Category: Kristine Hughes

Like a Fine Wine

Like a fine wine, actor Ian McShane continues to age beautifully, stepping into the limelight at intervals in order to remind us just how delicious he is – especially when playing the bad boy. Villianous roles, it seems, suit McShane right down to the ground and at age sixty-eight, they keep coming his way.

Born in Blackburn, England, McShane is the son of professional soccer player Harry McShane, who played  for Manchester United, and Irene McShane. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Having starred in more than thirty films, McShane made his debut in 1962’s The Wild and the Willing that led to other roles in The Battle of Britain, The Last of Sheila (at right), Villain (co-starring Richard Burton), Exposed, and Agent Cody Banks.

His TV resumé includes any number of TV-movies and miniseries: he played Judas in the internationally produced Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and was seen as the title character in the British miniseries Disraeli (1979). In America, he was a regular on the 1989-90 season of Dallas, playing Don Lockwood.
                                                              

McShane gained an international fan following as a result of his starring role in the widely-distributed TV series The Lovejoy Mysteries, originally filmed in 1986, then brought back by popular demand in 1990. In the late 80’s the actor formed McShane Productions, which produced the much-adored Lovejoy for the BBC and A&E. The series, based on the books by Jonathan Gash, features antique dealer/detective Lovejoy, a “divvie” who has an uncanny ability to recognise exceptional items as well as for distinguishing fakes or forgeries from genuine antiques.

McShane earned the coveted Golden Globe Award for “Best Actor in a Television Drama” for his versatile performance as Al Swearengen on HBO’s hit series Deadwood. His charismatic portrayal of Swearengen also led him to a nomination for the 2005 Emmy and a 2005 and 2006 SAG nomination for Lead Actor, as well as being voted by People Magazine in 2005, “TV’s Sexiest Villain.” McShane’s performance gained him a wave of critical acclaim which earned him the Television Critics Association’s annual award for “Individual Achievement in Drama,” and being selected as one of GQ’s “Men of the Year.” They described the character of Swearengen as “infectious” and “darkly irresistible.” The New York Times dubbed him as “One of the Most Interesting Villains on Television,” and Rolling Stone Magazine bestowed the title of “Hot Barkeep” and described the character as “played to perfection.”

McShane has also voiced several characters for films – Captain Hook in Shrek the Third and the voice of Mr. Bobinski, in the film Coraline and has had a long stage career. In 2000 McShane returned to the West End in London to make his musical debut starring in Cameron Mackintosh’s successful musical The Witches of Eastwick as Darryl Van Horne. His varied stage career has included roles as Hal in the original cast of Loot, the title role of The Admirable C
richton at the Chichester Festival, Tom in The Glass Menagerie, and Charlie in The Big Knife. He co-starred with Judi Dench and Ian McKellen in Promise, which successfully played London and debuted on Broadway. In Los Angeles he starred in three productions at The Matrix Theatre, including the world premiere of Larry Atlas’ Yield of the Long Bond and two others for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Inadmissible Evidence and Betrayal.
A current villainous role is his appearance as the crafty bishop of Shiring, Waleran Bigod, in the TV production of Ken Follett’s novel Pillars of the Earth. He is duplicious, a liar, and changes sides in the war between Stephen and Maud with alacrity.  But you can’t help admiring his acting!
Ian McShane plays the fearsome pirate Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of the Disney movie series directed by Rob Marshall scheduled to open May 20, 2011. McShane will play legendary pirate–real name was Edward Teach– who piloted the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge. Read McShane’s latest interview in the Independent here, in which we learn a few details about his colourful love life, that he likes oysters and that he’s not personally fond of antiques.  You can watch an interview with Ian about his upcoming role here. And another interview about his stage work with Charlie Rose here.  Drink up.

Queen Elizabeth to Launch New Cunard Ship

Cunard Line has announced that Her Majesty The Queen will name the company’s new Queen Elizabeth, the third Cunard ship to bear the name, at a ceremony to take place in Southampton today. The Queen Elizabeth, a 2092-passenger ocean liner, will set sail on her maiden voyage tomorrow – the voyage sold out in a record 29 minutes. The 13-night maiden voyage will depart from Southampton with ports of call including Vigo, Lisbon, Seville, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.

