Rakewell
Location, location…location? Bridgerton plays fast and loose with Regency London
It is perhaps unsurprising that a show that takes such a creative approach to costume drama plays fast and loose with its locations
Neat work – on art and whisky
Whisky and museums are a few of your roving correspondent’s favourite things – and now the V&A Dundee is bringing them together
Banksy and the art of sneezing
Banksy has decorated a wall in Bristol with a sneeze – leading Rakewell to ponder the art of sneezing
The merry mania of Christmas cards
The first commercially produced Christmas card was published in 1843 – and you can have one for £5,000 or more (stamps not included)
Dark material – the Pitt Rivers Museum in fiction
A cameo in the BBC’s His Dark Materials adaptation leads Rakewell to reflect on other fictional appearances of the museum over the years
Build your own Colosseum!
A 9,000-piece Lego model of the Colosseum has Rakewell pondering other models of the great amphitheatre – made out of cork, clay and cheese
Monumental mutts and presidential pets
It has been a good week for outsize dogs in Turkmenistan and a huge week for good dogs in Delaware
Tall tails – the miracle of Rotterdam
Rakewell reports on a remarkable fluke outside the Dutch city
Pup idols – pet memorials through history
News that pet owners have more faith in doggy heaven than ever before leads Rakewell on a trip down memorial lane
Potato appeal – the humble spuds that have become works of art
From post Impressionist painting to 20th-century toys, the humble potato has caught the imagination of many an artist – and infant cubist
Gallery girls on the small screen – a brief history
Why is it that single women living in Manhattan nearly always find themselves working in an art gallery – on TV, at least?
Melodic moments at the National Gallery
The gallery is paying homage to the famous wartime concerts organised by Myra Hess with a series of performances – with no audiences, alas
From pelle melle to the London Marathon – sports days in St James’s Park
As runners in the London Marathon prepare to make 19 loops of St James’s Park, Rakewell delves into the sporting provenance of the park
A palace for your pooch
It’s the mutt-see show of the year (if you’re a dog) – an architectural playground just for you (again, if you’re a dog) at Japan House London
Own your own Oval Office
If you’ve ever wanted to play president, now you can – if you have a few dollars spare to buy a replica of the Oval Office at Bonhams in October
Picking up the tabby – the T.S. Eliot estate helps out the Brontë Parsonage Museum
The T.S. Eliot estate has donated £20,000 to help keep the Brontë Parsonage Museum open. Rakewell wonders what the Brontë sisters would have made of ‘Cats’
Marina Abramovic stars in an opera about Maria Callas – but doesn’t sing
Rakewell is disappointed not to hear the performance artist’s pipes in her new project at the Bavarian State Opera
Woe logo – the Osaka Expo goes googly-eyed
For the 2025 World Expo, the host city of Osaka has plumped for a bafflingly blobby logo
How to dress like an L.S. Lowry painting
A Manchester-based menswear designer has launched a shirt inspired by Lowry – and decorated with his ‘matchstick’ figures
Swallows and Amazons for ever!
Rakewell is lured back to childhood by the promise of Swallows and Amazons memorabilia and mischief at Windermere Jetty Museum
Art the drive-in – the museum turned motorcade in Rotterdam
The Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam has launched a drive-thru exhibition – and it’s not the only culture you can see by car this summer, says Rakewell
Dressing for a pandemic, Picasso-style
The future of fashion may not be the most pressing concern but it’s hard not to fear the worst
Goya for gastronomes – and Donald Trump
The Trumps have a soft spot for Goya Foods, it seems – which sets Rakewell wondering whether the brand could make more of its painterly associations
Field work – is it time Mike Leigh made a film about crop circles?
Film fans can only hope that the director will turn his interest in these mysterious patterns to practical effect
The many faces of Mary Magdalene