of 1001 places to see will have fishing facilities where, with any luck, you will catch one of sought-after 50 fish.

Shopaholics can spice things up with 101 Things to Buy and 52 Things to Do in a Car. The latter may particularly be useful for those who have exhausted the repertoire of Crash the movie and got enough of Roxette’s antiques. Beer lovers aren’t forgotten either: there are a book about 300 Beers and then a special book on 100 Belgian Beers. Absolutely to die for, I say.

Your curiosity will be tempered by Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. And if you ever exhaust any one thousand of things, try 2001 Things to Do Before You Die. Never forget: the proverbial perpetuum mobile is you, so keep going.

The younger generation may refer to 10 Things to Do before they turn sweet sixteen, and 1001 Videogames to play. (You can refer to the latter book, too, if you are their parent).

Understandably, carrying the world on your shoulders while also trying to do all those things may be difficult. If you can’t be arsed, then you can surely sod that; I am sure there will be no harm in doing so. However, you may just make an escape to one of the unforgettable islands.

Whatever takes your fancy – paintings, shopping, videogames, one hundred or two thousand of those – there will always be a moment when you crave the most natural and intimate experiences. And sometimes you will have obstacles in your way. To help overcome them and to sparkle your imagination, there are 1001 places to pee and 101 places to have sex. Before you die, of course.