Unpopular |
Friday, July 26, 2002
Popnews I was flattered when French site Popnews recently asked me to contribute a piece of writing for their front page/editorial section, and I’m happy to say that what I gave them was deemed useable! It’s on their site right now if you’re vaguely interested. It’s kind of about dreams and the archaeology of culture. I think. I understand that Caesar of The Wake will be guest writer sometime soon, so look out for that. I’m sure it’ll be much more interesting than my nonsense…
The Alphington Ponies The first day of the summer vacation usually finds me wandering the city at a much slower pace than normal, mainly because I’m not aiming to get somewhere specific. This year I was fortunate to have company, and it was indeed Jessica who spotted the delight of the day in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. There, tucked away in a corner of the otherwise fairly dull exhibition on portraiture, was a small painting of ‘The Alphington Ponies’. Now, the Alphington Ponies were not ponies at all, you understand, but rather two near identical ‘sisters’ (they were allegedly both daughters of Colonel Dunsford of Alphington, near Exeter) who caused something of a stir when they arrived atop their ponies in fashionable Torquay in the 1840s. Dressed in highly decorative outfits that daringly revealed their undergarments, the two women were sadly ostracised by the fashionable society of the time, and returned to Exeter later in life, to do what, one can only guess. I expect it involved staying cooped up in dark imposing old manor houses with occasional forays to town to buy expensive fabrics and ornaments, with these visits being no doubt accompanied by hushed whispers and pointing fingers. But what do I know? A little ceramic likeness of the duo made in Staffordshire around 1850 shows that the pair clearly captured the imaginations of the time though, and surely there is a fabulous tale lurking there for the telling… |
