Oh, Wind … and Fracas

We had our third (maybe fourth) storm of the season. The reason I’m not sure is because this one’s name starts with D (Darragh) and I don’t recall anyone talking about a C named storm. Anyway, Darragh. On Friday night,… Continue Reading

Frederic Malle Rose Tonnerre (previously Une Rose)

Yes, I know: first of all, when did the name change? I see anything from 2021 to 2023, and I’m not going to make an effort to figure out which is correct. I have seen a bit of noise that… Continue Reading

Victoria Beckham 21:50 Rêverie

This post was originally meant to go up next week but the fragrance is causing me such befuddlement that you’re getting it today. This past week we had winter, autumn and spring in a three day period (1 degree Celsius… Continue Reading

Oh, Ina Garten

It’s been a mild autumn here, but now we’re moving on. Colder, wetter coming up. This is the current conversation with neighbours when we meet: oh, it’s lovely – too bad it won’t last. I have friends who live in… Continue Reading

Amouage Jubilation XXV Homme

A digression first: I recently read about a collaboration between the cookery writer Nigel Slater (who I’ve mentioned several times: love his diaries) and perfumer Lyn Harris of Miller Harris and Perfumer H (I love that brand’s fragrance Smoke). They… Continue Reading

Ah, Halloween

It’s decidedly autumn. It’s dark as I type though it’s late afternoon. Mornings I tend to smell silage which has been spread on the fields post harvest. There are hay bales sitting around. No more rabbits on my walks, as… Continue Reading

A further look at Diptyque

The time changed here over Saturday night into Sunday. It now gets dark at 5 pm. We descend towards the winter solstice, when it will be dark by 4 pm (or maybe even slightly before). I celebrate the solstice each… Continue Reading