The Queen at the launch of the QE2 in 1967

“The naming of a Cunard Queen is a very special occasion and this will be an historic event in the true sense of the word. The Queen launched Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967 and named our current flagship Queen Mary 2 in 2004,” said Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director. “We are both honoured and proud that Her Majesty will name our new liner Queen Elizabeth,” he added.

Her Majesty was also present at the age of 12 at the launch of the first Queen Elizabeth on 27 September 1938 when she accompanied her mother, Queen Elizabeth, to Clydebank for the launch. The Queen Elizabeth will be the second largest Cunarder ever built and will join her sisters, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, as part of the youngest fleet in the world.
 
 

 

Artist rendering of the QE3

Cunard ships, while among the most modern afloat, are known for their traditional luxury, accentuated by extensive use of brass, classic fabrics, marble and highly polished woods. One challenge for Queen Elizabeth’s designers was how to treat the significant central space on the sweeping staircase in the ship’s soaring Grand Lobby.
 
Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, says: “We needed to fill that space with something which would not just be dramatic but which would also reflect our emphasis on traditional and sumptuous materials. After much thought and exploratory work, it was decided to commission a 5.6-metre (18 ft 6 in) high marquetry panel depicting the original Queen Elizabeth, an Art Deco icon, using a variety of natural woods from around the world.

“Once we had decided on the theme and the medium, it didn’t take us long to conclude that no-one was better qualified for this work than the company of the exceptional craftsman David Linley (Viscount Linley, son of Princess Margaret, nephew of the Queen), whose creative ability and mastery of wood is renowned.”

Peter Shanks and Viscount Linley at the unveiling
As a result, Linley, a company specialising in the design and manufacture of fine furniture and marquetry was commissioned to design and make this stunning centrepiece at the heart of the ship. The magnificent artwork spans 2½ decks and shows the port bow of the original Queen Elizabeth seen dramatically from sea level. The piece is intricately executed using the technique of marquetry inlay in nine different types of wood veneers.

State Room on the QE III’s sister ship, the Queen Victoria

Cunard was the first to introduce a Library on board Bothnia in 1874. Queen Elizabeth’s Library features a unique leaded glass ceiling and a globe from the era of the original Queen Elizabeth, along with its 6,000 volume book collection.
 
 

 
Cunard Line’s tradition of providing guests with the ultimate luxury experiences at sea continues on board with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Spa. The tranquil 13,000 square-foot modern spa space features stunning décor in line with the art deco style of the new Cunarder, and includes two levels for treatment rooms, and fitness and pool facilities. Like her sister ships, Queen Elizabeth’s spa offers a comprehensive health and wellness programme with a spectacular Hydrotherapy Pool and Thermal Suite, with the new addition of the Royal Bath House, the centerpiece for the ultimate spa experience. Inspired by holistic, relaxing and stress-relieving treatments drawn from disciplines around the world, the Royal Spa.  This covered space is a social relaxation area that includes both the Thermal Suite and Hydrotherapy Pool, all adjacent to the main outdoor pool on Deck 9. Plush robes, slipp
ers and other amenities will be provided.

To attract good luck during its voyages, three coins were welded under the mast of the Queen Elizabeth 3- a British half-crown from 1938 (when the first Queen Elizabeth was launched), a 1967 sovereign (when the QE2 was launched) and a contemporary ‘sovereign’ bearing the date 2010.

