Judging by the waves in the background and the plants struggling to stay rooted in the ground, it was a bracing day.
Clear blue skies though..
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Tiina has sent me some pics of Jason enjoying a few days by the sea in
Brighton. Judging by the waves in the background and the plants struggling to stay rooted in the ground, it was a bracing day. Clear blue skies though.. |
| As Tiina works for an airline she arranged a day trip to
India for Jason.. Actually, for those who don't know this is the Royal Pavillion in Brighton. Designed and built for one of our nuttier princes/kings, can't remember which one but I'm sure someone will let me know. * The following potted history has been sent in by a car salesperson 'up north'..
QUESTION: What do a Norfolk turnip, the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, a chessboard and the Kremlin have in common? ANSWER :They are just four ways in which, over the years, people have tried to describe the Royal Pavilion. I say 'tried' because King George IV's former seaside residence literally beggars all description. |
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To call it Brighton's answer to the Taj Mahal
simply isn't enough. With its riot of onion domes and minarets, its blend of refined
Indian architecture and opulent Chinese interiors, the palace is nothing short of an
exotic feast for the senses, a mouth-watering masala to be savoured with relish. It is hard to believe that this oriental wonderland was born from the imagination of a man who had never ventured further east than Germany. In 1783, the dashing young heir to the throne, George Prince of Wales, paid his first visit to the thriving resort of Brighthelmstone. It was to be avisit from which the town never recovered. With more showmanship than Phineas T Barnum, Brighton's patron saint - or some say patron sinner - set about creating his ideal home. Over 30 years later, and some £500,000 poorer, George could finally step back and admire the handiwork of his favourite architect, John Nash. Not everybody was as enthusiastic as His Royal Highness. John Wilson Croker, a noted diarist of the day, had this to say: "It is, I think, an absurd waste of money, and will be a ruin in half a century or more". How wrong can you get! If the Pavilion can survive a devastating arson attack, extensive hurricane damage and let's not forget Queen Victoria who removed everything including the kitchen sink, then what's to stop the most extraordinary palace in Europe from celebrating its 200th birthday in the year 2023? Such a show of resistance against the ravages of time may have something to do with the dragons that feature in every corner of the Pavilion and who, in Chinese mythology, symbolize good fortune. But be prepared to encounter much more than a galaxy of weird and wonderful creatures. Retrace the illustrious footsteps of Rossini who performed amid the razzle-dazzle of the Music Room or Lord Byron who made merry in the lavish Banqueting Room. Recently restored to its full 19th century grandeur, the palace's astonishing colour schemes and superb craftsmanship will have you racing to try out new decorating techniques at home! The novelist William Thackeray once wrote: "It is the fashion to run down George IV, but what myriads of Londoners ought to thank him for inventing Brighton". The Royal Pavilion's 400,000 visitors a year couldn't agree more. Written by Ann Noon, winner of The Observer's Young Travel Writer Award 1996 |
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This is Jason getting ready to support Mika & Kimi at some GP or
another (Brit ?) Who would have suspected that he always travels with a couple of Finnish flags on his person? After all, they can't be that easy to come by in Brighton, can they ? |
| I have to admit that I dont have a clue where this one was taken, other
than to say that it does look like Sussex.. The hair though is obviously on fine form and seems to have taken on a life of it's own. In reality Jason is bald, his head has been colonised by a sentient life form from another dimension which is carrying out a detailed study of Homo Sapiens. (With apologies to T.Pratchett & D.Adams.) |
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