"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

#AdventCalendar – Day 16: Coventry Carol

When we talked about the boar’s head as a traditional Christmas dish, we mentioned “Boar’s Head Carol”, one of the oldest Christmas carols to date. Today we take a look at another Christmas Carol from the XVI Century, and perhaps the one with the most enthralling history of them all: the Coventry Carol.

It’s usually considered a lullaby sung by Mary to baby Jesus, but reality it’s far more haunting: it comes from the Coventry Mystery Plays, specifically The Pageant of the Shearmen and the Tailors, and it’s a song sung by mothers to their doomed children during the Massacre of the Innocents. Read about it today on my Patreon.
Spooktober

Spooktober 27 – The Black Monk (2)

Chapter 3 After supper, when the visitors had gone, he went to his room and lay down on the sofa: he wanted to think about the monk. But a minute later Tanya came in. “Here, Andryusha; read father’s articles,” she said, giving him a bundle

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October 27, 2026 6:00 am
Spooktober

Spooktober 26 – The Black Monk (1)

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician, short-story writer and playwright, and I’m not particularly fond of him, though he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of modern short fiction and who am I to argue? His work is celebrated for its psychological

Read More »
October 26, 2026 6:00 am
art and fashion

Beauty and Ugliness: an exhibition

A few pictures from the recently closed exhibition on Beauty and Ugliness as an aesthetic paradigma in which what’s ideal and what’s grotesque melt together as sides of the same coin. The exhibition featured works by Brueghel (lent from the other exhibition at Palazzo Reale),

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October 25, 2026 9:00 am
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Spooktober 27 – The Black Monk (2)

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Chapter 3 After supper, when the visitors had gone, he went to his room and lay down on the sofa: he wanted to think about the monk. But a minute later Tanya came in. “Here, Andryusha; read father’s articles,” she said, giving him a bundle

Read More

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