London Cocktail Week October 11 – 17

Oh, boy – London and liquor? Sign me up! London Cocktail Week is a new concept happening across London this year to celebrate the capital of cocktail culture. Seminars, cocktail classes, bar tours and parties will be hosted throughout the week for cocktail enthusiasts and professionals alike. Selfridges has confirmed as the central hub for all information during London Cocktail Week and the event headquarters will be located within Gordons Bar on the first floor.  Events begin every day at 9 a.m. with various venues offering full English breakfasts and Grey Goose Bloody Marys (are there any other kind!?). In addition, 50 of the City’s finest bars will offer £4 discounted cocktails to those who sign up online to receive LCW wristbands. And, from Monday to Friday, 6 p.m. – midnight there will be special LCW buses to take you home (brilliant!). Check out the event website for more details. AND, the UK Rumfest will be happening simultaneously at London’s Olympia Hotel October 16-17th. There’ll be over 400 rums to sample and buy, cocktail demonstrations and live music including salsa, soca, reggae, zouk and samba. Over two days, visitors to the festival will be able to explore rums from countries such as Antigua, Barbados, Mauritius and Venezula as well as meet master blenders, discover the secrets of rum-based cocktails (I can’t stand it!).
In order to redeem myself and justify this post which, thus far, has been solely about lapping up liquor, I’ll throw in some useful historic cocktail facts –
1730 – There were over 7,000 gin shops in London.
1798 – Supposedly, the word “cocktail” first appeared in the English language in a London newspaper. No doubt this referred to those drinks into which were plunged the tail of a cock. Read the story at The Straight Dope for all possibilities for the origin of the word. Or try this article at the Art of Drink which references early newspaper mentions of the word.
1803 – The earliest known printed use of the word cocktail was in The Farmer’s Cabinet on April 28, 1803
1806 – The earliest definition of a cocktail appeared in the May 13, 1806 edition of the Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York.
1840’s – James Pimm, owner of a London oyster bar, invents the Pimm’s Cup using gin, quinine and a secret mixture of herbs. It was served in a small tankard as an aid to digestion (nudge, nudge) and known as a No. 1 Cup. After the Second World War, Pimms extended their range, using a number of other spirits as bases for new cups. Scotch lent its name to No. 2 cup while No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 rum, No. 5 rye and No. 6 vodka. Of these sequels, the vodka cup and brandy (now called Winter) are the only ones in production while original No. 1 cup still reigns supreme in popularity. To make a traditional Pimms No.1, take one slice of orange, lemon, apple and cucumber per person and one sprig of mint and add to two parts lemonade to one part Pimms.

1898 – The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel opens and introduces the concept of the “cocktail” as we know it today to London.
1919 – The classic Savoy Cocktail is introduced at the Savoy Hotel. Harry Craddock was the legendary bartender who came up with the drink. The following recipe makes one drink, served straight up in a cocktail glass, but the drink can also be served in a sours glass on the rocks, as long as you add a little bit of club soda right before serving:
Fill a cocktail shaker half-full with ice cubes. Add 1 ½ oz. dry gin,  ¾ oz. French vermouth, ½ oz. absinthe and a dash of grenadine syrup to the cocktail shaker. Cover the cocktail shaker and shake gently for 10 to 15 seconds. Shaking too hard will bruise the gin, resulting in an unpleasantly strong juniper berry flavor. Strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop a maraschino cherry into the drink and garnish the glass with a fresh lemon peel.
1922 – MacGarry, a popular bartender at Buck’s Club, invents the Sidecar: Take 2 oz brandy, 1/2 oz Cointreau, 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice and shake with ice, and then strain into a cocktail glass.
1933 – Arthur Tarling, bartender at London’s Café Royal won first prize in a London cocktail competition with his recipe for a Red Lion cocktail –  Take 1 ounce London dry gin, 1 ounce Grand Marnier, 1/2 ounce orange juice and 1/2 ounce lemon juice. Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass whose rim has been rubbed with lemon juice and dipped in sugar.
1952 (or thereabouts) – Author Ian Fleming has a martini at Dukes Bar and is inspired to write that immortal James Bond martini direction, “Shaken not stirred.” By the way, at Duke’s Bar, a small wooden trolley is wheeled out and parked beside your table while your waiter prepares your martini for you.
2007 – The Movida nightclub, a London hangout of celebrities, footballers and the super-rich offered patrons a Flawless cocktail consisting of a large measure of Louis XII cognac, half a bottle of Cristal Rose champagne, some brown sugar, angostura bitters, a few flakes of 24-carat edible gold leaf – and an 11-carat diamond ring at the bottom of the glass. Among the first to order the drink was Max Reigns, 28, a property developer and manager who gave the ring, and the cocktail, to his girlfriend for Christmas.

