Dancer

I have yet to hear anything good about the remake of Murder on the Orient Express but here is something interesting. Former Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, Sergei Polunin, has a cameo role playing Count Rudolph Andrenyi.

Long Term Investment

My scaredy-cat approach to the stock market has led to under-performance for me in 2017. The easiest segment of my portfolio to value is my online ISA. I re-invest the income but for the purpose of this exercise deducted my annual contribution, giving me +11% on the year, underperforming most if not all indices.

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Categorised as Business

Arise, Sir Richard

By and large I enjoy the Honours system; sharing the pleasure that the recipients enjoy (having their swimgloat, as James Lees-Milne would say) but …

Gainsborough Girls

I saw this Gainsborough at the Fitzwilliam when I went to their Degas exhibition before Christmas. Incidentally the Fitzwilliam had bad luck because there is Degas at the Petit Palais in Paris running concurrently and they probably picked the plums.

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Categorised as Art, Theatre

A Splash Hit

The Châtelet is closed for two years for repairs. Their Christmas show this year is Singin’ in the Rain and it is staged in a temporary theatre in the Grand Palais.

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Categorised as Theatre

Out of this World

La Bohème at Christmas should be a sure-fire winner, impossible to muck up. Sublime music, lots of snow and children, achingly beautiful arias and a heart-rending finale.

Cognacq-Jay

Yesterday we walked to the Musée Cognacq-Jay for a dollop of culture. Lucky we didn’t want a scoop of pistachio ice cream because, like Edmund Crispin’s Moving Toyshop, Berthillon has disappeared.

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Categorised as Art, Travel

Paris

It’s a treat to walk across Paris on Christmas Day. I enjoy the architecture and the views. They are not spoilt by a plethora of Christmas bling.

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Categorised as Travel

Christmas Day

“The bearer, white-turbaned and bare-footed, pulls back the curtains to let in a blaze of sun. Outside the fountains are playing, the birds are shrieking. Cascades of stocks, carnations and petunias hang over the edges of ornamental pools.

A Long View

This sceptred isle has seen some changes that must have been bewildering at the time. But let’s digress before we even begin.

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Categorised as Business