Ephemeral Xmas 5: Jouets Etrennes
Etrennes are gifts traditionally given on New Year’s Eve in France. Here are two beautiful old magazine adverts for shops selling Jouets Etrennes (toy gifts).
Category Archive: life and culture
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Ephemeral Xmas 3: Hand-made Santa
This cute fellow is a DIY Weihnachtsmann that I bought a few years ago in a Berlin flea market. He’s made from a piece of log that’s been split diagonally in half and… Read More
Ephemeral Xmas 1: Russian Greeting Cards
According to Wikipedia, ephemera is “transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved.” I like to retain and preserve it. This week, I’d like to share some Christmas-themed ephemera… Read More
Bastille Day
Yesterday found Mei Yau and myself in the Expo ’70-esque, utopian splendour of Battersea Park. As committed Francophiles, we were there to celebrate French nationhood a few days early at the second annual… Read More
Textures of the old school
Last weekend my old school held a grand reunion. Unlike most school reunions, this was not so much a chance to catch up with old classmates but more a last chance to commune… Read More
House, a 1977 film by Nobuhiko Obayashi
At the weekend I picked up an intriguing Masters of Cinema DVD. The 40-page accompanying booklet – featuring an essay and stills from the film – led me to expect great things, and… Read More
Joan Aiken: A Puffin Club film
2010 sees Puffin Books, the children’s imprint of Penguin, celebrate its 70th anniversary. As a child, I read an enormous number of Puffins and am still a big fan of their classic book… Read More