2010 – The Connaught Hotel introduces the Martini Trolley in its bar. Yeah, yeah, Dukes has had a martini trolley for yonks, but this one is different. At the Connaught, the trolley features an engraved Japanese crystal mixing jar which has been cleverly engineered to conserve freezing temperatures. Double frozen ice cubes from purified water ensure the martini is chilled to perfection. The stirring utensils are made of silver, while the martinis themselves are served in elegant engraved crystal glasses especially designed for the Connaught Bar by leading French designer Jean Jacques. They also offer seven flavors of bitters, including  extracts of lavender, coriander, cardamom, ginger, grapefruit, licorice and vanilla.
2010 –  A new, underground, 1920’s speakeasy-type bar called Purl opens in Marylebone, where gloved bartenders serve up martinis made using liquid nitrogen.

2010 – Brooke Hughes travels to London, where she visits the Absolut Ice Bar with friends. Everything inside is made from blocks of ice and temperatures hover at 5 degrees. Farenheit. You’re issued a protective suit upon entry and can only stay for a maximum of  forty minutes. Drink fast.

Seeing as how the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel has played such a large part in London’s cocktail lore, I’ll have to sashay myself down there when I’m in London in December and hoist a Cuba Libre (with Appleton’s rum, if you please) to London drinkers past and present.

Honestly, the things I do for the sake of this blog . . . . . .

Upstairs, Downstairs – The Remake

PBS and BBC will be offering what PBS is calling a “new production” of “Upstairs Downstairs” for debut in 2011 as part of the 40th anniversary season of “Masterpiece Theatre.” Winning seven Emmys, the 1970’s series was a landmark event that defined excellence in dramatic story telling on television. Dame Eileen Atkins (at right in a scene from Cranford), one of the creators of the orginal version, will star this time around, along with Jean Marsh, who will be reprising her role as Rose, the parlor maid/now housekeeper, in the new series. Marsh won an Emmy as best actress for her work in the original version. The new series will again be set in the house at 165 Eaton Place, this time in 1936 on the eve of World War II and will follow a different family, the Hollands, now living in the house. The house has been inherited by the wealthy Sir Hallam Holland, a young and well-connected diplomat, ­following the unexpected death of his Baronet father.

Holland is played by 35-year-old Ed Stoppard, the son of playwright Sir Tom, and takes up residence with his wife and his imposing mother Lady Maud, a free-thinking intellectual played by Dame Eileen who keeps a pet monkey called Solomon.

The series will see two new 90 minute scripts penned by writer Heidi Thomas (Cranford, Madame Bovary, Ballet Shoes). Actress Keeley Hawes will play Lady Agnes Holland and you can follow her blog here. Actress Claire Foy will appear as her temptress sister, Lady Persie.

Art Malik, Anne Reid, Ed Stoppard, Adrian Scarborough, Ellie Kendrick and Nico Mirallegro are also part of the cast. BBC is planning to screen the drama as early as autumn and it will be broadcast on Masterpiece in the US shortly after it makes its British debut. They hope to find similar success to the original, which was broadcast in more than 70 countries to an audience of more than a billion.

Writer Heidi Thomas, who also scripted the successful BBC’s drama Cranford, said: ‘The series will be shot through with sensuality. This is a drama very much about warm-blooded human beings. In a house like Eaton Place, there is a limit to what you can keep behind closed doors. The place is a pressure cooker and the tensions continue to rise and rise until they boil over. Whether the characters are upstairs or downstairs they are ­living in close proximity to each other and these are the dramas that will engage viewers.’

Oh, joy!

By the way, the setting for Upstairs, Downstairs, 165 Eaton Place, is in actuality the house standing at 65 Eaton Place (above). For the new series, a full-scale replica of Eaton Place has been built at studios in Cardiff, where filming began in August.

22nd Wellington Lecture – October 27th 2010

Imagining Wellington: From “Punch” to Pantheon

Southampton University, which holds the Wellington Papers in their collections, is hosting the 22nd Wellington Lecture with Dr. David Howarth on October 27th.  Established in 1989, from an endowment from the Spanish Ambassador, the Wellington Lecture is given each year on aspects of the life and times of the first Duke of Wellington.
Over the years, the University of Southampton has welcomed a host of distinguished speakers to present the lecture. This year they’ve selected Dr David Howarth, Head of History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, who will present his lecture entitled ‘Imagining Wellington: From “Punch” to Pantheon.’

Refreshments will be served from 5:30 p.m. before the lecture begins at 6:00pm. This event is open to the public and free to attend. More information is available here.
Dr. Howarth’s first book was a study of the pioneer collector in England, Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646): Lord Arundel and his Circle (Yale, 1985), published in conjunction with an exhibition on Arundel held at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford which Howarth co-curated with Nicholas Penny: Howarth’s Images of Rule (London and Berkeley, 1997), provided an overview of the relationship of art and politics in early modern Britain and it has become established as a standard work on the cultural history of Renaissance Britain. Complemntary to this publication was his editorship of Art and Patronage in Caroline England. More recently, Howarth has specialized in cultural relations between Great Britain and Iberia. Following the publication of his book, The Invention of Spain, he was Chief Guest Curator for the National Galleries of Scotland Edinburgh Festival exhibition for 2009, The Discovery of Spain. He is currently writing a biography of Rubens, commissioned by Oxford University Press.
There is no shortage of caricatures featuring the Duke of Wellington. Below are just a sampling of the prints that were published during his lifetime.

In an interesting side note – and one redolent of 18th and 19th century aristocratic eccentricity – Sir Edward Du Cann, an MP and former Conservative Party chairman, has the largest privately owned collection of Wellington caricatures known to exist and has pulished a book on the subject.
The book blurb states that: “From his collection of more than 230 caricatures of the great Duke of Wellington, Sir Edward has selected 105 for publication. He has written a short introductory piece regarding the significance of caricature as a reflectionof popular opinion at the time of Wellington’s entry into domestic politics after his return to England from the Continent following his defeatof the tyrant Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. This was the golden age of English caricature and the selection includes examples of the work of Cruikshank, John Doyle, W. Heath, Sharpshooter and others,including some in the collection which are not listed in the British Museum catalogue. There has been no previous publication of caricatures of the Duke of Wellington on this scale. Thus as a popular viewpoint of the history of the times, the book offers a unique account. Each caricature is accompanied by a short note about the artist and publisher.”
But back to the subject of aristocratic finances – it seems that Sir Edward has had on again, off again fiscal troubles since the 1980’s. His bad debts were even aired in the House of Commons. In April 1989, Dale Campbell-Savours, the Labour MP for Workington, tabled an Early Day Motion asking the House to note a summons against Sir Edward by a London firm of lawyers, Boodle Hatfield.The motion said that clients of Boodle Hatfield had received a cheque for pounds 25,000 from Sir Edward which had bounced. The debt was later settled. Later that decade, Sir Edward, whose home is at 15th-century home, Cothay Manor, faced bankruptcy and the loss of his nearby property, Tremlett Hall Farm, which surrounds the hamlet of Greenham on the Somerset-Devon border. As well as the farmhouse there is a bungalow and a staff cottage in the village. The buildings are considered exceptional for a farm of its size. Sir Edward attempted to buy the property back from the bank. At the time, Lady du Cann said the publicity surrounding the debts was obscuring the great deal of good work her husband had done – ‘This whole thing is becoming absurd. Look in Who’s Who and see what he has achieved. There is masses of it.’

Cothay Manor
She felt that difficulties over debts were a normal part of business life. ‘If you are in business then you are going to have arguments with people,’ she said. ‘An awful lot of what is published is wrong, but he ignores it.
‘We have had difficulties with Tremlett Farm because somebody has been foul with us and not paid up. There is a knock-on effect. My husband is a private person. He is not an MP or the chairman of any company and he has retired. He is nearly 70 and I really think enough is enough.’
Let us hope that Sir Edward’s passion for collecting Wellington caricatures is not at the heart of his financial troubles, although I for one can well understand the temptation.
For more the subject of Wellington and caricature, I recommend The Duke of Wellington and His Political Career After Waterloo – A Caricaturist’s View by Edward Du Cann and The Duke of Wellington in Caricature by John Physick.